Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth
Encyclopedia
Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth was a 2011 Australian comedy television series produced by FremantleMedia
which aired on the Nine Network
. The program was performed and broadcast live as a sketch comedy and variety show. Comedian Ben Elton
presented the program and performed some stand-up
material, with the sketches performed by an ensemble cast including Paul McCarthy
and Genevieve Morris
. After critical reviews, hostile social media reaction and poor ratings, the Nine Network cancelled the show after three episodes had aired.
Genevieve Morris played celebrity interviewer Elaine Front in one of the show's regular segments, in which Front remained steadfastly unimpressed by the celebrity status of her interview subjects.
Another regular segment was Girl Flat, a "live sitcom" featuring parody versions of Lady Gaga
, Beyoncé Knowles
, Lily Allen
and Amy Winehouse
living together in a share house
.
was hostile, with many users speculating the show would be axed.
Ratings for the first episode dropped significantly as it aired, with around 805,000 watching the program when it began following Top Gear. After 15 minutes, viewers had dropped to 633,000, then by 33 per cent to 421,000, with 296,000 viewers watching the final 15 minutes—an average of 455,000 viewers over the whole hour. The ratings for the second episode dropped further, averaging 384,000 viewers according to preliminary metro ratings from OzTAM
, falling from 469,000 to 250,000.
Reviews of the first episode were largely negative. Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun
called it "an early contender for worst show of the year", and Amanda Meade of The Australian called it "a screaming, embarrassing failure". The Age
s Karl Quinn stated there was "more to like than dislike" about the show.
A third episode went to air in a delayed timeslot of 10:40 pm, but ratings dropped further to 189,000 viewers and on 23 February, Channel Nine announced the show had been cancelled.
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
which aired on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. The program was performed and broadcast live as a sketch comedy and variety show. Comedian Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
presented the program and performed some stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
material, with the sketches performed by an ensemble cast including Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy (Australian actor)
Paul McCarthy is an Australian comedy actor. He is best known for sketch comedy television series Comedy Inc.-Career:...
and Genevieve Morris
Genevieve Morris
Genevieve Morris is an Australian actress best known for appearing on the popular comedy series Comedy Inc.She has also appeared in Blue Heelers and the detective series City Homicide as pathologist, Rhonda Lafferty...
. After critical reviews, hostile social media reaction and poor ratings, the Nine Network cancelled the show after three episodes had aired.
Format and regular segments
Elton presented the show and performed his stand-up material. Several guest comedians and musicians also performed in between sketches by the ensemble cast of nine performers which includes several from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), alongside comedy veterans McCarthy and Morris.Genevieve Morris played celebrity interviewer Elaine Front in one of the show's regular segments, in which Front remained steadfastly unimpressed by the celebrity status of her interview subjects.
Another regular segment was Girl Flat, a "live sitcom" featuring parody versions of Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
, Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
and Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
living together in a share house
Share House
is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Ichirō Kita.-Cast:* Kazuko Yoshiyuki* Megumi Saeki* Miyoko Asada* Hana Kino* Tetsuya Makita...
.
Reception
Live From Planet Earth debuted on Channel Nine on 8 February 2011, in the 9:30 pm timeslot. During the broadcast of the first episode, reaction on TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
was hostile, with many users speculating the show would be axed.
Ratings for the first episode dropped significantly as it aired, with around 805,000 watching the program when it began following Top Gear. After 15 minutes, viewers had dropped to 633,000, then by 33 per cent to 421,000, with 296,000 viewers watching the final 15 minutes—an average of 455,000 viewers over the whole hour. The ratings for the second episode dropped further, averaging 384,000 viewers according to preliminary metro ratings from OzTAM
OzTAM
OzTAM is an Australian audience measurement research firm that collects and markets television ratings data. It is jointly owned by the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten, and is the official source of television ratings data for all metropolitan television in Sydney, Melbourne,...
, falling from 469,000 to 250,000.
Reviews of the first episode were largely negative. Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
called it "an early contender for worst show of the year", and Amanda Meade of The Australian called it "a screaming, embarrassing failure". The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
s Karl Quinn stated there was "more to like than dislike" about the show.
A third episode went to air in a delayed timeslot of 10:40 pm, but ratings dropped further to 189,000 viewers and on 23 February, Channel Nine announced the show had been cancelled.
External links
- Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth (ninemsn)