David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour

Category: TV

  • Um… The Middle?

    Hey TV fans,

    I took a rare deviation from my usual meal-time cable television ambience this evening and tuned to Channel 9. There I saw about 90 seconds of their latest US sitcom import, ABC’s “The Middle.” Even though I only watched it for 90 seconds, it was overwhelmingly obvious to me that this show is nothing but a blatant carbon copy of “Malcolm in the Middle.”

    Take a look for yourself…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgyOqrMg–o&feature=player_embedded

    Here are the similarities I’ve passively picked up on:

    1. The title of the show “The Middle” is but one proper noun and one conjunction short of “Malcolm in the Middle.”

    2. 3 of the cast members are DEAD RINGERS for their “Malcolm in the Middle” counterparts, ie. Patricia Heaton/Jane Kaczmarek (Frankie/Lois), Neil Flynn/Bryan Cranston (Mike/Hal) & Atticus Shaffer/Erik Per Sullivan (Brick/Dewey). Not only that, they seem to be practically the same characters.

    3. Both shows are single camera, have no laugh track, use similar transitions and both employ similar musical stings that abruptly stop and start for comic effect.

    4. Patricia Heaton’s character is named “Frankie.” A possible reference to Frankie Muniz? He of course played Malcolm on “Malcolm in the Middle.”

    5. Both shows break the fourth wall and speak to the viewer directly (“Malcolm in the Middle” through Malcolm speaking directly to the camera and “The Middle” via Patricia Heaton’s voice-overs).

    Now I’m admitting I haven’t even watched a whole act of this show. Or the opening title sequence, so I’m sure there’s even more similarities. And I’m sure there’s plenty of differences too. Of course, it’s easy to criticise. I’m the first to admit there are no new ideas in comedy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t employ some freaking subtlety! I couldn’t believe how obvious it was! Surely I’m not the only one to notice this?

    But of course, what do I care? I probably won’t watch it anyway. On the other hand, recent television shows that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend: Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7, The Cleveland Show, John Adams and John Safran’s Race Relations. All great shows I’ve seen in the last 12 months.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Marvel at my recent “star rating system” and “thumbs up/thumbs down” plug-in blogging applications!

  • Newsflash: I’m moving to Melbourne!

    Hello!

    Well yes, as you can guess from the title of this blog, I have indeed reached that point that every young Adelaidean reaches when they realise they must leave. After much speculation I can now officially announce that I’ll be moving to Melbourne in mid-February to study a 1-year post graduate diploma in journalism at RMIT University. Hopefully this will give me some legitimate media skills that will make it harder for me to be replaced with a computer (ala my stint as a panel-operator at SAFM).

    But why go to Melbourne to do journalism? Can’t you do that in Adelaide? Good point and well made. Sure, I could do journalism at Uni SA’s fabulous Magill campus. But what would be the point? The radio elective practical is reading the news on Radio Adelaide. Whoop-dee-doo. I’ve already done 4 shows on Radio Adelaide, each with 13-week seasons, plus 27 weeks of  student radio. I want a new scene. I want a new audience. Melbourne’s where it’s at. And I do hope to make the most of my time there and do some more comedy, radio and possibly some TV. They have RMITV after all, where Rove and Hamish & Andy cut their teeth. I couldn’t recommend eating glass. Not even for a freak show segment…

    So the plan is to get over there, find a place to live, possibly some student-type accommodation, study journalism, find a new casual job, make new friends, continue writing comedy and recording sketches and voice-overs and basically live the dream. Piece of cake, right? It’s going to be a big life change, but it’s something I have to do. I’ve really enjoyed the last 2 years since I finished my behavioural science degree at Flinders University. I did some community radio, worked for SAFM, stopped working for SAFM, went back to community radio, dated a wonderful girl named Jemima, wrote a novel that no publisher is interested in, applied unsuccessfully for about 40 different radio jobs, somehow tricked Triple M into letting me and some friends make a once-off comedy show, waited by the phone as promise after promise failed to materialise and miraculously got probably the best casual job possible at the Palace Nova cinema. But I can’t keep doing this forever. I can’t keep mooching off my parents. I’m 22. I need to get a proper job. And there’s only one thing I want to do, and it ain’t working at a cinema full time. It’s radio. It’s comedy. It’s goofing off in front of a camera. Sure, journalism isn’t the definitive answer, but it’s a step in the right direction. I’d rather read the news at a country radio station or be a newspaper reporter than serve customers at the candy bar 40 hours a week. Something’s gotta give! And if it means getting a job as a journalist in order to support myself and pursuing comedy-related ventures on the side, then that’s the way it has to be. As Mr Mister said: Welcome to the Real World.

    So appreciate photos like the one above, because there will be less images of David M. Green with Stobie Poles orderly alined in the background. In 2010, I’m living in Melbourne.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Live in Melbourne? Be my friend! Reasonable prices.

  • Comedy for the Working Man

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kLYToFDTkI&feature=player_profilepage

    Hey Hey!

    I did a spot of stand-up again last night. Thought I’d talk about my job at the cinema a little this time, so I did… I hope it doesn’t lead to my firing, like the last time I did workplace-related humour… Triple J’s Dave Callan did a great job hosting the evening. I actually thought I was on 3rd, but someone didn’t show up so I was surprised when my name was announced. Smiddy didn’t have the camera ready, as it was still in my bag, so the first 15 seconds or so wasn’t recorded (but those opening jokes fell flat anyway!). It was a very casual, laid-back evening of entertainment. Please enjoy.

