''Comedy Slapdown'' is an Australian television

improvised comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

program produced by

FremantleMedia Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television i ...

, that first aired on

The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Serv ...

from 8 November 2008 at 7:30pm. The show is hosted by H.G. Nelson and features a variety of comedians participating in

theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

Matt Parkinson heads up the judging panel which includes one other celebrity judge and one judge selected from the audience. Notable guest comedians include Corinne Grant,

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 ...

, Natalie Garonzi,

Matt Tilley Matt Tilley (born 4 March 1969 in Melbourne) is an Australian ex-radio presenter and stand-up comedian. Personal life Tilley was raised in Mount Eliza. He completed his secondary school education in 1986 at The Peninsula School in Mount Eliza ...

and

Julia Zemiro Julia Zemiro () (born 14 April 1967) is a French-born Australian television presenter, radio host, actress, singer, writer and comedian. She is best known as the host of the music quiz and live performance show '' RocKwiz''. Zemiro is a fluent ...

. The premise of the show can be compared to the popular improvisational comedy program '

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

' with various improvisational comedy games played as the teams compete against each other.

Game Examples

In each episode, the contestants are split into 2 teams, the red team and the blue team (Referring to the terms "In the red corner" and "In the blue corner") Here some of the games that are played *What's My Name? – A standard Comedy Slapdown opening round. The game involves both teams. One member of each team is a bouncer and holds a clipboard. Names of celebrities will appear on the screen behind them and the other players must, one at a time, do an impression of that person and help their teammate guess who they are. *Off The Cuff – This game involves one member of each team. One person is given something to make a speech about, and at random times, the other player will say a word and the player giving the speech must incorporate that word into their speech. *Don't Diss Me! – This game also involves one member of each team. They are each given a microphone and they will take turns rapping insults based on the pictures that appear on the screen. EG: with an hourglass: "Hey, boy! You got no class, 'cos, You just tippin' through an hourglass!" *What's This Do? – Works exactly the same way as 'Props' On 'Whose line is it anyway?'. Each team is given a weird-looking prop and they will go back and forth, thinking of as many funny ideas as possible using the props. *They said What? – One at a time, a player from either team will deliver the words you would never want to hear in a given situation (E.g.; In a taxi, In bed with someone, at the oscars). There are two topics for the players to make statements on. The second topic usually relates to the occupation of the guest judge (E.g.; At a singing competition for Anthony Callea, at a Brownlow medal dinner for

Jason Akermanis Jason Dean Akermanis (born 24 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears ...

) *Break Into Song – For one of the 2 teams. They will act out a given scenario, but when the musician, John Thorn, starts playing music they must start singing their dialogue and keep singing until the music stops. *Celebrity Serenade – Comedy Slapdown's weekly final challenge. The guest judge of the week will sit in a chair on stage and HG will ask them a few personal questions. Each of the 6 players must then sing a song about the guest, incorporating the info from the questions.

List of teams

; The Squirminators (Winner, 2008) *

Paul McCarthy Paul McCarthy (born August 4, 1945) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Life McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1945. He studied art at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and later continued ...

* Natalie Garonzi *

Damian Callinan Damian Callinan is an actor/comedian from Melbourne, Australia. Entertainment career Callinan has performed in many mediums, including TV, film, radio and live stand-up. He came to national prominence in 2003 as an actor in the Australian ske ...

; Nuclear Storm (Runner-up, 2008) * Lliam Amor * Emily Taheny * Russell Fletcher ; The Trio of Doom *

Rebecca De Unamuno Rebecca De Unamuno is an Australian actress and comedian. She has written and performed for a number of television comedy series, short films and stand up comedy shows. In 2013 she starred in '' Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody''. Career In 2 ...

Cameron Knight Cameron "Cam" Knight is an Australian comedian and television personality, born in Cummins, South Australia. Career He studied at the South Australian Centre for the Performing Arts before making his break into television as a member of the ''Big ...

(Stood in for by Russell Fletcher for one episode) ; Hardcore Nitro *

* Corinne Grant * Stephen Hall ; The Dirty Hombres * Rik Brown *

(Stood in for by

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...

for two episodes) * Steven Gates

References

{{Reflist Australian comedy television series 2008 Australian television series debuts 2008 Australian television series endings The Comedy Channel original programming Television series by Fremantle (company)