Wednesday, May 19, 2010

...riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

It boggles the mind. Seriously.

You know, mid-90s, one of the best moments on Australian television was Doctor Who getting namechecked in Frontline by Mike Moore (no, not that one... or that one either...) in what was actually a joke about Moore's chronic out-of-touch-ness as he can't follow others' references to James Bond.

And yet, today, I boggle at the latest episode of Lowdown.

Guest starring my dad's mate Steve "Four Tits" Bisley, it concerned the main characters (a weak-willed journo, his overenthusiastic camera man and his flirty ex girlfriend) trying to get an exclusive interview about a radio host's public indecency in as quick a method as possible so they can catch Phantom of the Opera 2. Which is REAL, by the way. Alas, they fall foul of the host's slightly wierd wife who wants to sing at them.

The cameraman idly notes his five year plan is not as impressive as the journo's, admitting his plans involve "Tom Baker, the greatest Doctor Who of them all". This is treated with some horror from the others - but not because they don't like Doctor Who, but because camera dude had spent the first half of that conversation going on and on about his sexual frustration and the implication he was planning to seduce the T-Bone.

The camera dude's fan credentials were subtly hinted last week when - on a stealth undercover op, he uses a New Series Cyberman towel as a disguise, and later is tazered when his "lucky TARDIS" fails to keep him out of trouble.

Anyway, the episode putters along until - in between songs from the wife - the unlikely trio admire a wall of photos. "Look me in the eye and tell me that isn't Tom Baker," boggles camera dude, indicating one of them.

And it was. It actually bloody was a photo of Tom Baker and the wife snapped in mid-conversation.

I mean, even if it's some cunning photoshop trick, the idea of them ACTUALLY going to that much trouble boggles. My parents and I were dumbstruck, and when the incidental music started to become the distinctive sound of Ron Grainer, silence fell and damn well stayed there.

Despite the journo's let's-be-brutally-honest pathetic "not the Doctor Who thing, not now", the camera man is determined and confronts the wife with the immortal and awestruck:

"DOCTOR WHO AND THE INVASION OF TIME!!!!!"

...

Yes. Now, I'm not as big as an anorak as I could be. I do know that in said Invasion of Time, one of the female Shaboogans is played by an Aussie actress who reached a moderate amount of fame and is now usually spotted at the Melbourne Cup. I know that because by curious coincidence the ABC repeated Invasion of Time back in 2005 and the Guide noted we could see her twice that day at different ends of her career.

I honestly don't know if the wife in Lowdown was meant to be that actress, or actually WAS that actress, but is only slightly taken aback at the guy shouting Target titles at her. With a cheerful "Oh, are you a Doctor Who fan?" she leads him into a room and shows him something special.

She's got the Doctor's scarf.

And if it's not the genuine article it's a fucking good copy. Even the camera man is impressed - and that's before he confirms credentials by finding the hole sewn into the scarf, shakedly agreeing this is the same one used in Ark In Space and informing the audience that the hole represents the Ark's security systems trying to zap the Time Lord.

I don't know what the average viewer's reactions would be to that stunned mumbling of trivia, but I'm pretty certain every viewer's jaw dropped when the wife nodded and said,

"Yeah, he never made love without it."

The French Farce conclusion with a paranoid Bizley returning home and expecting to find his wife dead, but instead finds her in a broom closet with the Cameraman wearing only the Scarf, the Hat and the Coat (like that X-rated version of City of Death we always hear about).

And ... well... nope, I just boggle. It's comedy meant to evoke the same vibe as Bad Santa.

And yet, despite lacking all the smutty innuendo of "spending all week spanking Eccleston and then going back to Pertwee", or having a gay slut and his latest tomboy dressed in painfully accurate versions of the Sixth and Fourth Doctor's outfits while they bum some weed off a dealer, felt a lot more shocking than the first episode of Ideal shown on ABC2.

But maybe it's because automatic contenders for Australian comedy of the year, narrated by Geoffrey Rush and starring Kim Gyngel, just never seem the obvious place to see a guy shagging a woman twice his age while dressed as his childhood hero... at least when that childhood hero is Doctor Who.

I mean, if he'd been dressed as the last three Doctors, sure...

Sorry, I just needed to post in the hope someone else will confirm that YES, they DID see this as well.

Cause, seriously, I'm doubting the workings of my own brain at the moment.

4 comments:

Jared "No Nickname" Hansen said...

Damn. That sounds weird and quite hilarious - clearly somebody on the show is a genuine fan because those are quite unsually accurate references.

Sadly I don't watch Lowdown because

a) The ads make it look fairly crap
and
b) I've never seen any evidence that Adam Zwar is actually a funny guy.

So I cannot confirm or deny whether this is a cold-medication driven dream of yours that is as terrifying as it is strange.

The lady who played the Shobogan is usually spotted at the Melbourne Cup, though, because she is no longer an actress to my knowledge but one of the country's most famous horse trainers, Gai Waterhouse, and I know from the ads that the woman singing "Whaaat about meeeee?" was definitely not her.

Incidentally, Steve Bisley went to the same high school as me. But obviously a few years before I did.

Youth of Australia said...

Damn. That sounds weird and quite hilarious - clearly somebody on the show is a genuine fan because those are quite unsually accurate references.
Indeed.

Sadly I don't watch Lowdown because
a) The ads make it look fairly crap

Yeah, the ads are pretty crap.

b) I've never seen any evidence that Adam Zwar is actually a funny guy.
I know what you mean. Curiously, that seems to be the key to Lowdown's success. He never makes a joke or even try to, he's basically the only normal person in the round surrounded by looneys. So the humor comes from his lack of humor, if you get the drift.

