''The Dream with Roy and HG'' was a sports/comedy talk show, broadcast every night during the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, presented by Australian comedy duo

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 ...

. Their telecasts became one of the most popular events of the Games, with Olympians from all nations queueing up to appear. The gifts given to interviewees became some of the most valuable collectors' items of the Games. Due to the attention on Australia as the host nation, the 2000 season took the form of a two-hour show and was made available to Olympic broadcasters internationally; the 2004 season was a one-hour show broadcast in Australia only. The pair became well known for their commentary of certain events, particularly the men's

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. Speaking with mock-seriousness, Roy and H.G. used fictitious terminology to describe various manoeuvres. Such coined terms included adapted vernacular such as " battered sav" and " Chiko Roll", and other inventions like "flat bag", "Dutch wink", "crazy date" and "hello boys" that became familiar to viewers worldwide. Roy and H.G. also interspersed their commentary with made-up "facts" about the competitors, such as their occupation and pre-match preparation routines. Other running jokes included showing slow-motion clips of

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

accompanied by raunchy

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

music and the very snugly fitting outfits worn by the male Rowing teams. They also popularised Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat as their mascot, dismissing the official mascots as "Olly, Millie, and Dickhead". This was emphasised in a satirical diving contest between Fatso, the three official mascots, and the Boxing Kangaroo later in the Games. Fatso's huge popularity during the series caused consternation with the

Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, who at first tried to ban the character from Olympic events after Australian athletes appeared carrying Fatso dolls at medal ceremonies. When auctioned for charity at the end of the series, Fatso was purchased by Seven Network CEO

Kerry Stokes Kerry Matthew Stokes (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in a diverse range of industries including electronic and print media, property, mining, and construction equipment. ...

for A$80,450. A statue of Fatso was later erected at the Olympic Park site. Insulting

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

ers, particularly by way of the medal tally, was also a favourite pastime of

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

. When New Zealand won their first gold of the Games in the

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically att ...

, he remarked: "And New Zealanders perform at their best when they're sitting down going backwards." During the 2004 season,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

was insulted frequently, along with New Zealanders, as was former Olympic host city

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, which Roy regularly denounced as "the toilet".

Spin-off shows

The show's popularity during the 2000 season prompted the creation of two spin-off shows, broadcast in Australia only—''The Ice Dream'' during the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

, and ''The Cream'', during the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

. The show's success also spawned ''The Monday Dump'', a weekly sports/talk show with a similar format but lacking the central focus of a single sporting event.

Awards

In 2001, the show won Most Popular Sports Program at the Logies. In 2005, the show was nominated for the same category.

External links

* (2000) * (2004)
newspaper comment

The Official Anthem of the Smiggins Hole 2010 Bid - Unleash the Mighty Mongrel - By Sean PeterThe Dream at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream Australian comedy television series Seven Network original programming 2000 Australian television series debuts 2004 Australian television series endings Olympics on Australian television 2000 Summer Olympics 2004 Summer Olympics Australian sports television series

Spin-off shows

Awards

See also

External links