The White Room
In the premiere of Seven's new game show, everybody was trying hard to get the laughs. Very, very hard...
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Programming, Reviews
“If you are glued to the TV right now, you either have great taste, or ar the victim of a terrible prank,” said Tony Moclair.
I’m picking the second, Tony.
And I’d like to buy a vowel, please.
The White Room, Seven’s answer to Spicks and Specks and Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation and Good News Week has arrived following rapid promos and no previews. It’s simple format sees comedians divided into two teams answering television trivia questions and games to the two hosts, Tony Moclair and Julian Schiller.
The genre is one Seven has been hungry to become a player in since the demise of Todd McKenney’s You May Be Right and Celebrity Spelling Bee and Glenn Robbins’ Out of the Question. Andrew O’Keefe also dabbled briefly with a more variety-driven vehicle with This is Your Laugh.
Dwarfed by a huge white-filled studio, the panellists and guests included Dave Thornton, Felicity Ward, George McEncroe, Lawrence Mooney, Fifi Box and Luke Jacobz. All were trying hard to get the laughs in the premiere episode. Very hard…
Aiding and abetting the game play were television clips, mostly nostalgic, providing a visual support to the static studio presentation. While it wasn’t all Seven shows, much of the other footage appeared to be either ABC shows or YouTube quality clips of rival network shows. SBS didn’t appear to crack a look in at all, while Foxtel shows were only referenced for footage of international titles such as The Wonder Years and Blue Heelers (a Hallmark rather than a Seven logo here).
Like rival shows, games were built around singing, linking objects (wearing a blindfold, the panellists correctly felt their way around a bunch of bones must be the answer to Bones) and even interpreting a dodgy dance quartet.
So if Spicks and Specks can be so damned successful at an entire game show built around music, where’s the harm in another show around TV itself?
There were several problems here. The cold set is so big as to leave the players shouting at one another. Everybody felt the need to come up with a punchline. And 60 minutes is just far, far too long. Why do commercial networks always feel the need to stretch a 22 minute idea to 44? Generation gets away with it thanks to its acerbic host, who is brilliantly deriding the game at the same time as celebrating it. Were Micallef sincere it would be a whole different ball game.
The cast also seemed so busy amongst themselves to play to the studio audience.
The White Room has also taken a risk in casting largely unknowns in the show. But in the 7:30 slot it may have benefitted from a little star power and more development of its gameplay. Humility goes a long way in this genre, too.
The real key to the success of Spicks and Specks is its charming host and the good company of its players. You’d be happy to have them around for a dinner party and reminisce about music.
If I invited this lot around I reckon I’d be lucky to get a word in anywhere. And I actually like telly…
The White Room airs 7:30pm Thursdays on Seven.
Share
- Tagged with The White Room
101 Responses
It should have been hosted by Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee.
In fact, you could probably slip them in halfway through an episode, and visually many people wouldn’t even realise, but suddenly the show’s energy and humour would skyrocket.
Birddoggy – i agree. Ch7 and laughs don’t go together. Thats the problem when your whole network image is based on sweetness. You can never really have a sharp and biting comedy – it will always be safe and outdated jokes about budgie smugglers or leaving the toilet seat up.
I liked it, but don’t think it really sustained itself well over an hour.
Cut it to a half an hour show with one host (AOK could be the host) and bring back TV Burp!
Good review, David. You got all the main points in there, like the set, the length, the lack of humour, and the talking over everyone else.
I also didn’t think Julian Schiller was very good as a host. He is/was very funny on The 7pm Project, but now that he’s reading off an autocue, he seems a lot more rigid and contrived.
Another Tim Worner falied local production.
Saw a glimpse of Fifi Box and turned off instantly. Why do these shows always have the same lame ‘personalities’?
terrible…will be gone in 2 weeks
I forgot to say that the Stubbs show was called The Great TV Game Show.
I know everyone here is probably too young to remember, but Richard Stubbs did an identical show on TEN back in 1989, which in turn was based on the MTV show Remote Control from 1987. Ian McFadyen produced. Is everything considered a new idea if it hasn’t been done in the past ten years?
I agree with others about bringing back TV Burp. That show was short sharp and had a funny host.
The review is spot on. The set is so cheap-looking I thought I was watching the ABC or even SBS! Having said that, the set for Spicks & Specks is much brighter and warmer. And you’re right: without someone of Micallef’s genius, one hour is far too long! I don’t think this show will bother us for long.
Crap.
Gave it 5mins and that was just too much to handle. Watching it last night, we gave it two weeks. 7 always trys to get their slice of this genre and fail miserably. Two hosts?? Name plates?? What??
It was ok to say the least, Cougar Town isn’t much better.
Why do they even bother? Its on a crap night for tv…anyone notice they put the shows that won’t do well on a Thursday?
I give it a month.
Definitely agree this will be bumped to a later timeslot asap. I only watched 25 minutes of the show and already I feel as guilty and embarrassed as a pack a day smoker that’s just had my left testicle removed.
After seeing a commercial for it with no sound, that put me off. It looked very lowest common denominator. Give me Stephen Fry’s QI anyday. It has real comedians, and you can actually learn from watching it. Australia could never make a QI, it would not work withe the “celebrities” we have.
I wonder – is there enough comedians in Australia to support another show like this… between ABC and Ten’s shows almost every A, B and C grade comedian is used.
Wow that was bad. It was horrible to look at the set looked like some kind of huge ice tray, the “contestants” all seemed to be talking over the top of each other which was distracting. Tony Moclair clearly was born without a personality Ill give this show three weeks til we see this show at 10:30
I only saw the first half hour as I switched over to watch Spicks and Specks on ABC2 (Kitty Flanagan was hilarious on that, by the way). What I saw I didn’t mind. Yeah, it only needs one host and it should only go for 30mins. And it appears I’m the only one who really liked the set.
I’d like to see tv burp back- sure it wasn’t the best show out there, but there were at least some great moments.
Most people who saw it (myself included) probably didn’t realize it was an hour time-slot until it was too late.
I think it would work beter with Andrew Daddo as host.
OMG, this was just awful!!!
meh…. it was ok, needs work- pilot quality at best
Why did it have two hosts? That seemed unnecessary.
Strange as this may sound, I think it needs a little more intellectualism. The first few years of Spicks and Specks they stuck rigidly to the game show format, with only the occasional diversion. It has earned its constant meandering now. But you can’t start out that way in the first episode of a new show.
It is trying way too hard to be outrageous and clever. Of course, Shaun Micallef has been guilty of that in his past attempts at TV, but something with TBYG just clicked for him this time. He didn’t force it, but the White Room, unfortunately, is forcing it.
Having said that, it wasn’t awful. And it needs to be given time to find its feet. It might sort itself out, and soon we’ll get used to it. It may grow on me.