The Sideshow
Encyclopedia
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that was broadcast on ABC TV
in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott
. It reused the multiple-stage presentation style of the short-lived ABC show The 10:30 Slot
, and remnants of the set of former GNW series The Glass House
.
The show began its life as a family variety show, airing at on Saturday evenings. After 10 episodes beginning in April 2007, it took a few months off. Returning in August at the later time of allowed the show to move from a PG to an M rating, and include a more adult-oriented humour. Similar to other shows produced by GNW TV, it had a cult following, and was regularly watched by 300,000 to 400,000 viewers. The series finale aired on 1 December 2007.
The show was shot in a very loose style and it was not uncommon for cameras and crew members to be seen in a shot. All floor cameras and the two Jimmy Jibs had oversized Christmas lights attached to them, and become part of the scenery rather than something never to be seen.
The series was created by Ted Robinson and was a GNW TV Production. It was a recreation of a show that Robinson was a part of in the early '90s called the Big Gig and would quite often recycle the stars from that show as "guests". It was pre-recorded in Studio 22 at the ABC's Ultimo studios in Sydney on Thursday nights for air on Saturdays.
. The sketch normally involves one bear hurting the other, or being disgusted by the other's actions. This flows into the opening credits, during which musical director Cameron Bruce (formerly of GUD
) and house band "The Bearded Ladies" play the show's theme song. For a short period during the second half of 2007, Clayton Doley
stood in as musical director, and the band was known as "The Sideshow Misfits". As well as the opening and closing themes, the house band play walk-on music for guests, riffs between segments, and sometimes accompany guests, musical or otherwise, as they perform.
Host Paul McDermott opens the show with a monologue similar in format to the opening spiel of Good News Week
, with jokes about recent news events. This is generally followed by a musical act. Guests have included Evermore (Pilot episode), Thirsty Merc
, Sneaky Sound System
, Sarah Blasko
, Kisschasy
, The Cat Empire
,
Kate Miller-Heidke
, Dappled Cities Fly
, Expatriate
, Kid Confucious, Something for Kate
, Dog Trumpet, Tim Rogers
, Clare Bowditch
, Watussi, Colin Hay
, Operator Please
, The Hands, Butterfingers and Jimmy Barnes
. Regular guests Tripod
often perform in this segment.
Following the musical performance, McDermott presents a humorous list of fake apologies from well-known people who could not be on the show that night. After this monologue, he introduces the stand-up guest of the evening, among whom have featured Denise Scott
, Tom Gleeson, Dave Hughes
, Wil Anderson
, Tommy Dean
, Eddie Ifft
, Josh Thomas
, Frank Woodley
, Ed Byrne
, Kitty Flanagan
, Danny Bhoy
, Tom Rhodes
, Arj Barker
, Justin Hamilton
, Gary Eck
, Fiona O'Loughlin
, Charlie Pickering
and Greg Fleet
.
In the next segment, McDermott introduces the special guest of the week appears. Occasionally, these have been musical guests, such as an interview with Colin Hay from Australian band Men at Work
, or a performance from Dein Perry and the Tap Dogs
. Mostly, however, these are performers from the circus, burlesque, magician or cabaret industries. Featured guests have included Mr. Fish, Shep Huntly, Imogen Kelly, Matt Hollywood, Space Cowboy
, Bobbi, Azaria Universe, Legs on the Wall, Paul Capsis and The Wau Wau Sisters. McDermott is often involved in their skits, playing the role of the 'guinea pig'.
Comedian Flacco
has a regular segment on the show, often in the role of "Private Dick" in a stand-up routine that parodies the format of pulp novels. He is occasionally joined by long-time friend Steve Abbott as "The Sandman".
Comedienne Claire Hooper
then joins McDermott atop the bar for a humorous chat. The segment originated as a "20 questions" interview but gradually drifted away from this format, with Hooper moving into humorous story-telling—often relating to embarrassing events in her own life—and comedy routines. Hooper is normally followed by The Umbilical Brothers, who perform sketches using a combination of vocal sound effects and mime.