So I cannot confirm or deny whether this is a cold-medication driven dream of yours that is as terrifying as it is strange.
Yes... maybe it's on iView...

The lady who played the Shobogan is usually spotted at the Melbourne Cup, though, because she is no longer an actress to my knowledge but one of the country's most famous horse trainers, Gai Waterhouse, and I know from the ads that the woman singing "Whaaat about meeeee?" was definitely not her.
Fair enough. Seems that it was MEANT to be her. I think.

Incidentally, Steve Bisley went to the same high school as me. But obviously a few years before I did.
I went to the same school as Anthony Mundeen. And Chas from the Chaser tutored one of my friends in 2 Unit Maths. And Spellbinder was filmed there. As was Always Greener.

Damn it, I coulda been a STARRRR!!!

BTW, listened to BF's "Sixth Doctor and Jamie" series. Surprisingly good, at times almost like School Reunion in reverse. I never knew Sixie could sound so heartbroken when he meets Jamie again: "I thought you were DEAD!"

Jared "No Nickname" Hansen said...

Yeah, the ads are pretty crap.

Which I normally don't mind but they're on a high bloody rotation!

Curiously, that seems to be the key to Lowdown's success. He never makes a joke or even try to, he's basically the only normal person in the round surrounded by looneys.

Huh, there you go. The ads seemed to be showcasing him, though, at least for the first couple of episodes. I guess because Wilfred has made him the most 'star'ish actor aside from Kim Gyngell (and Geoffrey, but it's hard to show a voice-over guy in an ad...)

Seems that it was MEANT to be her. I think.

Fair enough. I IMDb'ed the girl in the episode - not much on her CV, really.

I went to the same school as Anthony Mundeen. And Chas from the Chaser tutored one of my friends in 2 Unit Maths. And Spellbinder was filmed there. As was Always Greener.

Yeah, that's cool, but you go to a large school in Sydney you get more degrees to play with. There were 50 people in my year. Aside from the Steve Bisley thing the next-coolest alumni we have is a dude who kinda looks like Dexter Fletcher and possibly a soon-to-be-well-known murderer who's been taken into custody. (I'm not kidding, one of the teachers has been murdered. But not one I knew)

Surprisingly good, at times almost like School Reunion in reverse. I never knew Sixie could sound so heartbroken when he meets Jamie again: "I thought you were DEAD!"

Sweet, I love me some Jamie.

It's funny you describe it that way, though, because i thought the funniest thing in The War Games (in the midst of the saddest stuff ever in the show...) was the Doctor seeing footage of Jamie being dumped into the middle of Culloden's aftermath and being confronted with at least one redcoat out to kill our favourite piper as quickly as possible simple laughing and saying "Oh, that Jamie..." (Or something equivalent) Dude's about to get SHOT, Doc!

Youth of Australia said...

Which I normally don't mind but they're on a high bloody rotation!
Mmm. I suppose they are, given the whole "Wednesday Night Line Up" stuff.

Huh, there you go. The ads seemed to be showcasing him, though, at least for the first couple of episodes.
Which is odd, as he doesn't actually do much but provide straight lines for the dude from Eagle and Evans (the tall one) who plays an insane GP who googles symptoms and is stalking his ex-wife to provide "exciting" nights out for his secretary.

I guess because Wilfred has made him the most 'star'ish actor aside from Kim Gyngell (and Geoffrey, but it's hard to show a voice-over guy in an ad...)
Yeah. The narration's very good though, kind of Hitchhiker's in places.

Yeah, that's cool, but you go to a large school in Sydney you get more degrees to play with. There were 50 people in my year. Aside from the Steve Bisley thing the next-coolest alumni we have is a dude who kinda looks like Dexter Fletcher and possibly a soon-to-be-well-known murderer who's been taken into custody. (I'm not kidding, one of the teachers has been murdered. But not one I knew)
Indeed, at my own school there were numerous stabbings. I once suggested the school motto change from "Aim for the Highest" to "Watch Out, The Mad Fuck's Got A Knife". Never caught on.

Sweet, I love me some Jamie.
You'll probably like the story then, which seems a bit "Jamie's Greatest Hits" - in a good way. Imagine The Highlanders jumbled up with The War Games, sprinkle some cut price 1960s Cybermen stand-ins and Jamie trying to get into the pants of Georgia Moffat while the Sixth Doctor dresses up as a redcoat and tries to beat the enemy into submission with comedy yokel voices...

...and the next story they go on a Whitnail & I type holiday! ON THE FREAKING TITANIC!!

It's funny you describe it that way, though, because i thought the funniest thing in The War Games (in the midst of the saddest stuff ever in the show...) was the Doctor seeing footage of Jamie being dumped into the middle of Culloden's aftermath and being confronted with at least one redcoat out to kill our favourite piper as quickly as possible simple laughing and saying "Oh, that Jamie..." (Or something equivalent) Dude's about to get SHOT, Doc!
Yeah. I think that might have been Patrick Troughton more than the Second Doctor: "Going out with your usual subtlety, eh, Fraser?"

I mentally retconned it so the Doctor's somehow discovered Jamie's mindwipe didn't work, and he'll know all the tips, tricks and angles to survive the rest of the century - like the fact he'd have to get a different job since pipering was declared illegal...

See, dammit, this is why we need Season 6b! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!