''Good News Week'' is an Australian

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

show hosted by

Paul McDermott Paul Anthony Michael McDermott (born 13 May 1962) is an Australian entertainer, best known both for ''Good News Week'' and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melb ...

that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

until being bought by

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in 1999. The show was revived for its second run when the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike caused many of Network Ten's imported US programs to cease production. ''Good News Week'' drew its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organisations, and often, aspects of the show itself. The show opened with a monologue by McDermott relating to recent headlines, after which two teams of three panellists competed in recurring segments to gain points. The show has spawned three short-lived spin-off series, the ABC's ''Good News Weekend'' (1998), Ten's ''GNW Night Lite'' (1999) and Ten's skit-based ''Good News World'' (2011).

Format

''Good News Weeks format is based on that of the British program '' Have I Got News For You'', although host Paul McDermott says that the idea behind the show, "of looking at the news in a satirical way, the week's events, ' this is the week that was', goes back to early radio programs." Executive producer Ted Robinson has said that the show's humour is usually less genteel than ''Have I Got News For You'' as the British series is aimed at an older, over-fifty audience whereas ''Good News Week'' is most popular among the 18 to 39 age group. "We are at the rabid mongrel end of the market," he says.

Monologue

McDermott opens each show with a scripted

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

in which he dissects newsworthy events in a humorous manner. He concludes by declaring, "and that's the good news!" and throwing his newspaper clippings in the air, after which an air cannon expels more newspaper clippings all over the stage. The episode's six panellists, divided into two teams, are then introduced. Teams are captained by the two regular panellists, radio comedian

Mikey Robins Mikel Mason "Mikey" Robins (born 8 December 1961) is an Australian media personality, comedian and writer. He is best known for the satirical game show ''Good News Week'', which ran on the ABC and Network Ten between 1996 and 2000, and returned ...

and stand-up comedian

Claire Hooper Claire Hooper (born 5 September 1976) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter and writer. Hooper is co-hosting '' The Great Australian Bake Off'' alongside Mel Buttle. She appeared as a team captain on the 2008 rev ...

. The four guest panellists consist of a combination of comedians, media personalities and occasionally politicians.

Recurring segments

The monologue is followed by a number of recurring segments. Over a series of rounds, the competing teams attempt to score points by participating in games relating to the news of the week. However, McDermott often allocates additional points such as for flattery, particularly witty comments, creative incorrect answers or to orchestrate the defeat of Robins' team. Similarly, he may confiscate them such as for heckling, misbehaviour or poor, "dad joke" type humour. Each segment is concluded with a short monologue by McDermott about the news story of game, and the whole show concluded by a monologue discussing "the good news for the week ahead". Other than McDermott's monologues, the show is entirely unscripted although some parts of the show require rehearsal when using certain types of props. Each episode usually features four to six different games in addition to the regular segment "Strange But True".

History

Initial run (1996–2000)

The series premiered on the

on 12 April 1996, with an initial order of 50 episodes. The ABC was initially apprehensive about executive producer Ted Robinson's choice of Paul McDermott for host. He had

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

at the time, and was best known for the crude, aggressive "bad boy" character he had played in the

Doug Anthony All Stars The Doug Anthony All Stars (or Doug Anthony Allstars, DAAS, D.A.A.S. or stylised as D⋆A†A☭S) were an Australian musical comedy, alternative rock and vocal group who initially performed together between 1984 and 1994. The group were an aco ...

. In addition, it was doubted that he was capable of

ad lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The ...

bing and speaking well, as in past interviews he had usually allowed his fellow band members to do most of the talking. McDermott cut off his dreadlocks for the show and succeeded in broadening his appeal by showing a gentler, more charming side as host. He has said that although he feels there are still elements of his more aggressive character in ''Good News Week'', they are "toned down... I've got to be the generous host now, spin-the-wheel sort of thing. I'm basing myself on Mike Brady now. I'm the disciplinarian." Mikey Robins was a part of the series from its beginning as one of the team captains. Both

Amanda Keller Amanda Rose Keller (born 25 February 1962) is an Australian television and radio presenter, comedian, writer, actress, journalist and media personality, best known as the hostess of the popular Australian lifestyle program ''The Living Room''. ...

and

Anthony Ackroyd Anthony Michael Ackroyd (born 30 June) is an Australian comedian, writer, musician, actor, speaker, and teacher. He is currently the CEO (Chief Enjoyment Officer) of his company The Laughter Advantage. Biography Ackroyd was born in Hobart, Tasma ...

