My favourite Canadian in the world, a lovely lass named Rylee who you probably won't ever meet and your life will be the poorer for it, sent me a link last night to an article on a Canadian news site about Chris Lilley and Summer Heights High. If you thought the Yanks were soiling themselves in excitement, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Chris Lilley has been called the Aussie Ricky Gervais, but frankly, he brings a little more to the party. Lilley is a quadruple threat: a writer, satirist, musician and elastic comic character actor who disappears into his often monstrous, sometimes heartbreaking characterizations with Peter Sellers-like ease. In fact, when it comes to stirring up controversy, Lilley gives Sacha Baron Cohen a run for his money. Hooray for HBO, then, because the Aussie star is coming to America: Lilley's provocative series Summer Heights High makes its North American debut on Nov. 9.

Better than Ricky Gervais? Oh, do go on!

Read More »

After a sadly unimpressive debut over in Britain where our dentally challenged cousins couldn't abide by the fact Chris Lilley had cast himself in the best roles Summer Heights High had to offer, it's wonderful to hear that viewers in the States seem to be a lot more switched on when it comes to the comic delights of the hit ABC series.

The ABC might want to get on the phone to Australian comedian Chris Lilley and sign him up for a new series of Summer Heights High in the wake of rave US reviews.

They've enjoyed an Australian television production? Oh, happy day! I am bursting with pride. And just imagine how much better Summer Heights High will be when it is recast with American actors and set in Los Angeles!

Check out the glowing reviews, y'all.

Read More »

After the initial reviews suggested that the Brits were not that keen on Chris Lilley's masterful Summer Heights High, it seems The People have spoken, and perhaps our UK cousins do like the mockumentary series after all!

Reports are filtering in from Old Blighty that have Jonah Takalua's trademark tag popping up around London. So reporteth Confidential:

Since the hit series has been airing on the BBC, the character's "di-k-tation" graffiti tag has been spied on a sign in a Tube station on the northern line, while Confidential hears school kids in the Old Dart are repeating the naughty phrases uttered by the unruly teenager.

Excellent work, children of the UK! After all, Jonah was the best thing about Summer Heights High and I hold out hopes that Lilley will create an entire series based on the character for his next project (for the love of god, no more Mr G!).

All this means it's only fair to remind you that August 10th, 2008 is National Sorry Ranga Day; as the official Facebook group says:

Red-haired people across Australia have been unfavourably compared to orang-utans since Summer Heights High first aired across Australian television screens in 2007. "Ranga' is now firmly entrenched in the vocabulary of ordinary people all over this country.

So join the Australian nation on Sunday August 10th 2008, and let a Ranga know that you are sorry.

Join up here; it's the right thing to do.

Defamer Australia says sorry, rangas.

After the "OMG YAY" response when it was revealed that Summer Heights High would screen in the UK came the inevitably agonising wait, a lá Kath & Kim, to see if the Brits would actually dig Chris Lilley's rather particular brand of humour.

Well, the reviews are in, and they're... well, best to let them speak for themselves, I think.

Times reviewer Andrew Billen writes that the mockumentary style is 20 years old. He says "the script had its moments but Lilley needed to cast someone other than himself in the plum parts".

"It was like seeing Ricky Gervais (of The Office) play Brent, Gareth and Dawn. Virtuosity is good, Chris. Funny is even better." Billen gives it two out of five stars.

...

Britain's The Mirror is favourable, saying: "The program has the witty absurdity of Arrested Development, the garish characters of Kath & Kim and the cringe-making behaviour of The Office."

However, reviewer David Belcher, of Scotland's The Herald, is less impressed.

"Summer Heights High is a richly detailed and determinedly offensive creation," he writes. "At the same time, it's a bit too studied, and not as shocking as it wants to be. Nor as funny."

Okay, everyone set your watches, the countdown to certain tabloid newspapers (who shall remain nameless) crying foul and whingeing about how they just don't understand Australian comedy/noting that Chris Lilley didn't "win" the critics' favour starts... now!

