0/5

This is Littleton premiere

A reminder that ABC2's new sketch series premieres tonight.

2014-02-09_1643A reminder that ABC2’s new comedy series This is Littleton premieres tonight.

The 4 part sketch series unveils a new raft of emerging comedy talent. I’m not sure it’s necessarily putting its best foot forward, but you can make up your own mind at 9:30pm.

This is Littleton is set in the thriving hub of the fictitious City of Littleton – in and around the town hall. It’s a place where hipster Daniel (Miles O’Neil) can book a venue for his exhibition of beards. It’s where a mother, Raelene (Melinda Cklamvoska), comes to use the free wifi to skype her daughter in a Bali prison, and where middle-class rapper Disco (Matt Okine) has court-ordered counselling and contests parking fines he’s incurred in his mother’s luxury car. It’s where buskers come to audition for permits and fornicating hoons retrieve impounded WRXs. From permits and animal control to choir practice and support groups, Littleton’s town hall is a hive of activity, with loveably flawed characters just trying to get on in life.

Visitors to the town hall will encounter employees, councillors and local residents including DJ Sweetlove (Zachary Ruane) the music-and-coffee-loving planning officer; Krystal (Morgana O’Reilly), the inappropriate dance instructor; Abigail (Jackson Tozer) who runs the book club for troubled tweens and Tahina (Adele Vuko) the delightfully narcissistic receptionist, plus many more. They are affectionate portraits of the diverse characters we encounter in the streets, at family gatherings and occasionally on commercial current affairs shows.

With a well-developed world, layered characterisations and a dash of song, This is Littleton is a fresh, modern take on the traditional character-based sketch comedy.

In the first episode, when troubled rapper Disco (Matt Okine) attends his court ordered counselling session, he’s determined not to let the ‘system’ break him down. She may be self-obsessed, but mum Raelene still finds time in her busy week to skype her daughter Mandy – who is holed up in a Bali prison on drug charges.

A besieged resident visits the planning officer, DJ Sweetlove, to try to stop a tower being built on the neighbouring block. Sexy dance instructor Krystal raises eyebrows with her latest dance moves. And elderly Greek companions, Vasili (Vachel Spirason) and Stedios (Steen Raskopoulos), grapple with mobile phones and the perplexing behaviour of snapchat. Meanwhile, the Littleton Women’s Choir rehearses Battle Hymn of the Republic.

9:30pm Thursday, 20 February ABC2

2 Responses

Leave a Reply