Wil Anderson: “Bring back Tonightly, bring back The Big Gig”
Wil Anderson this week was asked what ABC shows he would like to see revived or rebooted?
- Published by David Knox
- on
Comedy king Wil Anderson this week was asked on The ABC Of what shows he would like to see revived or rebooted.
“I would like to say, bring back The Big Gig? Absolutely 100%. I think there should be a show on the ABC like The Big Gig. And the other one that is in that zone is Tonightly. The ABC should always have a show like that. The investment that you’re putting in those performers, even if the show itself doesn’t work, those people are going to take those skill sets and take them off to make so many great other things. So bring back Tonightly, bring back The Big Gig,” he said.
The Big Gig, with Wendy Harmer, Jean Kittson, The Doug Anthony All Stars, Glynn Nicholas, Empty Pockets , Flacco, Anthony Ackroydand ran from 1989 – 199. Tonightly hosted by Tom Ballard ran 160 live episodes across 2017 – 2018.
Interviwewer David Wenham then asked, “If you’re in the ABC, what would be the first thing you change?”
“The first thing that I would change is that I think the ABC needs to get its swagger back,” said Anderson.
“The ABC should always be facts first. And facts don’t have a political side. If the facts suit one political side over the other political side, then who cares? We’re the ABC. We should be the the big boys in the room. We should be the people who are setting the agenda. We should be the ones who are saying ‘We’ve got all the best talent, and we’re taking the risk and we’re the ones that you can always come to for facts and don’t let anybody else tell you differently. And if they do, we will prove that these are facts and those people are lying because they want you to believe something else.'”
“Hear hear,” added Wenham.
Share
- Tagged with The ABC of, The Big Gig, Tonightly
10 Responses
I loved The Big Gig and Good News Week, but found Tonightly too much an unwatchable left wing woke lecture.
I saw a repeat of this interview today. I really enjoyed it. As a result, I second the suggestion to return The Big Gig. Oh, and Good News Week too!! 😉
If we are talking about any ABC show, I still want The Checkout to return.
It was mandatory viewing for every Australian in my opinion.
It’s a travesty that show got canned. It honestly had to be because they were doing a social benefit that people didn’t like.
It depends on the quality of the comedy and cast. That’s evident in shows like The Big Gig. Ten often have stand-up comedy shows, but they aren’t overly notable. Variety works well in shows, like The Sideshow or In Siberia Tonight. Great shows but they didn’t rate well. Probably a marketing failure. Get these factors correct, including a great production team, then variety comedy could be revived and succeed.
I liked Tonightly and think Tom Ballard is likeable, but unfortunately the show and views were too biased for my liking. When it comes to so called facts, well facts can be twisted or obfuscated to present a view or agenda, and are prone to missing information that is critical in what is stated as facts. The best comedy is just comedy and isn’t focused on politics or facts. Facts can be prone to politics. I’m very much turned off by comedy shows like The Daily Show and The Last Leg because of politics and they restrict their potential audiences.
You do realise both the Greeks and Shakespeare took aim at politics and they seem to have done ok? So did the Big Gig. But comedy is subjective.
Yes politics and societal issues. It’s an outlet to share the topics in a humorous way. I think comedians like Tom Ballard, Adam Hills, Trevor Noah etc. are likeable and I really want to like shows like Tonightly, The Last Leg or The Daily Show, but they’re tainted by the mostly one-sided political allegiances or the woke factor. It’s not a platform where the viewers can interject unless you’re in the physical audience and can try to heckle, and that’s frowned upon and can lead to trouble. I’m thinking they haven’t considered this or that, then instead of enjoying it, I become annoyed and think I’m too smart for this. If it’s political, it should have a proper balance if they are wanting the best possible ratings. Even Dave Chappelle’s anti-woke comedy alienates some of the potential audiences.
It was a shame that The Side Show was axed/not renewed/”rested”. It was The Big Gig 2.0
There was footage from The Big Gig in the 90th Anniversary show, so ABC still have some, maybe all.
I would love for these episodes to be replayed.
I wouldn’t care if it 2:00 am on one of the secondary channels, or on iview.
We do need good comedy like Wil suggested
Or air classic eps of shows like that, Late Show..etc