Quote: Rob M @ April 3 2009, 9:06 PM BST
I haven't noticed any great Ausie sitcoms here in the last 20 years.
That's because there haven't been many. Anyways, here's a list of some Australian sitcoms and comedy shows of the past 30 years. Not in chronological or even alphabetical order yet, but rather in the order in which I remembered them.
Some Australian sitcoms and comedy shows
Acropolis Now (1989-92) - Truly awful. Bad acting and infantile scripts. Involved Greek Australians running a cafe and calling one another "stupid wog". Was very popular.
Kath & Kim (2002-) - Amusing only because it is an accurate reflection of the banality and idiocy of suburban Australians. And because Barry Humphries appeared in one episode. Premise wears thin when you grow weary of laughing at dumb Aussies.
Kingswood Country (1980-84) - Great early 80s sitcom. Imagine a combination of Bless This House and Love Thy Neighbor set in Australia.
Hey Dad (1987-94) - Abysmal. Dreadful stuff about a single parent, his kids and his secretary with the brain of a retarded spaniel. Not a single laugh. But it was incredibly popular. I loathed it.
Mother and Son (1984-94) - Consistently close to brilliant. Imagine Steptoe and Son but with a senile female parent. Terrific cast and writers.
Love Thy Neighbour in Australia (1980) - A nice idea, albeit a poorly planned one.
Are You Being Served? (Australia) (1980-81) - Daft rubbish, unashamed rip-off, but good cos of John Inman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_25R4BBHYyc
The Games (1998-2000) - Top stuff. Clever satire about the bureaucracy and politics behind the Olympic Games.
Frontline (1994-97) - Imagine a droll Aussie version of Drop The Dead Donkey with more laughs. Very good.
DAAS Kapital (1991-92) - Painful crap.
Comedy Company (1988-90) - Sketch show. Ordinary at best. Popular because it didn't require any thinking.
The D-Generation (1986-87) - Sort-of groundbreaking mid-80s sketch show by Melbourne University students. The nucleus of The Castle.
Fast Forward (1989-92) - Topical sketch show involving some members of The D-Generation and some newcomers. Wildly popular and often funny - assuming the audience were undemanding schoolboys and Joe Idiot.
Full Frontal (1993-97) - The spin-off from Fast Forward. Sometimes funny. Introduced actor Eric Bana (who?).
Bligh (1992) - Historical but certainly not hysterical comedy by the Fast Forward team. In a word: crap.
The Late Show (1992-93) - Most of the original D-Generation team back with a sometimes topical sketch and stand-up show. Probably their best work until they did Frontline.
The Hollowmen (2008-) - Rob Sitch of the D-Generation and Frontline stars in this satire of political spin doctors and advisers. Not bad.
Pizza (2000-07) - The lives and times of the guys working for a pizza delivery company. Filled with all sorts of very negative ethnic stereotypes. Crass, crude, clever, racist, inventive and funny. Spawned a movie called Fat Pizza.
Swift & Shift Couriers (2008-) - Successor to Pizza. Not quite as funny - but might improve. Imagine a gross, unsubtle version of The Office. Best joke is that the second letter 'f' has fallen off the sign of 'Swift and Shift'.
Let the Blood Run Free (1990-94) - Hugely forgettable crap.
Jimeoin (1994-95) - Horrible. An Irishman shows that he can be as unfunny as Australians.
Col'n Carpenter (1990-91) - Dumb. Not even remotely clever or funny.
The Big Gig (1989-92) - Mix of stand-up, music and sketches. Most of it was rubbish.
Late for School (1992) - Let's be honest, you'd get more pleasure masturbating with a cheesegrater than watching this pap.
CNNNN (2003) - Good news spoof by the Chaser team.
The Chaser's War on Everything (2006-) - Topical, clever and frequently silly. Great stuff. The best to come out of Australia in recent years. Not that that's saying much.
The Micallef Program (1998-2001) - Spoof variety show by Shaun Micallef. Sometimes funny with brilliant surreal moments, but often trying too hard.
Newstopia (2007-2008) - Also by Shaun Micallef. Like a weak Australian version of Brasseye. Rare flashes of brilliance, but mostly contrived.
The Librarians (2007) - Pure shite.
Very Small Business (2008) - Wanted to be a clever comedy about the media, marketing and small business. Lame.
We Can Be Heroes (2005) - Chris Lilley plays various characters in a mockumentary about finding the Australian of the Year. Not bad, but many dull patches.
Summer Heights High (2007) - Chris Lilley mockumentary again, this time set in a school and playing only three characters. Quite good, if a bit tedious at times. The highlight is Tongan student Jonah Talakua (and his dad).
Thank God You're Here (2006-) Based on the improvised stage comedy of Theatre Sports. Imagine Whose Line is it Anyway with only one game, a boring host and no laughs.
As I say I've been really getting in to the D-Generation stuff lately. Found some of the old Martin/Molloy radio shows, haven't started listening yet but I know how great they are meant to be (shame Martin and Molloy fell out recently).