Mikey, Mulray And Me

Being a guest on Good News Week is fraught with danger - just ask Kate Carnell. Despite being on the other side of politics, Senator Kate Lundy knows how difficult it was for the Chief Minister to do THAT mime.

Good News Week is one of the few TV shows I try to make a point of watching each week. Its pertinent and witty analysis of the week’s event in politics provides a wonderful counter-balance to the seriousness of day-to-day work.

When an ABC producer asked me if I’d be interested in appearing on Good News Week I was both thrilled and apprehensive. GNW is one of those shows where guests can potentially come off looking foolish. In fact, I have often found myself sitting in judgement of the relative performances of their guests. The risk is that if you try too hard to compete with their talent, you inevitably fall flat. I was to be on Mikey Robins and Doug Mulray’s team. Hmmm. Now I was nervous. The ‘opposition’ comprised comedian Peter Berner, Liberal Senator Helen Coonan (political bipartisanship is taken very seriously by the ABC) and Julie McCrossin.

On the night of my appearance (it was filmed on April 23 and broadcast on April 24) GNW was filming two episodes back to back. Kate Fischer, Graham Richardson and Amanda Keller were there for the filming of the second show.

On TV, the GNW studio audience appears larger than it really is. In fact, the set is a rather cosy arrangement with cameras and crew literally standing among the audience.

Before filming, Paul McDermott warmed up the audience and by the time the panellists were introduced the audience was well and truly in the mood for a fun night. As for the show itself, I found it hard to get a word in - not surprising considering I was sandwiched between two big comedians. I was happy to just laugh!

There was plenty of ‘expressive’ language, but as this is a family newspaper, I cannot even begin to relate some of the exchanges between the boys. Actually, some of their best material never made it to air. That is why tickets to the filming of GNW are so sought after.The banter between Robins, McDermott, McCrossin and Mulray was hilarious and Peter Berner, who is also a fine comedian, had the panel in stitches.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of GNW is the sheer energy and talent of Paul McDermott. He was in front of the cameras for nearly three hours without a break. McDermott kept the pace going by picking someone from the audience to be the butt of his jokes. If a line fell flat or there was a pause or break, Paul would immediately blame the hapless person - much to the delight of the audience. The bond between McDermott and the audience is remarkable and his repartee with audience members is brilliant. The people lucky enough to have made it to the Canberra filming on May 6 will know what I mean.

Mikey Robins and Julie McCrossin use their native intelligence to keep things moving. To do this for so long in such a clever and lively way only reinforced my admiration. Having listened for many years to Mikey on Triple J’s morning show, I was amazed to find him equally impressive on TV.

After filming we returned to the ‘Green Room’ for a few drinks and a chance to unwind. I caught up with some of the program’s writers and production team and the friendly atmosphere livened up when a cake was brought out to celebrate the birthday of one of the writers.

The next night GNW went to air and I was unsure of how I would react to seeing it. They film about an hour’s worth of material and edit it down to 30 minutes, so you never know exactly what you will see. As I settled on to the couch on that Friday night, it was quite surreal - I still find it a little disconcerting seeing myself on TV beyond the 15 second news grab. I sat there and laughed at the jokes (and myself) all over again!

It was a terrific experience and I’ve had really positive feedback, which is great. Being on the show provided an insight into efforts behind the scenes at the ABC studios, and what it takes to make an Australian show of this type work so well. I hope that this creativity will continue to have a voice through our national broadcaster.

-Kate Lundy (?)

This was in The Canberra Times: The Guide on May 18 (I think).

Typed up by Ziyal. Sourced from the MOSH!! board, 2 June 1998.