Well, not really - but he's just so bloody nice, humble and well adjusted that I thought I'd have a little fantasy time in the title of this piece. Anyway, after winning two Logies at Sunday's ceremony, Chris Lilley admitted he's not ready to retire all of his Summer Heights High characters just yet.

And then he probably helped an old lady out of her car, carried an expectant mother's shopping for her, and donated 96% of his income to a charity that helps save adorable puppies.

"I really like the idea of bringing characters back, like I did with (Ja'mie) from the previous series (We Can Be Heroes)," he said.

"I'd love to bring them back because it's really sad when you have to leave them behind."

Asked if he had a favourite, Lilley said he is "fond of them all".

Though it may seem like sacrilege (particularly after the genius of "Toby and The Special Kids" at the Logies), I hope he brings back Jonah and not Mr G. I'd had enough of Ja'mie by the end of We Can Be Heroes, and daresay the same fate would befall a Greg Gregson encore. But I could watch Jonah until kingdom come.

Sorry, ranga!

Not only has Chris Lilley managed to hit the ARIA charts with his 'Naughty Girl' masterpiece - sure, down to #12 this week but we still suspect he's got more of a chart future than the poor Young Divas these days - but he's now one of the contenders for the coveted little gold man at the Australian showbiz glittering night of nights, the Logies!

It's a battle of the golden girls and some of the small screen's favourite hosts for this year's Gold Logie, Australian television's biggest award.

ABC Television's Andrew Denton, Chris Lilley and Adam Hills, and Ten's Rove McManus will vie against former winners Kate Ritchie and Lisa McCune for this year's Gold Logie for Australia's most popular television personality.

Neighbours star Natalie Blair and All Saints veteran John Howard round out the nominees.

Will he win it? The competition is indeed tough. The lovely Adam Hills is certainly adored by Spicks and Specks fans (and lord knows, the sell out live show the Spicks team toured around the country not that long ago proved there are huuuuuuuge numbers of folk who go weak at the knees for Adam's affable charms) but are Spicks enthusiasts TV Week readers? Kate Ritchie has obviously won the nation's heart after clocking in over 20 years at Home & Away, and she's also now a radio star, so she's a strong contender. But Rove McManus is an almost - almost - unstoppable Gold Logie winning force most years... although Lisa McCune may "bring it" once more. The John Howard it's okay to like strikes us as John Wood v2.o (which means we don't think he's in with a chance), and we'd like to think Natalie Blair is an outsider for this award, but you never know, people are strange - especially those who vote for the Logies.

In short - we'd like to see Chris Lilley win, we'd be pleasantly surprised if Adam Hills pulled it off, we'd expect to see Kate Ritchie, Rove McManus or Lisa McCune delivering a thank you speech, and we'd fall over in shock if John Howard, Andrew Denton or Natalie Blair sauntered off stage clutching the Gold.

Because we're nothing if not connected and hip to the modern idiom here at Defamer Australia, from now on each week we plan to bring you the latest moves and shakes from the pointy end of the ARIA Singles Chart, so you can, dunno, talk about it on your lunchbreak, or decide what to spend your hard-earned pocket money on to help up the charts.

So here you are, the ARIA Singles Chart's official Top Fifteen for the week beginning 31st March, 2008!

Read More »

Australian comedy is usually received in one of two ways by our cousins across the pond(s): either wholeheartedly (Dame Edna) or bemusedly before forward-thinking execs decide they can do better (Kath & Kim).

Hopefully the former will be the case when Chris Lilley's masterful Summer Heights High hits HBO as part of the uber-cable channel's 2008 comedy line-up.

Unsurprisingly, the ABC is thrilled to bits with the deal.

ABC TV's head of content creation Courtney Gibson said the broadcaster was over the moon.

"Mr G, Ja'mie and Jonah have been welcomed into the home of such immortals as Tony Soprano and Deadwood's Al Swearengen in the US, and the home of groundbreaking comedy in the UK," Ms Gibson said.

If, however, the latter option (bemused "we'll originate that joke tomorrow" adoption) turns out to be SHH's fate, shall we all place bets on who'll play who in the US adaptation?

We're going with Joey Fatone as Jonah, Hayden Panettiere as Ja'mie, and Steve Carrell as Mr. G.