Shaun Micallef

Read this one in a chapter a night method and it was funny and entertaining. Micallef weaves a tale of time travel in a rather bizarre way. Often it feels like your reading a skit playing out and there's the occasional breaking of the fourth wall, some witty little footnotes and so on.

There's plenty of great lines. I'm not sure if the story logically makes sense, but it's not the sort of book that it's really meant to. I'm going to have to read it again to see if it happens to.

I did quite enjoy H.G. Wells trying to compete with Conan Doyle, I hope they really did have conversations in the way Micallef describes.

Truly a tour de force.… (more)

Everyone who hangs around my blog even on the most casual of occasions will know that Shaun Micallef is my favourite satirist and comedian (although in this book he does explain that Mad as Hell is more of a comedy show about current affairs rather than satire). This book is a collection of sketches written by Micallef and Gary McCaffrie for the silver jubilee of their sketches.

I remember watching Full Frontal when I was in school and my friend and I used to discuss who that grey-haired guy was in the background who sometimes said a few lines. As the internet was young at that time, we had to read things like the show credits and TV Week to work out his name. Eventually Shaun got a billing on Full Frontal and the rest is history. Milo Kerrigan, Nobby Doldrums, Fabio (the most beautiful man in the cosmos) and David McGahan and his role of Roger Explosion all entered the Australian psyche. (Probably also because the internet was still too slow and young). There are a few sketches from this period in the book but unfortunately none for these characters as in my opinion, they must be seen to be believed.

Shaun and Gary’s next project was The Micallef P(r)ogram(me), so titled because each of the three series had a different title – The Micallef Programme, The Micallef Program and The Micallef Pogram. This was in the style of a talk show with a difference – the difference being that the characters were fictional and hence, a lot funnier. The book covers some of these interactions with Shaun as well as the sketches. The most memorable of these sketches for me is included in the book (Pharmacy as a Career), so I can say I now have it on VHS, DVD and as a printed book.

The book leaves out Micallef Tonight which is kind of unfortunate for hardcore fans and those who don’t understand where the catchphrase, ‘into the bin!’ comes from. Possibly that’s because Channel Nine expected a real talk show with famous people, and not one with added goats and product reviews while riding a bucking bronco. There is then sketches from the criminally underrated Newstopiä, which was a wonderful news satire (sorry, comedy) that bit. This then led back to the ABC and Mad As Hell which is the best show on free to air television (also the only TV show I watch). Relive some of the most glorious sketches and characters, such as Ian Orbspider, Rear Admiral Bobo Gargle and Draymella Burt. There are also highly important announcements from Lois Price, high in the sky for Mad As Hell. These brought back a few memories, not just of the show but the crazy world of Australian politics. (I actually had to revise my Prime Ministers).

Overall, it’s a wonderful silver jubilee and well worth it for the fans. If you aren’t watching Mad As Hell, you should be.

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I don’t think it’s any secret that Shaun Micallef is my favourite comedian, satirist, television host, surrealist and man about town in the world. I love his style of humour, as it’s so dry it should come with a drought warning. He’s fantastic at plays on words, coming out with the shocking and the type of joke you can repeat to test on your friends to see how smart (or not) they are. (Maybe it’s only me who does the latter, but I’m telling you it’s a fantastic way to read a room quickly).
Perhaps another reason I like Micallef is his irreverence – not one thing is sacred with him. You can also see his influences, such as Monty Python and Kenneth Williams. (Ooh, I KNOW!)

Naturally I was going to buy this book and fangirl all over it. But I received it instead for Christmas and it’s a signed copy. (Although I won’t go all Jelly Cannister trying to extract DNA from it). So on to the book. It’s a hard cover. It has two nice pictures of Mr Micallef, one on the dust jacket and a slightly more disturbing one if you take the dust jacket off. (Possibly enticing you to read the book faster so you can put it on the shelf). There are references to mould, fonts, Dan Brown and Broadway. And that’s only on the dust jacket.

Inside, Micallef gives his holy insights into how to write and host a production, which is of extreme benefit if you live in Adelaide and like experimental amateur theatre. In between, there are several scripts for plays that should have you banging down the doors of your local theatre, demanding they put these on next. Because every local theatre has sets for a Roman Empire, an Australian outback town and a dodgy looking circus. These scripts are to be savoured, because you won’t get the full effect otherwise. The timing and play on words are everything. The dialogue is multilayered and you’ll be wondering how you can add a Coleridge joke to your next board presentation. In short, they are brilliant, tackling every era and national treasure. My only annoyance was that several times where I thought ‘discreet’ should have been used, ‘discrete’ was written instead. Perhaps it’s in the pronunciation or perhaps I am too bourgeois to understand the subtle differences of the true mastermind.

In summary, The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef are witty and brilliant. Either SBS or the ABC should produce all of them, possibly superimposed in a corner of The Ghan Slow TV so that people have multiple points when they call into talkback radio to complain about taxpayer dollars being wasted.

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