McDermott closes the show by predicting the major events of the week ahead in a format similar to his closing monologue on Good News Week. The show always concludes with a musical performance. Most weeks McDermott will sing, sometimes backed by Tripod
. Other performers have included Tim Minchin
, Eddie Perfect
, The Kransky Sisters
and Colin Hay. When the song ends McDermott, Tripod and the house band lead an "all-in" rendition of the show's theme song to accompany the closing credits, while the show's regulars and guests emerge on the balcony to sing and dance along.
After the closing credits there is a final skit from The Threatening Bears, normally involving a reference to an earlier segment of the show.
New Moods in Intelligent Design
This sketch features a voiceover from McDermott with accompanying text on screen explaining "Why God Didn't Design" some form of absurd or dysfunctional fictional animal such as the Pyjamadillo (a pyjama-wearing nocturnal armadillo). This is then followed by an animation which gives the viewer visual evidence as to why God didn't design that animal. It concludes with the words "ERGO: God is smart", although after a particularly bizarre animal, it would conclude instead with "God Is Smashed" or "God Is Stoned". This segment lightheartedly satirizes the major arguments for intelligent design as opposed to natural selection by suggesting that the animal in question doesn't exist because God knew better than to create it (rather than its inability to evolve or survive because of the creature's impracticality). This segment most likely stems from McDermott's own Atheism.
The Company of Strangers Presents
This sketch, written by Flacco
's alter-ego Paul Livingston
, normally shows a short animation with a cleverly punned subtitle. The animation often involves a sad, lonely individual performing a menial task.
The Threatening Bears
In addition to their regular spots at the beginning and end of the show, the Threatening Bears and the comparatively innocent Koala appear a number of times throughout. They often recreate stunts or segments from the show. Sometimes each sketch within an episode depicts the bears' various attempts at doing something, as opposed to the sketches where the bears don't attempt to do anything.
The Umbilical Brothers
In addition to their in-person appearances, a pre-recorded sketch involving visual humour is shot against a plain white background and appears in most episodes, a reusing of the same type of visual gags that the Lager Boys (otherwise known as the Empty Pockets) used to use on the Big Gig, one of Robinsons previous projects. These generally are no longer than twenty or thirty seconds, and have a very simple storyline.
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott
Paul McDermott (comedian)
Paul McDermott is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, director, singer, artist and television host. He currently hosts the satirical news-based 'Good News World' a follow up to quiz show Good News Week which airs in Australia on Network Ten...
. It reused the multiple-stage presentation style of the short-lived ABC show The 10:30 Slot
The 10:30 Slot
The 10.30 Slot was a music and variety show that aired on ABC TV on Friday nights between 1999 and 2000, hosted by Dylan Lewis and Angus Sampson...
, and remnants of the set of former GNW series The Glass House
The Glass House
The Glass House may refer to:*The Glass House , a 2001 film starring Leelee Sobieski and Diane Lane*The Good Mother , a sequel also known as Glass House: The Good Mother*The Glass House , an Australian TV series...
.
The show began its life as a family variety show, airing at on Saturday evenings. After 10 episodes beginning in April 2007, it took a few months off. Returning in August at the later time of allowed the show to move from a PG to an M rating, and include a more adult-oriented humour. Similar to other shows produced by GNW TV, it had a cult following, and was regularly watched by 300,000 to 400,000 viewers. The series finale aired on 1 December 2007.
The show was shot in a very loose style and it was not uncommon for cameras and crew members to be seen in a shot. All floor cameras and the two Jimmy Jibs had oversized Christmas lights attached to them, and become part of the scenery rather than something never to be seen.
The series was created by Ted Robinson and was a GNW TV Production. It was a recreation of a show that Robinson was a part of in the early '90s called the Big Gig and would quite often recycle the stars from that show as "guests". It was pre-recorded in Studio 22 at the ABC's Ultimo studios in Sydney on Thursday nights for air on Saturdays.
Regular segments
The show begins with an intro by The Threatening Bears, hand puppets manipulated by The Umbilical BrothersThe Umbilical Brothers
-History:They met in 1988, at the University of Western Sydney in a jazz class, , where David swung around and broke Shane's nose...
. The sketch normally involves one bear hurting the other, or being disgusted by the other's actions. This flows into the opening credits, during which musical director Cameron Bruce (formerly of GUD
GUD (band)
GUD is an Australian comedic music-based trio composed of Paul McDermott, previously of the Doug Anthony All Stars, former Gadflys guitarist Mick Moriarty, and Club Luna Band keyboard player Cameron Bruce...
