''Let Loose Live'', premiering on Sunday 29 May 2005, was an hour-long
Australian
live sketch comedy television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
programme loosely based on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''. At least two-thirds of each episode's content was broadcast live, requiring a large cast and crew.
The show was broadcast on the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
on Sunday nights at 8:30 PM, but was axed after just two episodes due to disappointing ratings.
It was not replaced; instead, the Seven Network's regular Sunday night movies returned to the 8.30 slot.
''Let Loose Lives cancellation was announced the day after the second episode aired. Tim Worner, Seven's programming boss, conceded that it did not live up to expectations despite being strongly promoted. According to
OzTAM
OzTAM is an Australian audience measurement research firm that collects and markets television ratings data. It is jointly owned by the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten, and is the official source of television ratings data for ...
, 955,000 viewers tuned in to its pilot episode, but then the ratings plummeted almost by a third to 650,000 the following week. Not long after the cancellation, the Seven Network announced plans to reinstate the series during the summer (non-ratings) season, but nothing came of it.
Prior to the show's debut, director Ted Emery (
''Fast Forward'', ''
The Micallef Program
''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)'' is an Australian sketch comedy TV series hosted by Shaun Micallef, and written by Micallef and Gary McCaffrie, that ran from 1998 to 2001 on ABC TV. It was known as ''The Micallef Program'' in its first series, ...
'', ''
Kath & Kim
''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...
'') remarked in an interview that ''Let Loose Live'' would either 'soar majestically, or crash and burn'.
Cast
*
Peter Moon
*
Michael Veitch
Michael Veitch (born 29 November 1962 in Melbourne) is an Australian author, actor and broadcaster, best known for his roles on the sketch comedy television shows '' The D-Generation'', '' Fast Forward'' and '' Full Frontal'', as well as for hi ...
*
Marg Downey
Marg Downey (born 5 May 1961) is an Australian comedian and actress best known for her roles in '' The D Generation'', ''Fast Forward'' and '' Full Frontal''
Early life and education
Downey grew up in a middle-class Catholic family in the Melb ...
*
Colin Lane
*
Dave O'Neil
David O'Neil (born 8 May 1965) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, bass guitarist, writer, television and radio presenter with unusually large thumbs.
Early career
Dave was a Cub, Scout, Venturer and Rover. His late father Kevin was th ...
*
Jane Hall
*
Andrew Curry
Andrew Curry (born 2 July 1972, Melbourne) is an Australian producer and actor who has appeared in many television drama and comedy series, and in feature films.
One of Curry's most notable roles was Larry Woodhouse in '' Neighbours'', a recur ...
*
Paul Calleja
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
*
Queenie van de Zandt
*
Kate McLennan
Kate McLennan is an Australian comedian, writer and actor. McLennan has performed in Australia and internationally, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is known in Australia for her work on television and web series such as '' The ...
*
Sam McMillan
*
Julie Eckersley
Ratings
Guest Hosts
* Episode #1 -
William McInnes
Daryl William Mathew Gabriel McInnes (born 10 September 1963) is an Australian film and television actor and writer. He portrayed the role of Matt Tivolli in '' The Time of Our Lives''. He is best known for his roles as Senior Constable Nick Sc ...
(Sunday 29 May 2005)
* Episode #2 -
Tom Williams (Sunday 5 June 2005)
* Episode #3 -
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...
(Failed to air)
See also
*
List of Seven Network programs
*
List of Australian television series
References
External links
*
Let Loose Live at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020
Australian television sketch shows
Seven Network original programming
2005 Australian television series debuts
2005 Australian television series endings