I liked episode 1 of The Hollowmen. A lot. Episode 2, um, not so much. That was the one about making some relic of the past pollie Ambassador to Ireland. Sure, it had it’s moments. But it was kinda like one long joke, where you have to wait 20 minutes for the punch line (Kochie style!) However, I hung in there. And if you didn’t, you missed some of the most brilliant satirical comedy we’ve ever produced.

ABC1 screened two 6-episode series back-to-back, which was a mistake – I’m sure that decision caused many viewers to fall by the wayside before the later eps. Episode 4 of Season 2, Vulnerable to Attack was perhaps the best of the lot:

Ian, in grave voice: “We have got a problem.”

Murph: “Right?”

Ian: “Involving National Security.”

Murph, sounding concerned: “Right?”

Ian: “Information’s come to hand indicating there’s a strong risk that we could be in danger of being attacked.”

Murph: “Jesus Christ! Do we know who’s behind it?”

Tony: “What d’you mean?”

Murph: “Like, is it a terrorist cell or –”

Tony: “What are you talking about?”

Murph: “Who’s going to attack us?”

Tony: “The Opposition! Who were you talking about?”

Murph, after long pause: “Ah, sorry.”

Tony: “Mate, this is serious – the PM is –. We’re vulnerable to attack, is the point.”

Murph, with sigh of relief: “Right.”

Tony: “I mean, for some reason National Security as an issue has just fallen off the public radar.”

Mel: “What I’d give for a bomb-blast!”

Surprised looks

Mel: “No one killed – just to get it back on the radar.”

The group discusses the problem

Tony: “You know, you want people to feel scared and secure at the same time.”

What a great line. It’s exactly what Dr. Nigel Spivey sees as imbuing the crucifix with such power in the BBC series How Art Made the World. The believer is scared by the imagery of torture, with its association with Hell, and feels secure through the dying for our sins bit, with the promise of redemption after death in Heaven. And this certainly isn’t a trick lost on governments, either – it’s the favoured way of getting draconian legislation passed without a revolt. Want to pass the Patriot Act? Simple – just scare the public with the spectre of terrorism and reassure them with how much safer they’ll be if they no longer have the right to trial!

Mel’s comment is, um, explosive, too. And later during the ep Tony talks about letting in some terrorists, then passes it off as a joke when he sees there isn’t backing for the idea. If a wheat supplier can accept bribes from a military dictator, it does make you wonder what our government is capable of. Fortunately, I think the answer is not nearly the same level of malevolence as the US one. But we should never get complacent – or rather we should stop being complacent! Anyway, back to the story.

Phillip comes up with a proposal for massive cutbacks across the sprawling defence departments. Tony, horrified, says in a private meeting “You sack so much as one sniffer-dog and the headline’ll be ‘PM soft on Terror’!” and goes on “We should be handing out cheques like star-knives!” His Central Policy Unit eventually comes up with the idea of creating an additional defence agency, the umbrella Australian Homeland Security Agency. The episode ends with a preview of the new Government ad that’s been put together to spruik it to the Australian people:

Male voiceover, in reassuring tone: “There’s never been a more important time for vigilance. That’s why beginning [Insert Date Here] the Federal Government have moved to set up The Australian Homeland Security Agency. It’ll co-ordinate all arms of our Intelligence and protective services. It’ll keep us even more secure. The Australian Homeland Security Agency. Protecting you; protecting us all.”

The ad is scheduled to be aired before the upcoming Federal Election. Improved security? For Tony’s job, you betcha.

Images: ABC

Wil Anderson is a troubled soul. His relationship with partner Amy, just shy of seven years, has ended, and Wil is very obviously poleaxed.

This evening, I caught his low key stand-up show, Wil Anderson – A Work In Progress at Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. To coin an overused adjective, it was hilarious. But also desperately and inescapably poignant. The publicity for the gig warned that it wouldn’t all be funny. (Wil’s putting together material for his forthcoming show BeWILdered, and the gigs at Wollongong, Belgrave and Canberra are new material tryouts.) No warnings, though, about Wil’s anguish, nor his lashing out. At one point he laid into a bar wench (sorry, bar staff assistant) who was clattering the bottles she was collecting. And at the end he kinda attacked the whole crowd, by saying that the evening had been no help in putting the new show together.

So, am I warning you away from BeWILdered? Absolutely not! The best creativity comes from deep within the emotional core; the best humour from pain, humiliation and anger. Wil’s new material has a dark edge, an acid bite and a ruthless honesty. The result is a performance with substance and meaning, as you get a tangible sense of his struggle to do what most of us can relate to – try to pick up the pieces of a shattered life.

Oh, and after seeing the show, you’ll never be able to watch Lleyton Hewitt doing his ‘c'mon’ gesture without rafflwaffling your ass off!!!

BeWILdered is on at the Sydney Opera House in March and Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April – tour dates here.

Andrew G. What a talentless waste of space. Paid money to read autocues on lightweight TV shows because he rates well in the teenybopper demographic. In a little over three months, Andrew G, capably accompanied by Kyle “I can’t stick more than two days in the BB House, so I’m going to bail and blame it on a headache” Sandilands, is going to ruin the Big Brother experience for scores of loyal fans around the Country. In the meantime, he’s decided to sully the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

For my money, the highlight of Ten’s NYE programs was Sarah Blasko’s performance of Planet New Year. The great live artists put spontaneity and new expression into pieces they’ve sung a thousand times before, and so it was with Sarah’s performance. Something special. And afterwards?

Fuzzy: “The ARIA Award -winning Miss Sarah Blasko there, with Planet New Year.”

Andrew G: “Absolutely. And obviously pocket protectors the look for 2008.”

Yeah, this from the tool who seems to exclusively wear poncy, polyester-look suits – even at live, open-air gigs on balmy midsummer nights at Sydney Harbour.

So Sarah Blasko puts her all into her performance, and the show’s co-host makes a cheap snipe to which she has no opportunity to respond. Pathetic, cowardly, and sucking the positive vibes from New Year’s.

Sarah Blasko can carry off a style like that because she has the sort of charisma and magic that Andrew G can only dream of.

Images: Network Ten