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The Stafford Brothers

What do you get when you put two buff, Aussie DJs on a Eurotour in a Reality series produced by a former Big Brother housemate?

I am officially uncool.

I had never heard of The Stafford Brothers prior to the publicity material and Foxtel preview disk landing on my desk. Note to self: You are well and truly out of the loop.

Chris and Matt Stafford are two Gold Coast-based DJs who have hit the big time, touring nightclubs in Australia and overseas.

Now they are starring in their own six part Reality series for FOX8 as they mix work and play before a glamorous backdrop. The series tagline is “What happens on tour, no longer stays on tour.”

Not knowing anything about these two boys, I watched the first episode from  a clean slate.

The opening sequence introduces us, briefly, to the cast: Matt (pictured, left) and Chris (pictured, right) Joey their outspoken manager, Brooke the Zoo cover girlfriend of Matt, plus Mum Trish and Dad John.

The series promises to take us on a dizzying tour as the boys play Spain, Greece, Ireland, the UK and the US. Sun, sex, loud music…. Ibiza -you are in for a dose of the Aussies with cameras, mum, dad and partying girlfriend.

Matt and Chris look like they have it all. They are young, handsome, buff and talented. At a relatively young age they are already living it up in a swanky Gold Coast apartment, with sexy girlfriend (or girlfriends), adoring fans, proud parents, and a career that sees them doing what they love.

But before they embark on their tour drama hits -sort of. Well, mother Trish first has to attend a funeral for her mother in New Zealand. The boys shed a tear as they remember their grandmother. It’s a curiously low point to start the storytelling, but it is presumably showing us a soft side to the party boys.

When they eventually head off, entourage Trish and John are also taking off on their first visit to Europe. They could make good fish-out-of water value.

Manager Joey (who clearly has some Latin blood in him) isn’t afraid to speak his mind. He is protective of his property but unafraid to let rip.

“I’m never gonna blow you up before a performance because it’s going to throw you but it doesn’t mean I won’t chew you a new a*sehole when it’s all over,” he tells the boys.

And then there is blonde, buxom Brooke, who is rapt to be with her man on tour. This cover girl talks a lot but unlike Jessica Simpson it’s not especially endearing. At least Jessica Simpson had a proven track record. On screen Brooke serves the role of annoying girlfriend who borders on cashed-up bogan.

But the real problem with The Stafford Brothers lays in the storytelling. The opening episode lacks enough drama to sustain its thirty minutes. Nor is there any humour, both of which may have been delivered with more camera time to supporting players. A few sunny beach shots, partying girl and boys may make for an escapist backdrop, but more so for participant than observer.

The Stafford Brothers is produced by Wes Dening, one time Big Brother participant who has done well as a presenter on Totally Wild and TEN News. The Big Brother house would have been a great training ground for the machinations of Reality TV and watching how constructs by Producers elicit heightened reactions to propel Story. Hopefully there will be more evidence of this as the series unfolds.

The Stafford Brothers seem like nice guys, which is a good place for any television show to start. And they are clearly good at what they do. The question now is whether that’s enough to warrant their own Reality series.

At least I know who they are now. Note to self: You’re now a little bit more in the loop than you were before.

The Stafford Brothers premieres 8:35pm Friday January 21st on FOX8.

15 Responses

  1. This sounds f***ing painful.

    Like Jersey Shore but replace the painful, over-the top, crass Americans with boring, talentless, pill-popping jukeboxes from the Gold Coast.

  2. These guys are my local party starters and I’ve been following them for years. I dont know any other djs that go harder than these two. Behind the decks but most of all at the afterparties. overseas or at home on the coast these guys never leave a yager bottle half finished!!!

  3. I love the Stafford Brothers. Especially Chris. Great dj’s. But i know they have a lot of haters unfortunately. And unfortunately i don’t have Foxtel, but i’m over reality crap anyway. I can’t believe people my age watch Jersey Shore. I guess i just grew up.

  4. Secret Squirrel, these guys are very very small fish in an ocean of good tallent. About the only thing going for them locally (as in the GC) is that they are “local”. Yeah they play some of the local festivals, but only because there isn’t much “half decent” local talent kicking around. Personal opinion of corse, but i doubt this show will be entertaining in any way.

  5. David, this loop that you, I, and prob a whole bunch of others are out of is actually tiny. Like so many ten-minute heroes, these guys maybe good at what they do, but they are just medium-sized fish in a very small pond.

    Your assessment that the GF comes off second-best when compared with the vacuous Ms Simpson doesn’t exactly sell this show to me either.

  6. Not enough drama or humour for a half hour show? Sounds dangerously light on to me, perhaps Wes should have hired some of those old BB producers to help generate some content.

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