0/5

First Review: Good News Week

The ABC recently tried to revive the format of The Big Gig via The Sideshow with Paul McDermott hosting. But weighed down by dumb timeslots and timeslot classifications it never really had the shot at glory it deserved. So how will TEN fare by bringing back Good News Week? After all it’s been a good eight years between headlines…

The show has deliberately sought to return to the familiar: set, format and panels -well, as closely as they could get them. Comedian Claire Hooper has replaced Julie McCrossin. In every other aspect the show clearly didn’t want to jump the shark.

By and large the show worked well, almost as if it had never disappeared. Paul McDermott remains the astute, acerbic, edgy ringmaster for which he has become famous. He looked alive and excited to be back on familiar turf.

A trimmed down Mikey Robbins showed he had lost none of his rapid-fire wit (ok we know some of the gags are written, but he has a way of pulling them off). Alongside on-screen mate McDermott they are a dynamic duo.

The jury is still out on Team Captain Claire Hooper. McCrossin’s “little” shoes are indeed big to fill, and last night she was trying too hard to claim her role. The fat gag at the expense of Mikey Robbins seemed so 2000. The Amy Winehouse running gags were also ill-timed given Winehouse had just won 5 Grammys hours earlier. In time, she will hopefully settle in.

The brilliant Frank Woodley and The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel proved worthy panellists, but what did Pat Cash have to offer? He was sluggish and lacked attack -a worrying performance in between McDermott and Robbins.

The games and sketches were terrific fun, and reminded us what we had all missed. A new federal government should also deliver the writers plenty of fresh targets. Whether the show thrives long term in between TEN commercial breaks remains to be seen. Heck, one cross-promo even became part of the game when Jensen Ackles from Supernatural made an appearance. Thank god McDermott didn’t persist with any touchy-feely interview.

I enjoyed seeing GNW back on the box. If as they say we have the Writer’s Strike to thank for this then it was worth some pain. My only fear now is Daryl Somers may have been watching. If this show is back and working, what are we in for next?

Good News Week airs 8:30pm Mondays on TEN.

14 Responses

  1. What an absolutele load of crap! Complete rubbish from people who want everyone to think they are anarchists and who posess a higher intelligence and eventually show their true coulours with only schoolyard humour acheived.

  2. Spot on David. We writers work for GNW-TV, who have a contract with whichever network. Recently that’s been The Sideshow and The Glass House, though even then we were doing some work for Ten like the Comedy Festival debates.

    The show was shot in the ABC studios because (as far as I know) Channel 10 didn’t have any suitable studios of their own available.

    As for the strange credit directing people to ten.com.au for the ABC studio staff I’m as confused as anyone. Being interstate from the main action means I’m often confused.

    But the idea that “the ABC is doing all the work” is not right. It’s the good people at GNW-TV.

  3. It was Ok. Mikey Robbins seems to have developed a stutter in the last few years and it not as funny. Claire Hooper, did not like her whiney voice and slow delivery on The Sideshow, and don’t like her on GNW. was an avid watcher before… won’t be now. I prefer Nighcap, but get rid of Zach

  4. I think you will find the writers are employed on a contract basis by GNW Productions rather than being “ABC writers”, though they certainly have a track record of writing for ABC shows.

    Over to you Warwick…. 😉

  5. The show was:
    * filmed at the ABC studios in Sydney;
    * written by ABC writers; and
    * produced by the ABC production staff
    but broadcast on Network Ten!

    So ABC does all the work but Ten gets all the viewers!

    “That’s the good news” for Ten at least.

  6. I loved the show it brought back xome fond memories I must agree though it did start a bit rusty.

    @ neonkitten
    I read somewhere that GNW is produced by ABC for Ten and the writers are all Glass House, Sideshow etc.

    Leths hope it gets better and better

  7. Girl Clumsy, I think the reason Hooper is there is not so much for her attractiveness as it is that she was one of the most popular regulars on The Sideshow (she had her own segment every week) and obviously gets on well with Paul McDermott – they have a good rapport.

    Of all the Sideshow team, she seemed the most upset it was being axed aside from McDermott himself, so I’m glad they brought her across to GNW as part of the regular cast.

  8. Agree with your review but I don’t think Hooper will get better once she settles in; I just don’t think she’s funny (or attractive for that matter).

    This is my first FTA commercial show I’ve watched in some time and I forget how annoying the ads are. And they just don’t suit fast paced “quiz” shows like this. Spicks, Mock The Week, Buzzcocks, etc are all so much better without ads.

    Looking forward to next week!

    James

  9. It was weird to see the Mikey part of the equation back but not the Julie part. The cynic in me couldn’t help but wonder if Claire Hooper’s attractiveness was more attractive to the young, hip Channel 10 style than McCrossin would be. Another example of why not to be a woman in television, perhaps? 😉

    I haven’t seen much of Hooper (rarely caught The Sideshow), but from all I have read she’s quite a talented comedian – hopefully she will settle in and hold her own. It would be a shame to see her out-joked and out-shouted by Paul and Mikey, or her team-mates.

    I feel rather strange about the show being back, though. It was such an integral part of my late teens. Sadly my schoolgirl crush on Paul McDermott has long since faded. 😉

  10. As McDermott said at the start, “it’s usually a lot better than this”! First-episode nerves were inevitable.

    The bad joke timing on Amy Winehouse wasn’t Claire Hooper’s fault – the show was pre-recorded. Regardless, the joke about Winehouse being like “a stripper at Frankenstein’s buck’s party” was priceless 🙂

    I think Claire Hooper, when she’s let loose to be herself, is wonderful – hilarious but subtle and nicely out-there. I was delighted to see her joining the panel, as when The Sideshow ended I knew above all else I’d miss two things – burlesque multi-talent Imogen Kelly, and Hooper. So I got half back 🙂

    For me, it was Frank Woodley who fell flat. And did anyone notice that when they showed a picture of Odyssey House’s James Pitts, Woodley blurted out something like “is that Peter Garrett after he’s t…” and there was an abrupt edit. Hmm.

    Great to see GNW in HD, by the way. But what was that credit at the end:

    ABC Television Crew
    (see http://www.ten.com.au)

    ..all about?

  11. I found the first half hour a little tiresome while the panel tried to get their mojo back. The second half was brilliant though once everyone started to relax. Agree on Pat Rafter. Dead rubber.

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