''Micallef Tonight'' was a short-lived Aria Award-winning Australian

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...

that aired on the Nine Network in 2003. It was hosted by comedian Shaun Micallef and also featured the talents of

Francis Greenslade Francis Greenslade (born 3 October 1962 in Honiara, Solomon Islands) is an Australian comedic actor. He also teaches acting. Early life In the 1980s, Greenslade studied at the University of Adelaide where he first met Shaun Micallef. They per ...

Jason Geary Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

Livinia Nixon Livinia Helen Nixon (19 March 1975) is an Australian television presenter and actress. Nixon is the chief weather presenter for ''Nine News Melbourne''.Pete Smith.

Show content

Much like a typical variety show, each episode of ''Micallef Tonight'' featured a number of interviews with celebrities bookended by regular segments (such as "Shaun on his High Horse", which featured Micallef ranting against pop culture while straddling a gymnast vaulting horse) and a musical performance. However at times the show also delved into the realm of

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

, such as introducing guest Jamie Durie with a long-winded opening only to dismiss him immediately afterwards since there was nothing left to discuss, and requesting that guest

Alison Whyte Alison Whyte (born 1968 in Tasmania) is an Australian actress best known for her roles on the Australian television series '' Frontline'' and '' Satisfaction''. Acting career A former student of classical ballet, Whyte graduated from the Victo ...

hold an inflatable fish while Micallef himself danced on his desk, in an otherwise unrelated interview. Shaun Micallef in ABC Studio 31

Other in-show shenanigans included stealing musical guest Delta Goodrem's shoes as she played the piano, deliberately leaving actress

Melissa George Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...

, live via satellite from Hollywood, on hold for over five minutes (she had guest starred in a supersized episode of '' Friends'' earlier that night, effectively delaying the broadcast of ''Micallef Tonight'' by several minutes), and requesting singers insert random words in to their musical performances to prove they weren't

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

. Notable examples were David Campbell inserting the word "

lamington A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, gi ...

" into his performance and Amiel inserting the word "

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins pe ...

". Micallef would end each episode with the line "See you in the Monkey House Australia!" and the show would usually close with a musical performance from Greenslade that was never quite what the audience expected; such as a rendition of Billy Joel's " Piano Man" played on the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

. Micallef previously parodied the variety show format with 1998's ''

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, ...

''.

Episodes

Cancellation

The series premiered on 12 May 2003 and thirteen episodes were aired. The first episode rated strongly and although ratings declined steadily thereafter, it was announced in June 2003 that the series would be extended for a further 20 weeks. Episode 12 (28 July) included a segment involving a midget hassling random restaurant patrons; after it screened, guest Tony Martin pointed out that the last show he had been involved in which featured the same midget actor -- (''

The Mick Molloy Show ''The Mick Molloy Show'' was a television program that appeared on the Nine Network in Australia for just eight weeks during 1999. The host, Mick Molloy, was a widely acclaimed comedian from '' The Late Show'' and ''Martin/Molloy''. The progr ...

'') -- had been axed. In an example of history repeating itself, Micallef Tonight was cancelled the following week. In addition, on an earlier episode during a live cross to promote the movie ''

Bad Eggs ''Bad Eggs'' is a 2003 Australian comedy movie, written and directed by Tony Martin. It stars Mick Molloy, Bob Franklin and Judith Lucy, with Alan Brough, Bill Hunter, Marshall Napier, Nicholas Bell, Steven Vidler, Shaun Micallef, Roby ...

'', a visibly intoxicated

Mick Molloy Michael Molloy (born 11 July 1966) is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts '' The Front Bar'' on the Seven Network. ...

warned Micallef to "watch (his) arse" when he learned that the show was on the Nine Network. Micallef ended his series with an interview with

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

in which both he and Martin used an expletive on live television, then called Nine Network live on air to complain about the language used on his show. Ironically, the interview was pre-recorded in the previous week to fit in with Martin's schedule, a fact alluded to by both Micallef and comedian

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 ...

during the actual live segments of the episode. At the conclusion of what ended up being the final show, Micallef said that band The Dandy Warhols would be on the next week's show. The camera cut to the band on stage, ready to perform. Micallef informed the band that it was the next week they were meant to be on.

Critical reception

Similarly to the equally short-lived ''The Mick Molloy Show'' (also shown on Nine), ''Micallef Tonight'' was ostensibly cancelled because of dwindling ratings, in this case against fellow comedian Andrew Denton's interview series ''

Enough Rope ''Enough Rope with Andrew Denton'' (often shortened to ''Enough Rope'') is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC1 in Australia. The title of the show came from the phrase " give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves ...

''. In a memorable parody, whilst Dannii Minogue was performing on Shaun's show, the camera cut to him only to see Shaun watching Andrew Denton's show (which aired simultaneously on another channel). Critics also claimed that the show may have been too sophisticated for most audiences on the notoriously "mainstream" Nine Network, and was an acquired taste. Others have said that part of the axing was due to a segment which made fun of Alan Jones' morning message segment on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

''. The segment began with one video on screen then became two, then four, then eight, then sixteen, and so on until it reached dozens and although nothing said was comprehensible, they all ended at the same time with 'I'm Alan Jones'. This segment apparently angered Nine Network owner Kerry Packer (who was also a close friend of Jones), and he ordered the show to be axed after less-than-impressive ratings for what turned out to be the final episode. At the time of its airing, the show was critically acclaimed and became a cult favorite, even having followers internationally due to its irreverent humor and absurdity.

DVD releases

The ''Micallef Tonight'' show was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

as a "best of" compilation, that included some un-aired material. ''The Expurgated Micallef Tonight: The Very Best of Shaun Micallef's Short-Lived but Brilliant Tonight Show'' was released through

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

on 26 November 2007. On 19 October 2008 the DVD release won an ARIA Award for best comedy release. The DVD included a commentary track on part of the contents, featuring Micallef and guest Tony Martin (who appeared in episode 12 and also in the un-aired pilot). The DVD is also available as part of the DVD box set ''The Collected Shaun Micallef'' which was released in 2011 by Shock Records. The set features 10 discs, containing ''The Expurgated Micallef Tonight'', ''The Incompleat Shaun Micallef'' (highlights of his work on ''Full Frontal'') and all three seasons of ''

'' as well as a bonus audio CD ''His Generation''.

Awards

* 2008 Aria Award Best Comedy Release - The Expurgated Micallef Tonight: The Very Best of Shaun Micallef's Short-Lived but Brilliant Tonight Show

References

External links

Information site for Shaun Micallef

* {{IMDb title, id=0353074, title=Micallef Tonight
The Rest of the World is Missing Out!
- A synopsis of the "alternative Harry Potter" sketch from the show. Australian variety television shows Nine Network original programming Television shows set in Melbourne 2003 Australian television series debuts 2003 Australian television series endings