) and house band "The Bearded Ladies" play the show's theme song. For a short period during the second half of 2007, Clayton Doley
Clayton Doley
Clayton Doley is an Australian musician, singer, song writer, television musical director, arranger, and record producer best known for his Hammond Organ virtuosity.-Songwriter and producer:...
stood in as musical director, and the band was known as "The Sideshow Misfits". As well as the opening and closing themes, the house band play walk-on music for guests, riffs between segments, and sometimes accompany guests, musical or otherwise, as they perform.
Host Paul McDermott opens the show with a monologue similar in format to the opening spiel of Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
, with jokes about recent news events. This is generally followed by a musical act. Guests have included Evermore (Pilot episode), Thirsty Merc
Thirsty Merc
Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 in Sydney, Australia. The band consists of Rai Thistlethwayte , Phil Stack , Karl Robertson , and Matt Smith ....
, Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System are a Sydney-based Australian dance music group consisting of guitarist and producer Black Angus and vocalist Connie Mitchell.-Early Years:...
, Sarah Blasko
Sarah Blasko
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid-1990s, Blasko developed her solo career from 2002. In 2007, she won the 'Best Pop Release' for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have at the ARIA Music Awards, which...
, Kisschasy
Kisschasy
Kisschasy are an Australian rock band formed in Victoria, Australia, in 2002. Since forming, their line-up has consisted of lead vocalist Darren Cordeux, bassist Joel Vanderuit, guitarist Sean Thomas and drummer Karl Ammitzboll....
, The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire are an Australian ska and jazz band formed in 1999. Core members are Harry James Angus , Will Hull-Brown , Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala , Ollie McGill , Ryan Monro and Felix Riebl...
,
Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate Miller-Heidke is a singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. Although classically trained, she has followed a career in alternative pop music. She is signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK.-Career:...
, Dappled Cities Fly
Dappled Cities Fly
Dappled Cities are a five-piece indie rock band from Sydney, Australia.-History:The band, originally called Periwinkle, first came together in the leafy, northern Sydney suburb of Pymble in 1997. Dave Rennick and original drummer Hugh Boyce were soon joined by Alex Moore on bass and Tim Derricourt...
, Expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
, Kid Confucious, Something for Kate
Something for Kate
Something for Kate are a rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Members include songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey, drummer Clint Hyndman and bassist Stephanie Ashworth...
, Dog Trumpet, Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers is the frontman of Australian rock band You Am I. He is also a solo artist, as well as having fronted and released albums with bands The Twin Set and The Temperance Union.-History:...
, Clare Bowditch
Clare Bowditch
Clare Bowditch is an Australian musician from Melbourne, Victoria. She released her fourth album Modern Day Addiction via Island Records on 13 August 2010. It became both 3RRR Album of the Week and ABC Radio National's Album of the Week. MDA is the first of Bowditch's album's to enter the Top Ten...
, Watussi, Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
, Operator Please
Operator Please
Operator Please are an Australian pop band, originating on the Gold Coast of Queensland, in 2005. Their current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, Ashley McConnell on bass guitar, and violinist Taylor Henderson.The...
, The Hands, Butterfingers and Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
. Regular guests Tripod
Tripod (band)
Tripod is an Australian musical comedy act, specialising in improv, parody and satire. As its name suggests, the band is a trio; it comprises Scod , Yon and Gatesy...
often perform in this segment.
Following the musical performance, McDermott presents a humorous list of fake apologies from well-known people who could not be on the show that night. After this monologue, he introduces the stand-up guest of the evening, among whom have featured Denise Scott
Denise Scott
Denise Margaret Adelaide Scott is a Melbourne-based stand-up comedian, actor and radio personality.-Career:She has appeared frequently on Australian television since her regular slot on ABC TV's The Big Gig in 1990, and a weekly segment on Tonight Live with Steve Vizard...
, Tom Gleeson, Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes
David William "Hughesy" Hughes is an Australian stand-up comedian, radio and television presenter. He is currently co-host on the Network Ten's The Project and Before the Game as well as the breakfast radio show Hughesy and Kate.-Television:Hughes co-hosted the ABC comedy talk show The Glass House...
