The Late Show (1992 TV Series)

''The Late Show'' is a popular Australian comedy sketch and satire show, which ran for two seasons on the ABC. It aired weekly on Saturday nights from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.

Cast

''The Late Show'' has its roots in the 1980s comedy group, ''The D-Generation''. Consisting mostly of Melbourne University students, ''The D-Generation'' managed to gain a cult following with their radio and TV appearances.

After the breakup of the original ''The D-Generation'', some of the members went on to perform on the commercial TV programme ''Fast Forward''. The remaining members filmed several pilots for what was to be called ''The Late Late Show'' at Channel Nine. These were rejected, and so the group accepted the ABC's offer of a one-hour timeslot on Saturday night. The cast members were:

* Santo Cilauro
* Tom Gleisner
* Jane Kennedy
* Judith Lucy (Season Two only)
* Tony Martin
* Mick Molloy
* Rob Sitch
* Jason Stephens

Segments

''The Late Show'' featured a number of popular, recurring segments.

Introduction: Stand-up

The show opened with a stand-up routine, usually by Martin and/or Molloy, but was sometimes opened by another of the hosts instead.

The stand-up was often topical, usually focusing on the week's news, or it was about a topic of the host's choosing.
(In one show, Santo talked about his family's highly ethnically styled home—which was eccentric even by their community's standards—for example, the sequence in question was complete with video clips of the house's odd exterior and interior.)

The Late Show News Headlines

''The Late Show News Headlines'', presented by Gleisner, would blend the week's real news headlines with fake information and footage. For example, when covering the replacement of Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, footage from an Asian bodybuilding competition was shown. The News Headlines would also feature interviews with newsmakers, most often played by Sitch in costume and prosthetics. Some of the better-known impersonations included H. Ross Perot, Jeff Kennett, John Hewson, Paul Keating, Imran Khan, Yasser Arafat, Gareth Evans and Desmond Tutu.

(Sitch also appeared in other segments as Elton John among others.)

Mick's Serve

This would accompany the News Headlines, Molloy joining Gleisner at the News Desk as Gleisner would get Molloy to comment on a topical issue.

This slowly escalated from discussing the issue with an ever calm Gleisner, to an irritated Molloy showing signs of annoyance with the issue, eventually Molloy would rant over the issue while becoming increasingly enraged.

The skit would always end with Gleisner calling in Men in White Coats to douse Molloy and the News Desk with fire extinguishers.

Street Talk

In ''Street Talk'', Martin and Molloy would take to the streets of Melbourne and interview passers-by on issues of the day. These vox-pop interviews often proved more of an opportunity for the pair to ridicule their interviewees, especially their dress sense.

The Oz Brothers

This segment saw Cilauro and Sitch as two siblings obsessed with the Australian cricketer David Boon. The segment featured catchphrases such as 'I've had a gut full', 'This country's stuffed', and 'I can't burrleevet' (believe it). Their worship of all things Boon included praying to a small golden statue of Boon, playing Scrabble (only the word 'Boon' was used by both brothers), posters of Boon adorning the walls of their home, and playing a Boon video-game in which the player could select the size of Boon's moustache and gut. David Boon himself appeared in one episode in which he read the brothers a bedtime story.

Celebrity Interviews

Martin went through hours to apply prosthetic make-up to be interviewed in-character as Paul Keating, Prince Charles, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Jackson.

* I
the interview with "Schwarzenegger" hosted by Molloy
the two discuss "Arnie"'s films.
"Schwarzenegger" talks happily about his latest project, and despite Molloy's warnings to the crowd before "Arnold" came out on stage to not mention Last Action Hero (a film which at the time was a bomb and a sore spot for the real Arnold), a crowd member mentions he didn't like it, and "Schwarzenegger" shoots him dead on the spot, quipping ''"Opinion noted."''. "Arnie" proceeds to show off his latest movie trailer, a remake of Citizen Kane, updated and "''improved on''", directed by Twins Director Ivan Reitman.
* The interview with Prince Charles was a to-camera interview as he tours his home, talking about the features interspersed with jabs about how much he loathes things like sex with his wife Diana.
* The interview with Paul Keating was a satire of both journalism and politics during the era of Prime Minister Paul Keating going head to head with Opposition Leader Dr. John Hewson
seen in another episode as played by Sitch in prosthetic makeup
.

The Toilet Break

''The Toilet Break'', as the name suggests, was designed to allow viewers time to use the toilet during the commercial-free show (the ABC, being a public broadcaster, has no adverts during shows and minimal amounts of commercials between them, usually only for the ABC Shop).

The 2-minute-long segment was played in the middle of every show, featuring old music clips, with a countdown displayed on the top left-hand corner of the screen. During the first season, the toilet break consisted mostly of clips from The Natural 7 from ''The Saturday Show''. The second season exclusively used clips from ''Pot Luck'', which were judged by Bernard King.

Shitscared

''Shitscared'' starred Rob Sitch as a stuntman combining Evel Knievel and Ed Wood (in that he was similarly unable to grasp his own sheer incompetence and lack of aptitude in his chosen field) compounded by the 'spanner in the works', Mick Molloy as his half-witted assistant and Tom Gleisner as the interviewer. Sitch played the arrogant expert, who loved to pontificate about "the stunt game". He would fashion detailed plans for each stunt, with an emphasis on "safety". He would boast about his own significance, mumbling and glossing over any questions relating to poorly funded, rundown buildings and stunt apparatus variously referred to as 'Stunt HQ'. Mick would always manage to ruin Rob's planning, inevitably resulting in physical injury for Rob, which would get him a slap on the back of his head from Rob (although Mick was always wearing a crash helmet). The first two ''Shitscared'' sketches were shot at Channel Nine for the unaired pilots of ''The Late, Late Show'' (no relation to the American show hosted by Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson and James Corden).

Pissweak World

Several-minute advertisements for mediocre theme parks with the 'Pissweak' brand name.
These included :
* Pissweak World
* Ye Olde Pissweeke Worlde (a parody of Renaissance Fairs)
* Pissweak Movie World (a parody of '' WB Movie World'')
* Pissweak Aero World
* Pissweak Marine World
* Pissweak World Fun Park

Each would feature a guided tour with examples of the many low-quality attractions. Featuring The Pissweak Kids and Tom Gleisner as the Park Guide, with narration by Tony Martin.

Park highlight narration examples (from Pissweak Town):
* "Ride a bucking bronco!" – clip showing a child sitting on a golden retriever (a.k.a. Charlie The Wonderdog).
* "See a bush printing press!" – clip of a man holding a child's head on top of a photocopier printing out a copy.
* "Ride a stage coach!" – clip shows dejected children inside a trailer being driven down a road.

Graham and the Colonel

Similar to Roy and HG, ''Graham and the Colonel'' were two satirical sports commentators, played respectively by Sitch and Cilauro dressed in green ABC sports jackets. Whilst the characters often forgot lines and used many corny and humourless jokes, the segment was much loved. This segment aired just before the end of each episode.

The intro music for the segment was "Light and Tuneful" by Keith Mansfield, the same music used by the BBC
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