    Oh yes, while I’m here, I watched John Safran’s Race Relations on ABC TV this week. Hilarious! By far the best Australian show I’ve seen all year. Wasn’t impressed much with the show on before it “Hungry Beast” (which I actually auditioned for under the show’s previous title of “Project Next”). It seemed like a bunch of journalism students trying to be the next “Chaser,” but very wooden and bland and not particularly funny. And I’m not just saying that because I was looked over for a hosting gig… stupid stuffed shirts wouldn’t let me on their crappy show for jerks… Na, they’re okay.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Several projects in the pipeline

  • Playing by your own rules

    Avast ye matie… oh wait, sorry that was last week… hello,

    I’m sure by now many of you would have heard of the recent David Letterman scandal. If not, read all about it here. Basically, some guy tried to blackmail him for $2 million. Apparently Letterman has had a few flings with some female co-workers over the years, which he admitted to on his show last night. The blackmailer has since been arrested. From what I’ve read on “The Internet” it seems most people are appalled at the blackmailer (and rightly so) but don’t seem to mind about Letterman’s affairs. To quote this article: “Reaction from Letterman fans appeared to back the popular chat show host. Kelli Lageschulte, 20, from Iowa said: ‘I wonder if he told jokes while they were having sex. He is, after all, very funny. Anyway, everybody’s doing it,’ she told The New York Daily News.”

    You do have to admit, Letterman set a good example by how he handled the situation, ie. go straight to the police and then come clean. But the guy still cheated on his girlfriend. Hey, it’s none of my business. Each to their own, of course. But personally, I’m just very disturbed by “being unfaithful.” I remember hearing some statistic a few years ago, that close to 70% of both men and women have admitted to cheating on their partner at one time or another. 70%!

    “Everybody’s doing it, so that makes it okay?” This is what troubles me. In the context of cheating, this is a bad mindset. It’s not like downloading music. People actually get hurt and it’s just not right, in my opinion anyway. I’ve never done it and I don’t think I could ever do it. If you are unsatisfied in a relationship, have the decency to end that relationship before you start another one. I’m sure there are some grey areas and there’ll be people who will argue sometimes it’s okay, eg. open relationships, separated, it’s “just sex,” etc. To them I say, you don’t need to argue with anyone else. You’ll know if you’ve done the wrong thing. That’s between you and your significant other(s). Just remember that no matter who you are, whether you’re some nobody or you’re the host of the biggest talk show on TV, you can’t just do whatever (and whoever) you want and not have to face the consequences of breaking the rules.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    And of course, blackmailing a much loved celebrity is pretty stupid too.

  • Insane about Mad Men (the show. I’m straight.)

    Hello!

    David M. Green. Long time no blog. My apologies, for I have been applying to jobs and universities, filling in forms and submitting things to various places (more will be revealed if and when there’s anything to reveal), so I haven’t been much in the mood to construct a shiny new blog entry. Although, I have had a number of ideas for blogs that I didn’t get around to writing about…

    Channel Ten’s new stock footage show “The Spearman Experiment” for example, the show where “the public” counts down the top 15 of something. Episode One, that went to air September 8th, was counting down the top 15 “Aussie Comedy Characters.” First of all, it’s a crime that none of Shaun Micallef’s characters appeared in the list. At the very least I would have expected “Milo” to make it (although I prefer “David McGahn” and his fictional fictional character of “Roger Explosion”). Second, of the 15 characters, 7 of them were from Channel Ten shows. I reckon Channel Ten should scrap the whole disguise and just make a show called “The Channel Ten Show” or maybe “The Channel Ten Project” or “The Channel Ten Attempt” where they just list reasons why Channel Ten is the best. In fact, why even make it a show? That’s all they should play. You switch on Channel Ten any time day or night and it’s just the station logo with Rove McManus’s voice in a Yoko Ono-esque loop saying “Channel Ten… Channel Ten… Channel Ten…” because after all, they’re just fantastic, aren’t they? Ahh… that’s good satire.

    But to more important things now. Mad Men. Have you heard of it? It’s been on my list of shows to watch for a while now. I’d heard it’s critically acclaimed. So I finally got around to watching it this week. I’d found myself a little burnt out from comedy shows and I needed a nice period drama to get into. Cue Mad Men. It’s a brilliant show. Set in early 1960s New York, it centres on the lives of advertising executives working at a fictional ad firm. I love the show’s visual appearance. And I think they’ve done an excellent job of replicating a ’60s office. Firstly, I don’t think there’s a single scene that doesn’t have the whole lot of them smoking, drinking or being incredibly sexist to the secretaries. I don’t smoke (because I’m not an idiot) and I’m not much of a drinker but watching Mad Men I find myself craving a scotch and a pipe, and skipping off down to the janitor’s closet with Christina Hendricks. And I’d love to go back to New York. What a place… I was there for a mere 4 days back in 2005. I’d really like to just live there. Some day hopefully… sit tight Christina…

    So anyway, if you like a good period drama, don’t waste your time with anything else. Go watch Mad Men. I highly recommend it.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Star of the new Mad Men spin-off about radio advertising: Radioactive Men. Na, not really. I’m okay.