, Wil Anderson
Wil Anderson
William James "Wil" Anderson is an Australian comedian, writer, performing stand-up, and television and radio presenter and personality.- Early life :...
, Tommy Dean
Tommy Dean
Tommy Douglas Dean was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played four seasons in the Majors, 1967 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and 1969-1971 with the San Diego Padres.-External links:...
, Eddie Ifft
Eddie ifft
Eddie Ifft is an American stand-up comedian and sitcom writer. He lives in Venice, California.Ifft graduated with honors from Fox Chapel Area High School in 1992...
, Josh Thomas
Josh Thomas (comedian)
Joshua Michael "Josh" Thomas is an Australian comedian. In 2005, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition...
, Frank Woodley
Frank Woodley
Frank Woodley is an Australian comedian who is best known for his work alongside Colin Lane as part of the comedic duo, Lano and Woodley. The two performed together for almost 20 years in live shows, a television series and an album of comedic songs, before deciding to pursue individual careers...
, Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...
, Kitty Flanagan
Kitty Flanagan
Kitty Flanagan is an Australian comedian.She is best known in Australia for her work on the television series Full Frontal and in the United Kingdom for her work on The Sketch Show. Before getting a job at Full Frontal, Kitty spent 5 years masquerading as a copywriter before moving into stand-ups...
, Danny Bhoy
Danny Bhoy
Danny Bhoy is an Indian-Scottish comedian who has performed in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...
, Tom Rhodes
Tom Rhodes
Tom Rhodes is an American comedian, actor, and host. He starred in the NBC sitcom Mr. Rhodes and was the host of The Kevin Masters Show starring Tom Rhodes and Yorin Travel on the Dutch television station Yorin.When the Yorin shows came to an end, Rhodes returned to the United States and...
, Arj Barker
Arj Barker
Arjan Singh , known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American stand-up comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European...
, Justin Hamilton
Justin Hamilton (comedian)
Justin Hamilton is an Australian comedian, writer and radio host.-Early life:Hamilton grew up in Adelaide, South Australia.-Career:...
, 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...
, Fiona O'Loughlin
Fiona O'Loughlin
Fiona O'Loughlin is an Australian comedian, known primarily for her stand-up comedy; for her television performances, on ABC TV's Spicks and Specks, and Channel Ten's Rove Live and GNW; and a series of advertisements for Heinz soups...
, Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering he grew up in Melbourne, Australia and attended an Independent Anglican Boys' School; Brighton Grammar...
and Greg Fleet
Greg Fleet
-Early life:Greg was born in Michigan, United States. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in Geelong and as a teenager boarded at Geelong Grammar School...
.
In the next segment, McDermott introduces the special guest of the week appears. Occasionally, these have been musical guests, such as an interview with Colin Hay from Australian band Men at Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
, or a performance from Dein Perry and the Tap Dogs
Tap Dogs
"Tap Dogs" is a tap dance show, created by Australian dancer and choreographer, Dein Perry. The original production of the show had its world premiere in January 1995 at the Sydney Theatre Festival in Australia....
. Mostly, however, these are performers from the circus, burlesque, magician or cabaret industries. Featured guests have included Mr. Fish, Shep Huntly, Imogen Kelly, Matt Hollywood, Space Cowboy
Space Cowboy (performer)
The Space Cowboy is a world record-breaking sideshow, street, and freak show performer born in Byron Bay in Australia on 13 April 1978.-Act:...
, Bobbi, Azaria Universe, Legs on the Wall, Paul Capsis and The Wau Wau Sisters. McDermott is often involved in their skits, playing the role of the 'guinea pig'.
Comedian Flacco
Flacco
Flacco is a fictional character played by Australian author and political cartoonist Paul Livingston.Livingston created the character in 1985, when he got up on stage as part of a bet, and the audience mistook his nervousness for a comedic character...
has a regular segment on the show, often in the role of "Private Dick" in a stand-up routine that parodies the format of pulp novels. He is occasionally joined by long-time friend Steve Abbott as "The Sandman".
