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The Nation (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Nation was an Australia
n satirical
sketch comedy
and discussion series covering the week's events across political and social spectrums, premiering on Tuesday 5 June 2007 at on the Nine Network
.
It was hosted by Mick Molloy
with a supportive cast of Akmal Saleh
, Jackie O
, Tiffany Cherry
, Gary Eck
, Paul Calleja, Nikki Osborne
and Pete Smith
as the announcer for the show. The show was taped at the GTV-9
Melbourne studios in front of a studio audience. The first guests on the show were Peter Garrett
, Stephen Curry and Lisa McCune
. The final episode was broadcast on Wednesday 29 August 2007.
's Crossing Jordan
(974,000) and Channel Ten's Numb3rs
(910,000). After the first episode, ratings began to decline with the ratings for the second episode dropping just over one fifth of the audience.
Over the course of the series, changes to the format were made. Veteran announcer Pete Smith
and WSFM 101.7 compere Amanda Keller
were additions to the cast. On 4 July 2007, the Nine Network confirmed that The Nation would move from its primetime Tuesday timeslot to a new time of 10:30pm on Wednesday nights, in direct competition with Ten Late News and Channel Seven's The Unit
.
The ratings for episodes were as follows:
reported that The Nation had received a mixed reaction on the initial episode, with dozens of viewers complaining to the Nine Network about bad-taste jokes made on-air.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
and discussion series covering the week's events across political and social spectrums, premiering on Tuesday 5 June 2007 at 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...
.
It was hosted by Mick Molloy
Mick Molloy
Michael "Mick" Molloy is an Australian comedian, writer and producer who has been active in the fields of radio, television, stand-up and film.-Biography:...
with a supportive cast of Akmal Saleh
Akmal Saleh
Akmal Saleh is an Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney, Australia with his family in 1975 at the age of 11. He has been performing stand-up comedy since the early 1990s and his live shows have toured comedy festivals both within Australia and internationally...
, Jackie O
Jackie O (radio host)
Jacqueline Ellen Marie Henderson, better known as Jackie O, is an Australian commercial radio host, actress and television presenter. She is best-known nationally for presenting The Hot Hits, the Hot 30 Countdown, Take 40 Australia and the Kyle & Jackie O on 2Day FM with Kyle Sandilands and for...
, Tiffany Cherry
Tiffany Cherry
Tiffany Cherry is an Australian sports broadcaster, best known for her role as boundary rider on the now defunct Fox Footy in the channel's AFL coverage...
, Gary Eck
Gary Eck
-Career:Eck has starred in several Australian movies, including 2003's You Can't Stop The Murders and The Night We Called It A Day, and also in 2006's BoyTown...
, Paul Calleja, Nikki Osborne
Nikki Osborne
Nikki Osborne is an Australian actress, former model and television presenter. Osborne is best known as a former host of the now-defunct late night interactive quiz series, Quizmania...
and Pete Smith
Pete Smith (announcer)
Peter Philip Smith OAM is an Australian radio and television voice-over artist. He is primarily known for his work with GTV-9 Melbourne as their announcer, including being the announcer on the nationally screened Sale of the Century for twenty-one years.-Radio:Upon leaving school, Smith joined...
as the announcer for the show. The show was taped at the GTV-9
GTV-9
GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at a new high-tech, purpose-built studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands.-History:...
Melbourne studios in front of a studio audience. The first guests on the show were Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
, Stephen Curry and Lisa McCune
Lisa McCune
Lisa McCune , is a four-time Gold Logie Award winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle in Blue Heelers, and as Lt...
. The final episode was broadcast on Wednesday 29 August 2007.
Ratings
The Nations initial episode was the Nine Network's top rating program within the 16-39 year old demographic in Melbourne, Sydney and the east coast. However, the program was third nationally, beaten by Channel SevenSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
's Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...
(974,000) and Channel Ten's Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
(910,000). After the first episode, ratings began to decline with the ratings for the second episode dropping just over one fifth of the audience.
Over the course of the series, changes to the format were made. Veteran announcer Pete Smith
Pete Smith (announcer)
Peter Philip Smith OAM is an Australian radio and television voice-over artist. He is primarily known for his work with GTV-9 Melbourne as their announcer, including being the announcer on the nationally screened Sale of the Century for twenty-one years.-Radio:Upon leaving school, Smith joined...
and WSFM 101.7 compere Amanda Keller
Amanda Keller
Amanda Rose Keller is an Australian journalist, radio presenter, and media personality.-Education:Keller went to Carlingford High School, and then went on to study media and communications at Charles Sturt University as a contemporary of Andrew Denton...
were additions to the cast. On 4 July 2007, the Nine Network confirmed that The Nation would move from its primetime Tuesday timeslot to a new time of 10:30pm on Wednesday nights, in direct competition with Ten Late News and Channel Seven's The Unit
The Unit
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
.
The ratings for episodes were as follows:
- Episode 1: 772,000
- Episode 2: 610,000
- Episode 3: 626,000
- Episode 4: 575,000
- Episode 5: 548,000,
- Episode 6: 418,000
- Episode 7: 363,000 .
- Episode 8: 398,000
- Episode 9: 387,000
- Episode 10: 406,000 .
- Episode 11: 413,000 .
Criticism
The Herald SunHerald 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...
reported that The Nation had received a mixed reaction on the initial episode, with dozens of viewers complaining to the Nine Network about bad-taste jokes made on-air.