★★★★★ 0/5

Flag at half-mast over ABC comedy

So what did viewers think of the ABC's At Home with Julia scene? The media says they were outraged. On Twitter they kinda liked it.

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The At Home with Julia flag controversy has been all the rage. It led Nine News last night. It had been talked about all week on breakfast shows, talkback radio and in print media.

The PM had told ABC Radio she had better things to do than watch it. Defenders of the flag, parents of deceased serviceman, Treasurer Wayne Swan, and National Party MPs were outraged. There were calls to slash ABC funding (thankfully not from the Treasurer).

Headlines this week have ranged from “Viewers see no funny side with ABC show At Home with Julia” to “At Home With Julia sex scene critics should get a life.”

Under pressure from media outrage, ABC had released a photo of the offending scene but stuck to its plans to air the third of four episodes. A spokesperson said, “If it’s OK for others to drape themselves in our flag for all manner of occasions, I really don’t see why it can’t be draped over our prime minister as a symbol of love.”

I’ve never subscribed to the idea that the show is disrespectful to the Office of the PM. Being able to laugh at ourselves is part of who we are as a nation. In contrast to some countries where “saving face” is paramount, we wear it like a badge of honour.

So was it all worth it? The point of the scene appeared to be about two characters who had been at odds, making up in a spontaneous and romantic way. Undoubtedly that could have been achieved with a different scene. If the intent was to push the boundaries, it certainly did that. Comedy has, after all, been full of taboos.

Despite the talking point, other scenes were a hoot, especially the garden party with Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, Julie Bishop and Wayne Swan. And what of the final scene when a disillusioned T-bone walks out on Jules? Are fans now hoping that our love-struck couple can repair their rift? Maybe leave the flag out this time….

And after all that, on Twitter last night the show wasn’t even trending, unlike Glee which was going gaga for Darren Criss (Blaine) and the show’s return.

eebzzub
PS. I thought At Home With Julia was tasteless and unfunny. So I didn’t watch. #justsaying

EmmaMcBryde
#At Home With Julia is classic!

benisjammin
Good on the abc for standing up to people complaining about at home with Julia sex scene has australia lost it’s sense of humour?

xander85
Okay so if the flag thing on “At home with Julia” is offensive? Then ban flag bikini’s!! WTF Get Over It!!

untled_tek
man, At home with Julia was gold tonight!

e_football
@KevCorduroy I really didn’t see anything wrong with At Home With Julia – best episode yet.

lolasauras_rex
At home with Julia, not that funny actually

loupascale
The best thing At Home With Julia has going for it are the other comedians imitating our pollies. #ABC

Kontrabasse
At home with julia was good tonight, ah of only the real Julia was more like her

amaturewriter
Now watching at home with julia…a tad offended but also a tad amused

27 Responses

  1. The phone hacking press (news unlimited) like to whip up a frenzy over anything involving gillard. if it was the unhinged one (abbott) they’d print he was being a good patriot FFS!

  2. I really hope this comes out on DVD as I find it very funny,unlike a lot of people who seem to have no Sense Of Humour.
    I remember Spitting Image in the UK & Spitting Image was far more offensive than At Home With Julia.
    We now live in such a PC World where so many people have no sense of Fun,Humour & risk taking in comedy.
    Get A Life You Stupid People.

  4. Folks upset about a show parodying our PM obviously don’t remember (or aren’t old enough to remember) Rubbery Figures, The Gillies Report, and anything else that sent up a sitting PM. Or Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s That’s My Bush.

    At any rate, all the hysteria surrounding the flag scene has come from non-ABC media outlets. Nothing like a little bashing of the competition, eh?

  5. OMG! That was the offensive scene? I didn’t even notice until I read this page? Does this mean wen should ban the flag pattern on underwear and morph suits too?
    this is so a non issue

  6. I recorded Gruen and The Movie Show and pretended the garbage in the middle didn’t exist.
    One promo of the show was enough for me – I can’t bear the sound of our PM’s voice, and never voluntarily listen to it.
    However, I thought the whole idea of a comedy based on our current PM was disrespectful.
    Not sorry if that makes me a prude in some people’s eyes.
    Bogans?