Claire Hooper
Claire Hooper is an Australian stand-up comedian and writer. She appeared as a team captain on the 2008 revival of Good News Week on Network Ten and previously was a regular on The Sideshow, appearing with Paul McDermott...
then joins McDermott atop the bar for a humorous chat. The segment originated as a "20 questions" interview but gradually drifted away from this format, with Hooper moving into humorous story-telling—often relating to embarrassing events in her own life—and comedy routines. Hooper is normally followed by The Umbilical Brothers, who perform sketches using a combination of vocal sound effects and mime.
McDermott closes the show by predicting the major events of the week ahead in a format similar to his closing monologue on Good News Week. The show always concludes with a musical performance. Most weeks McDermott will sing, sometimes backed by Tripod
Tripod (band)
Tripod is an Australian musical comedy act, specialising in improv, parody and satire. As its name suggests, the band is a trio; it comprises Scod , Yon and Gatesy...
. Other performers have included Tim Minchin
Tim Minchin
Timothy David "Tim" Minchin is a British-Australian comedian, actor, and musician.Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia,...
, Eddie Perfect
Eddie Perfect
Eddie Perfect is an Australian actor, comedian and musician who currently plays Mick Holland in Channel Ten's Offspring series. He won the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work, the Victorian Premier's Literacy Award and the Green Room Award for his musical, Shane Warne The...
, The Kransky Sisters
The Kransky Sisters
The Kransky Sisters are an Australian musical comedy trio created, written and performed by Annie Lee and Christine Johnston in collaboration with Michele Watt and Carolyn Johns ....
and Colin Hay. When the song ends McDermott, Tripod and the house band lead an "all-in" rendition of the show's theme song to accompany the closing credits, while the show's regulars and guests emerge on the balcony to sing and dance along.
After the closing credits there is a final skit from The Threatening Bears, normally involving a reference to an earlier segment of the show.
Bumpers / Video insert segments
These are series of short video sketches that divide up the live-to-tape studio segments.New Moods in Intelligent Design
This sketch features a voiceover from McDermott with accompanying text on screen explaining "Why God Didn't Design" some form of absurd or dysfunctional fictional animal such as the Pyjamadillo (a pyjama-wearing nocturnal armadillo). This is then followed by an animation which gives the viewer visual evidence as to why God didn't design that animal. It concludes with the words "ERGO: God is smart", although after a particularly bizarre animal, it would conclude instead with "God Is Smashed" or "God Is Stoned". This segment lightheartedly satirizes the major arguments for intelligent design as opposed to natural selection by suggesting that the animal in question doesn't exist because God knew better than to create it (rather than its inability to evolve or survive because of the creature's impracticality). This segment most likely stems from McDermott's own Atheism.
The Company of Strangers Presents
This sketch, written by Flacco
Flacco
Flacco is a fictional character played by Australian author and political cartoonist Paul Livingston.Livingston created the character in 1985, when he got up on stage as part of a bet, and the audience mistook his nervousness for a comedic character...
's alter-ego Paul Livingston
Paul Livingston
Paul Livingston, popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including Good News Week, The Sandman and Flacco Special, The Big Gig, DAAS Kapital, The Money or the Gun, The Fat and...
, normally shows a short animation with a cleverly punned subtitle. The animation often involves a sad, lonely individual performing a menial task.
The Threatening Bears
The Threatening Bears
The Threatening Bears are two bears hand puppets that appeared on the short-lived ABC TV comedy program The Sideshow. They are very aggressive and always hurt their friends. The most common "friend" to appear is the Koala who is most often hurt. Another friend who commonly appears is a Kangaroo,...
In addition to their regular spots at the beginning and end of the show, the Threatening Bears and the comparatively innocent Koala appear a number of times throughout. They often recreate stunts or segments from the show. Sometimes each sketch within an episode depicts the bears' various attempts at doing something, as opposed to the sketches where the bears don't attempt to do anything.
The Umbilical Brothers
In addition to their in-person appearances, a pre-recorded sketch involving visual humour is shot against a plain white background and appears in most episodes, a reusing of the same type of visual gags that the Lager Boys (otherwise known as the Empty Pockets) used to use on the Big Gig, one of Robinsons previous projects. These generally are no longer than twenty or thirty seconds, and have a very simple storyline.