I’m hoping the link below works. As part of the relaunch of this blog I’m trying out a few things. I thought this subject matter deserved a video instead of typing.
Video link to YouTube here, click on the text, any of the text, even this bit.
Ready Steady Crook!
Sorry it’s been a long time since I posted here, I’ve been working on a new television show.
Ready Steady Crook is an exciting show, that pits medical science and alternatives to medicine against each other. Each week, we pick someone from the audience who has a medical issue, and they get diagnosed.
On one side we have people with years and years of medical training – doctors, cardiologists, oncologists, paediatricians, etc, who will give a diagnosis based on modern science.
On the other side we have the quacks… Homoeopaths, chiropractors, naturopaths, reflexologists, aromatherapists, acupuncturists, psychic healers, etc, basically anyone who can study online, has a high quality printer at home, an oversupply of incense to burn, and a vague sense that their mental issues can solve things.
The “contestant” from the audience gets looked over by both teams, and then the audience votes on what kind of treatment the contestant should get to cure their ill.
We then take the peddlers of woo, and those in the audience who voted for alternatives to medicine out the back and shoot them. I think after one series people would get the idea that medical science is the best way to treat a medical condition.
Behind the scenes
As many of you will know, I was involved with the Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight show, on ABC television earlier this year. It was a wonderful time, and what you saw go to screen was genuine, but there was a lot that didn’t make it to the big screen.
First of all there was the people directly and indirectly involved with the show. I’m talking about the crew from the show, and the general staff of the ABC.
The general staff didn’t have to be friendly towards us, but they certainly were. You could tell these people were hard working, and dedicated to their job, because they loved working where they worked. It didn’t matter if they were front desk staff, or people involved with other shows, they were all great people.
For those directly associated with the show, I have nothing but praise. Someone who has worked in the media myself, I know how the politics and bullshit often gets in the way of the final product. That was never the case with these people. Any time there was anything that may be a concern, they talked to us about it gave us full details, and together we made a decision. We were never told “This is what we are doing and you have to do it, because it is all about the rating.” Instead they wanted to make good quality television that could be enjoyed by a wide variety of people.
Something we often heard from Adam was “I’m so glad I’m at the ABC, because three is no way we could ever do this on commercial television. It shows just how dedicated he is to making quality, because he has had many offered to be on commercial television, but has decided to stay with the ABC. If you want proof, just look at the kind of guests that have appeared on the show. It wasn’t only people who have a book to flog, or an album that’s been released, but people with an interest, a passion, a story, that should be shared by everyone.
I have to say I am proud of what the show achieved this year, and I’m sad the ABC hasn’t renewed the show yet. I believe the ABC is very much needed in the media mix we have in Australia. It has a role to provide shows that not only rate (and AHIGST did Rae very well), but also give the wider Australian community a voice. Come on Aunty, do us all a favour and renew the show.
Finally, I’d like to thank the love of my life for all the hard work she put in too. There was a lot of burning the candle at both ends to put together the mass wedding. It was a trying, but together we got through it, as we plan to do for a very long time to come.
Yes I Like It, Yes I Am Putting A Ring On It
So it’s not to long until the big massive huge wedding is happening on Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight, and a lot of people have been asking questions about it. So with out further ado, here is the Frequently Asked Questions, now with bonus answers, and 10% more fibre.
How did you get involved in all of this?
Before getting tickets to the show, there is a questionnaire to fill out. When asked what she would do if prime minister for a day Elyse said she would legalise same sex marriage.
A couple of days before the episode was filmed, Adam Hills gave me a call and asked if I would propose, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Is the show live?
In short no. In long, the show is semi-live to tape. With the format of the show, they would need hundreds more cameras to catch everything, and even if you included the Hubble telescope, there wouldn’t be enough cameras on earth. Instead the show is filmed on a Monday night, and airs two days later on the Wednesday. I would guess the ABC has some editors who see very little sleep during those 48 hours.
Can I come to the wedding?
Unfortunately not. This thing is big, so big in fact there isn’t enough room in the studio for anyone else to be there. But please. Feel free to watch the show, as the ratings will help to push home the point this is something Australia wants.
Who is the celebrant?
Like most things to do with this wedding, and with the show in general, we simply have no idea. If you would like to start a tipping pool, please let me know who is the odds on favourite. The only two things we know are happening on the night is, Adam Ant is playing the music, and 41 couples from all over Australia are going to show the world how much they love each other.
Is the wedding legal?
Unfortunately it isn’t, but we will certainly be updating our Facebook profiles to say married. While it may just be a TV wedding, our commitment to each other is rock solid.
Ok, so if there is anything else you want to know, please ask. At this point though, I would like to thank everyone from the ABC, who are involved with the show, who have been absolutely amazing in how hard they have worked for all of this. I’d also like to thank all the other couples involved. We haven’t met all of you yet, but those we have are truly wonderful people. Everyone is doing this as a positive step forward, and celebrating the love they have for someone special.
Organic Eggs
Thanks to the wonders of ABC iView, I finally got to watch Woodley, the new show by Frank Woodley, formerly of Lano and Woodley.
