I missed that the ABC has renewed the woeful "Tonightly" with Tom Ballard.
It has been distressing me that it has also leaked like a broken sewer pipe out of ABC Comedy channel (why did they think it was worth doing that - they have been struggling to find enough old and new shows to fill it) onto the main ABC channel.
I dropped in on it last night to see if Ballard was still as bad as I formerly found him.
Yes, he is. Still swearing like a bogan in a pub (to no effect other than as a sort of repetitive punctuation), and with a delivery that is pretty much always begging for laughs: half acknowledging that the humour that he just tried didn't really work. I read someone at Catallaxy, CL I think, described the audience as always giving "pity laughs", and for once, I think he is reading something right.
It's an appallingly underwritten show with an appalling host, and a pretty tiny audience. I hope it's cheap to make, as I can see no other potential justification for not giving it a mercy killing.
unfortunately swearing is part of 'comedy'.
ReplyDeleteMonty Python did in their glory days and Mad as Hell is getting there unfortunately. It is rarely funny.
I never watched Ballard given what was said of him.