briefly participated as the second team captain before

Julie McCrossin Julie Elizabeth McCrossin (born 2 October 1954) is an Australian radio broadcaster, journalist, comedian, political commentator and activist for women's rights, women's and gay rights. She is best known for her role as a team captain on the new ...

took on the role. The show initially struggled to gain a following, and McDermott admits that the early shows were "a little wobbly" and that he was not quite sure of the role he was supposed to be playing. "After only six episodes the critics said we were goners," says Robins. "In fact, the first publicity we got said we were axed." In late 1996, while facing budget cuts, the ABC announced the cancellation of ''Good News Week'', but later reversed the decision. The series grew in popularity and by 1997 was attracting an average of 750,000 viewers nationally, occasionally beating commercial stations in the ratings. The show was filmed at the ABC Studios in

Gore Hill Gore Hill is an urban locality on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gore Hill is located within the southern part of the suburb of Artarmon, and the north-west of the suburb of St Leonards. History It takes its na ...

for its 1996–1999 seasons, then production moved to its old home at Global Television Studios in

North Ryde North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City ...

, for its 1999–2001 seasons. In 1999, Network Ten purchased the rights to ''Good News Week'' in a reported $6 million deal after outbidding the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

, the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

and the ABC. The show's move to commercial television sparked outrage among some fans, who felt that this was a 'sell-out', but the show's staff expressed optimism about the change, describing it as a new challenge and a chance to reinvent themselves. Robins has described ABC as a channel that allows new talent to find their feet, and argued that as ''Good News Week'' had achieved this it was time to move on and make way for other performers. He added that Ten had allowed the writers great artistic freedom, perhaps even more than the ABC had permitted. "We can be even crueller about the Government without getting messages from on high," he said. The show retained all of its stars and the majority of writers and technical staff after the transition. Among the show's guest panellists were

Adam Spencer Adam Barrington Spencer (born 29 January 1969) is an Australian comedian, media personality and former radio presenter. He first came to fame when he won his round of the comedic talent search ''Raw Comedy'' in 1996. Soon thereafter, he began ...

, Margaret Scott,

Peter Berner Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, Tanya Bulmer, Anthony Morgan,

Rod Quantock Rodney Edward Quantock (born 1948) is an Australian stand-up comedian and writer. Quantock is known for his pioneering style of stand-up comedy, which is often politically driven, as well as being the face of bed retailer Capt'n Snooze for man ...

Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...

Johanna Griggs Johanna Leigh Griggs (born 17 October 1973) is an Australian television presenter and former competitive swimmer. She won a bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Griggs has been at the Seven Network since 1993 where she joined S ...

and

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

, as well as several political figures such as

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

senator

Natasha Stott Despoja Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...

, then-Minister for Justice and Customs

Amanda Vanstone Amanda Eloise Vanstone (née O'Brien; born 7 December 1952) is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...

Tim Fischer Timothy Andrew Fischer (3 May 1946 – 22 August 2019) was an Australian politician and diplomat who served as leader of the National Party from 1990 to 1999. He was Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 to 1999. Fischer ...

. Amanda Keller, a frequent panellist, advised guests of the show to "talk, no matter what... Err on the side of verbal diarrhoea because they can always cut things out." Ten cancelled the series in 2000, but early in 2001 announced that it had struck a deal for a limited series of ''Good News Week'' specials and debates.

Second run (2008–2012)

Claire Hooper and Bob Brown - GNW backstage cropped

While

had initially intended only to bring back ''Good News Week'' as a one-off special, the short supply of US shows resulting from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike caused the network to take an interest in developing more local programs and the show returned as a weekly series. The revived series premiered on 11 February 2008 with McDermott reprising his role as host. Robins returned as a team captain and comedian Claire Hooper replaced McCrossin as the opposing captain. Many segments from the show's initial run, such as "What's the Story?", "Strange But True", "Magazine Mastermind", "Buzzers of Death" and "Warren", were largely unchanged, while others were updated or renamed such as "So You Think You Can Mime?" (formerly "Bad Street Theatre") and "Blow Up Your Pants" (formerly "Scattergories"). New segments included "Couch Potato" and "Dirty Sexy Fast Money", the show's weekly final challenge. The original theme, "It's Good News Week" by

Hedgehoppers Anonymous Hedgehoppers Anonymous were a 1960s beat group from the United Kingdom. They formed in November 1963 as The Trendsetters, and became ''The Hedgehoppers'' the following year. Jonathan King took over their record production in 1965, and added ''An ...