  8. So… a bunch of racist boofheads gathering to p*ss all over everything that makes Australia great while drapped in the flag in Cornella in 2006 Nine and Alan Jones have no problem with.

    But 2 to 5 minutes (Don’t know the exact length, wasn’t watching) out of a 25 satire of Australian politics manages to get the dander up.

    I think the real story should be the serious lack of moral fiber on the part of certain sections of the media.

  10. Last night’s ep was the funniest and best Australian TV I have seen in a very long time! Shows that breach the TV regulations like ACA are still om the air, so this shouldn’t be any different – and it hasn’t breached anything.

  11. Good show. the Julia Gillard charachter is still thw weakest. The bit players are brilliant each week. Bob Katter in the first ep is still the best. But Rudd and Keating last night were just brilliant

  15. There are much worse things on tv. There are Much worst things being done with the australian flag (being worn as boxer shorts & bikinis, draped over the shoulders at the cronulla riots, for example). The “sex scene” was just a non centender for the best moment in the episode.

    Rudd was perfect (the web cam conference was excellent), but i think the best scene was when Julia reminded abbott he had to keep a 3 metre distance (or was it 3 feet?). I felt sorry for t-bag. Another great scene was when one of the kids was about to do the ‘L’ loser sign, but one of the other kids stopped him. Brilliant!

    I’d like to know what the ratings were for the show.

  16. People just want to be outraged – they need controversy to fuel their mundane lives. Nine Lead the news with this story ie. This was apparently the most important thing that happened yesterday.

    It just seems like really good publicity from the ABC. They obviously leaked the storyline and pictures to get a reaction – and everyone’s fallen for it! We’ll see if they get ratings because of it.

  17. Easily the funniest episode to date, though i did feel sorry for TimTam.
    A great use of what is an ordinary flag, and get amused when listening to people effected by it’s use in the show. You need therapy not talkback.

  19. Seriously has this country Totally lost their sense of humour ?

    I am guessing that most of these so-called ‘outraged’ people are the sort of people who didn’t even watch it in the first place.

  20. All this controversy over a 2min piece – should get about 1.5m watching it now. I thought it was the most consistent show in the series. The bloke who played Keating was brilliant; Abbott and Rudd weren’t bad and the water spilling gags with Swanny were good but Julie Bishop – that didn’t work at all. Again it was not the humour but the uncomfortable and awkward silence after the engagement announcement that made the show – Lloyd was great while Julia just didn’t get it – the writers got the satire spot on last night.

    And as for the sex scene – it didn’t rate a mention. Bill peeing on Julia was more of a highlight.

  21. Personally I thought the so called sex scene was pretty tame compared to some we see on TV these days & it was not very long. The use of the flag was premeditated as it was taken from The PM’s office for their little romp of course. I can see why some would be offended by this, but I do wonder if feelings would have been running so hot if a flag sheet or quilt purchased from a Manchester Department was used for this scene ? Apart from that I did find the political satire well written & acted, liked the attention to detail given to the voices, looks & characters of the other players.

  22. Biggins as Keating was brilliantly scathing.

    The flag scene managed to get the publicity the show needed and shortly we’ll see if it paid off for the ABC.

    I thought the dog p*ssing on the PM at the conclusion was a little off – which is a surprising reaction from me as:

    1) this is the worst government in Australia’s history – even more conniving and destructive than Whitlam’s era – and I don’t trust Gillard.

    2) I hate yappy little dogs.

  23. I’m yet to watch the ep, recorded it as too much else on but I say get a life! There are plenty of worse things on TV and lots of worse things have been done to the flag and other national flags in the name of entertainment. As for the calls for the ABCs funding to be slashed well that’s just stupid, I thought the ABC was independent from government influence should they now have to run programing choices through the PMs office for approval.

    I’m sure Julia got a chuckle out of it, ah to be a fly on the wall.

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