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''The Glass House'' was a half-hour Australian comedy talk show which screened on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 2001 to 2006.
It was hosted by stand-up comedian
Wil Anderson
William James Anderson (born 31 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster.
Early life
William James Anderson was born on 31 January 1974 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.< ...
, and co-hosted by fellow television and radio comedians
Corinne Grant
Corinne Grant (born 12 June 1973) is an Australian lawyer, comedian and television presenter.
Career
After briefly studying as a nurse in Wodonga, Grant started her career as an actor in Melbourne, obtaining a degree in drama. After graduating, ...
and
Dave Hughes
David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter.
He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery.
Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...
. Two additional guests joined the regular cast each week, including musicians, politicians, actors, radio personalities and other
celebrities
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
of varying calibre, such as
Young Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
winners and Olympic
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
s. Regular guests included comedians
Adam Spencer
Adam Barrington Spencer (born 29 January 1969) is an Australian comedian, media personality and former radio presenter. He first came to fame when he won his round of the comedic talent search ''Raw Comedy'' in 1996. Soon thereafter, he began ...
and
Akmal Saleh
Akmal Saleh ( ar, أكمل صالح Coptic: AKMAΛ CAΛΕϨ) (born 21 July 1964) is an Egyptian-Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney with his family in 1975 at the age of 11. He has been performing comedy si ...
, netballer
Liz Ellis
Elizabeth Margaret Ellis, (born 17 January 1973) is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian ...
, ''
Play School'' host
Rhys Muldoon
Rhys Muldoon (born 17 October 1965) is an Australian actor, writer and director who has worked extensively in film, television, music, theatre and radio. Since 2012 he has starred as Mark Oliver in '' House Husbands''.
Career Television
Muldoo ...
, musician
Pinky Beecroft
Matt Ford, known professionally as Pinky Beecroft, is an Australian singer-songwriter, performer and screenwriter. From 1997 to 2005 he was the lead singer and keyboardist for alternative rockers, Machine Gun Fellatio. His group Pinky Beecrof ...
, and music critic
Molly Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...
. The show thrived on taking regular shots at, among others,
Shannon Noll
Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top ten albu ...
,
Amanda Vanstone
Amanda Eloise Vanstone (née O'Brien; born 7 December 1952) is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the ...
,
Naomi Robson
Naomi Robson (born 4 December 1961) is an American-born Australian television presenter who is best known as the former presenter of the east coast edition of ''Today Tonight'', an Australian current affairs program which was broadcast on weekn ...
,
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
and
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...
. The format of the programme is similar to that of the
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...
series, ''
Have I Got News for You''.
The show was pre-recorded in front of a live
audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
in the ABC's Sydney studio on Tuesday evenings. During the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
, the show was taped inside the
Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall is the central city town hall of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is a historic building in the state of Victoria since 1867. Located in the central business district on the northeast corner of the intersection between ...
. The program initially screened on Friday nights, but suffered from an inconsistent timeslot, resulting in humorous TV spots, for example ''9:30 Friday...probably''. In 2005, ''The Glass House'' shifted to a more reliable timeslot on Wednesday at 9:35pm.
The show was recognised by the
AFI Awards in 2005, winning Best Light Entertainment in the Television category, and beating long-time rival and ABC stablemate ''
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 ...
''. Also in 2005, ''The Glass House'' was voted Most Under Acknowledged TV Show in one of the categories for the satirical TV Fugly Awards.
Segments
The show opened with "Ahead in The Glass House...", where an (unseen) upcoming segment is announced followed by a few seconds of out-of-context news footage, usually taken from an interview of an Australian political figure.
The main part of the show began with Anderson seated on steps at the front of the stage, who begins with "Welcome to the Glass House, the program that asks the question...", the question concerning an event from the past week. Anderson will then joke about one to four unusual stories and introduce Corinne Grant, who enters from the camera left. Grant starts off with a pun on Anderson's name and performs a similar, but shorter
monologue
In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...
. Anderson then introduced
Dave Hughes
David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter.
He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery.
Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...
who enters from the camera right, and usually begins with "This week I'm..." and followed by an emotion, usually 'angry',
ad-libbing
In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation.
The r ...
his concerns. The two guests are announced and greeted by Anderson while the panel assembles at the boomerang-shaped table.