, was also updated with a cover version performed by McDermott. Online presence was another new aspect of the show, with full episodes, extended monologues, behind-the-scenes footage and video blogs by McDermott made viewable on the Ten website. Viewers were also able to vote online for the GNW Awards, special season finale shows offering awards for newsmakers during the year in fields such as sport, entertainment, politics and religion. The show's return was well received, maintaining steady ratings in a competitive time slot and often being extended from 60 to 90 minutes of run time (including commercials). McDermott was also nominated for a

Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV W ...

in 2010. The show returned to its former home, at

Studios in Ultimo, for its 2008–2010 seasons. In 2011, production moved to

Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in Sydney. In 2011, the show was placed on hiatus following various programming changes by

. A skit-based spin-off named ''Good News World'' starring McDermott, Robins, Hooper and several regular ''Good News Week'' guests, was produced for the later half of 2011. Neither show was renewed for 2012, however a finale special for ''Good News Week'' was filmed at the 2012

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...

and televised on 28 April.

Spin-offs

''Good News Weekend'' (1998)

In 1998, a ten-week series entitled ''Good News Weekend'' aired on the ABC in the Saturday night time slot usually occupied by

Roy and HG Roy and HG are an Australian comedy duo, comprising Greig Pickhaver in the role of "H. G. Nelson" and John Doyle as "'Rampaging' Roy Slaven". Their act is an affectionate but irreverent parody of Australia's obsession with sport. Their charact ...

, who were away working in Britain at the time. The show was hosted by McDermott and featured regular team captains Robins and McCrossin. Unlike the weekly show, ''Good News Weekend'' was focussed more strongly on popular culture than the news and frequently featured musical guests and stand-up performers. The shows were broadcast live, with the exception of a few prerecorded sketches.

''GNW Night Lite'' (1999)

During 1999, a second spin-off was created for Network Ten. ''GNW Night Lite'' featured the regular cast, in addition to Flacco and

The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

. Like ''Good News Weekend'', it was focussed on music and variety and games tended to relate to popular culture rather than current events. There would also generally be a musical act and Flacco and The Sandman would perform humorous monologues and dialogues between segments. McDermott describes the show as having been "a fairly radical departure" and says that they initially struggled with it, but by 2000 had found a combination with which they were comfortable.

''Good News World'' (2011)

In 2011, Network Ten announced they would be resting the ''Good News Week'' panel format and introducing a skit-based spin-off titled ''Good News World''. McDermott, Robins and Hooper returned as regular cast members, along with ''Good News Week'' regulars

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson formerly co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts ''Hard Quiz'', both ...

Akmal Saleh Akmal Saleh ( ar, أكمل صالح Coptic: AKMAΛ CAΛΕϨ) (born 21 July 1964) is an Egyptian-Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney with his family in 1975 at the age of 11. He has been performing comedy si ...

Cal Wilson Cal Wilson (born 5 October 1970) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, author, radio and television presenter. Early life After attending high school in Christchurch, New Zealand, Wilson completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Canterbu ...

Sammy J Samuel Jonathan McMillan (born 2 July 1983) is an Australian musical comedy, musical comedian, satirist, writer and radio presenter who performs under the stage name Sammy J. He embraces a variety of media in his comedy, including the use of vid ...

and

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

. The show was poorly received, with criticisms centring on its scripted nature and lack of spontaneity in comparison to the original ''Good News Week'' format.

Other media

Several items of merchandise were available from ABC stores including * Two books (''Good News Week Book One'', ''Good News Week Book Two'') * Two CDs (''Paul McDermott Unplugged: The Good News Week Tapes Volume 1'', and ''Live Songs from Good News Week: The Good News Week Tapes Volume 2'') * VHS video (''Good News Week: Unseen and Obscene'').

Reception

Logie Awards

In 1999 and 2000, Good News Week was nominated for two

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

in the categories of Most Popular Comedy Program and Most Outstanding Comedy Program. Host, Paul McDermott was nominated for the

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

award in 2010 for his role on this show.

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, , ''Unplugged Good News Week Tapes Volume 1'' , ,

ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

, , , , , -

References

External links

Official Site
* * *
Good News Week at the National Film and Sound Archive
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