Just in case I didn’t say it enough in the last sentence…, Woodley.
Ok, so I’ve been a fan of Frank Woodley for many year, through all the various things he does. He is a thoroughly entertaining man, who keeps you on the edge of your seat, because you know he is going to do “something”, and it’s rarely what you expect. So when I first saw on twitter his new show described as “OMGZ Woodley is like the new Mr Bean”, I will admit my alarm bells rang. Thankfully they didn’t ring for long, once I started watching it.
Yes, the show has minimal dialogue, but it’s not because there is no need for it, it’s because we simply don’t go through life talking about every single moment. We don’t need everything explained to us as a running commentary, because we can see it all happening right there in front of us. What the show does is engage the audience, so we become involved with the story, filling in the blanks as we see it, and then later we have those thoughts questioned or confirmed later in the show. Woodley is world class television. It wouldn’t matter if the show as based in Melbourne, Milan, or Manchester, the story would fit the city, and it’s people.
I laughed, I cried, I got drawn in further and further, and felt my time watching the show was well spent. I really hope people don’t look at the few bits of visual humour that happen in the show, and try to find something that correlates with Mr. Bean, then say Woodley is a copy of that. Because if you make that comparison, why not go back and look at the silent cinema era and see the correlations there? It’s visual humour people, and what Woodley is doing, is showing us the things that could happen, not in our wildest imaginations, but if those little 1% things swung the other way.
If you’re looking for entertaining television, something the whole family can watch, even brain dead teenagers who can only grunt, then this is a great show to watch. I may only be one episode in to the show, but I’m hooked, and look forward to many more episodes to come.
Goin’ to the Chappell, and we’re….
Ok, first up, I know it should be Chapel and not Chappell…, or shouldn’t it be? Maybe I am talking about Ian or Greg or Trevor…, no not that Trevor, the other Trevor. You know the one who presents Overnights on the ABC local radio, and never gives out clues to the quiz?
It doesn’t matter, all that is just poor banter and a very flimsy segue into discussing the Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight show, which some of you may have seen last night. I know I didn’t I was stuck at work, but my phone did go wild a few minutes into the show, with people congratulating me on getting engaged to my beautiful girlfriend Elyse.
Yes, that was us, and for all of you who wonder why I don’t post photos of myself here more regularly (if at all), well, you saw the reason in full HD last night, unless you have a standard definition set top box.
So what is it all about? Am I invited to the wedding? Can I be your bridesmaid? What is the square root of pi, times 467, divided by 45 and added to 6?
Well working backwards it’s 24.394, no idea, no idea, and well, we’ll get to that point now.
The whole idea of the proposal happened when Adam called me a couple of days before the show and asked if I would do it. I wouldn’t say I jumped at the chance, but I did think it was a good idea. I’m not about pushing my own image for fame, but I felt that it was worth doing, because even though it is a little thing, it might be the thing that changes the mind of someone out there against same sex marriage.
The other part of it was the week Elyse had been having. With a recent death in her family, and the ensuing funeral, it was a close call as to if this would be a good thing, or not. She knows me quite well, and knows I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally harm her, and at worst, she would have said no and stormed out. That could have made for interesting television, or they would have just cut the segment and that was that. So yes, I felt it was the right thing to do, and Elyse had no idea of what was happening. Her only clue if any, was her ring going missing a couple of days beforehand, and wondering where it got to. For the record, it wasn’t between my boobs for a few days, just an hour or so. I’m thankful it wasn’t, because the box was leaving one hell of a mark.
As for all our friends and friends who have been living in woodwork for many years and see this as an opportunity for them to get their fifteen minutes of fame, we really don’t know what is happening at this point. Television shows just don’t happen, they need to be planned out, so you can have the behind the scenes crew make it happen. At this point in time, we are waiting to hear back from the producers as to how they want to run the show. This is a television wedding, not our actual wedding, because as was pointed out on the show, we can’t legally do that yet. I have some ideas I’d like to discuss with the producers. Nothing over the top, just ideas I had come to me that might work, and make for good television, but at the end of the day, they are running the show not myself or Elyse, and it’s been many years since I did any writing for television.
I’m also sure many of our friends will complain that we didn’t tell them what was happening, or what is going to happen. Well the truth there is, most of the time we don’t know what is happening ourselves, and what we do know would be pointless to say before it happens, as we don’t want to ruin the show.
Last of all, Adam Hills and all the team who are involved with the show should be thanked for what has happened so far. On the social media I have only seen one complaint, but many hundreds of people supporting what happened. Personally (and I’m sure Elyse will agree with this), I’m not out there to try and bring down any church, or ruin religion for all, or any other fire and brimstone thing you can think of. All I want to show is that two people who love each other very much, and want to spend the rest of their lives together, can’t legally be recognised to be doing just that in this country. I’m not trying to stop churches from only marrying people they choose to in their church. I’m not trying to force people to marry someone they don’t want to marry, regardless of gender. All I want is the same rights for every Australian, regardless of who they are. Hopefully our little television wedding can help bring that a step closer to being reality.
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