Regular segments included:
* ''Movers and Shakers'', concerning stories about unusual trendsetters or pioneers. Anderson will read from teleprompter a short monologue concerning each story, then throw it open to one of the guests, Hughes or Grant for discussion. There are usually three of these, taking up about half the show.
* ''Later in The Glass House'', a short sequence filmed in the same style as the opening, with the voice-over beginning with "Later in The Glass House".
* ''Second Rate Media Watch''. A play on the ABC's serious ''
Media Watch'' program. This segment is similar in structure to ''Movers and Shakers''. However, the story discussed is one that has appeared on a television, radio or internet medium, instead of ''Movers and Shakers newspaper articles.
* ''Question on the Glass House''. Shows footage of Hughes in the theatre lobby before the show, getting
vox pops from the studio audience before the show, normally using a simple one line question. Some participants answer seriously, others not so seriously, and others try to hide.
* ''Interview with Hughesy''. A continuation of ''Questions on the Glass House'', in this segment Anderson introduces a single story related to the questions previously asked, after which Hughes is asked to help by
roleplay
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as ...
ing a significant newsmaker from the story. Donning an often ridiculous hat or costume prop, Hughes then has to answer questions from the other panelists.
Other segments:
* ''Rogues' Gallery''. Here, the panelists examine and make fun of interesting or funny photos from the week's media.
* ''Contact with the Great Unwashed''. Anderson takes a microphone into the audience to ask them to suggest a recent event for the panel to discuss.
Closing segments:
The show ends with two segments performed by Anderson:
* ''The Trophy''. Anderson announces the end of the show with the line "Yes, it's time to award the coveted Glass House trophy, which this week is called..." followed with a short animation of a humorous
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pla ...
(often
alliterative
Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...
or a
tongue twister
A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Additionally, they can be used as exercises to improve pronunciation and fluency. Some tongue twisters p ...
). The winner is the person or thing responsible for the news item. The trophy is golden figure holding an umbrella, to protect him from shattering glass. The trophy was originally known as "The Golden Shier", a pun on
Jonathan Shier
Jonathan Fraser Shier (born 18 October 1947) is an Australian businessman and media executive.
He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and Monash University (LLB BEcon). During the years 1978 to 1999, Shier lived in the United Kingdom and the N ...
, then responsible for running the ABC, giving an alternate purpose for the trophy's umbrella. The umbrella has been broken off at least twice during a show recording, although only the first occasion made it to air.
* ''Tomorrow's Headlines''. A newspaper headline for the week is shown (and read), followed by a humorous sub-heading.
Cancellation
On 31 October 2006, the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
announced the program was cancelled and the final episode of the series would go to air on 29 November 2006 as a one-hour special. Anderson mentioned on the show that they may look at
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
as a possible home for the show in the future.
The ABC decision generated public interest, with suggestions the decision may have been politically motivated.
Dave Hughes
David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter.
He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery.
Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...
stated that "We have had our best ratings ever,".
The cancellation occurred in the same year as the ABC's decision not to publish the biography of
Alan Jones and followed revelations the ABC had begun a new investigation into bias in its programs.
The decision occurred one day after NSW senator
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells
Concetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells (born 20 May 1960) is an Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 2005 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party. She served as Minister for International Development and the Pacific in th ...
told ABC executives under their questioning that co-host Corinne Grant had been guilty of a serious conflict of interest because she was the public face of the
ACTU
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...
's workplace relations campaign.
Numerous online groups and petitions were created in an attempt to keep the show on air. Although the move came in the middle of
Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
attempts to
force changes in the management and policies of the ABC to remove perceived bias, then Prime Minister
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
said he did not ask the ABC Board to axe the show.
The final episode was ranked the week's 10th most watched show nationally with 1.15 million viewers, which also provided the highest ever ratings for ''The Glass House''.
[
]
See also
*
List of Australian television series
Future shows
Seven
* ''The 1% Club'' (Seven Network game show 2023–)
* ''Apartment Rules'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* '' Animals Aboard with Dr Harry'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* ''Armchair Experts'' (Seven Network sports ...
References
External links
''The Glass House'' official site*
Blog of writers Warwick Holt & Mat Blackwell, including draft material for ''The Glass House''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass House, The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Australian comedy television series
Criticism of journalism
Australian variety television shows
Australian television talk shows
2001 Australian television series debuts
2006 Australian television series endings
Television shows set in Sydney
Television shows set in Melbourne