australian television information archive

Waging bull

Nothing is what it seems in Working Dog's improvisational comedy series, writes Michael Idato.

Four guest performers. Three sets. Five sketches. One host. One adjudicator. You don't have to be a network programmer to realise that Thank God You're Here, the new improvisational comedy series from the Working Dog team, is a complicated idea.

"We've developed a newfound respect for the concept of the television format," admits co-producer Tom Gleisner, who, with Santo Cilauro and Rob Sitch, developed the idea. Established formats, he says, usually arrive in Australia in a polished form. "We're coming from the other end. We're bumbling through it ourselves, trying to tune the engine."

Thank God You're Here, hosted by Shane Bourne, takes four guest performers—typically a comedian, actor or celebrity with a sense of humour—and drops them into a pre-scripted situation, alone at first and then in a group. How they sink or swim is assessed and arbitrarily scored by the adjudicator—Gleisner.

"It's about bullshit, the art of bullshit and pretending to be someone you're not," Gleisner says. "Think of it as theatresports with a script and a star with no idea. We never really used the word theatresports and while it explains the imrov side of it, it's a term that is equally as unhelpful. Theatresports at its purest is about creating a world out of nothing. This is really the opposite end of the spectrum—you walk into a fully constructed set, wearing a costume, holding a prop where appropriate, with other actors who know exactly what's going on. In that sense it's the opposite of theatresports and the only improv element comes from the central performer."

The idea came about largely as an antidote to a year spent developing feature film scripts at Working Dog's Melbourne production headquarters, Gleisner says. "I think we were looking for something that would provide a bit of contrast to such a heavy plotting, writing exercise."

It is a new format but there are echoes of several concepts. The best known is Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the television grandchild of the theatrical improvisation movement founded by actress Viola Spolin in Chicago in the 1950s.

Before taking Thank God You're Here to the Ten Network, Working Dog filmed a short pilot. "We didn't even have a set," Gleisner says. "We just got some friends together and tried the concept out in front of a small audience. It was well enough received to encourage us to take it to the next step, which was to go and explain the concept to Ten."

Ten bit immediately, its interest undoubtedly sweetened by Working Dog's long-running talk show The Panel and past projects, which include television (Frontline, The Late Show) and film (The Dish). The biggest hurdle was explaining what the show was about. Early media reports focused on its use of celebrities—an element fast overcooking itself in the television development world.

"Celebrity is a ridiculous word because in our terms we actually need talent," Gleisner says. "We need people with a certain skill set, obviously with a leaning towards the comic, though we made a point that we didn't just want four stand-up comedians."

They also wanted to avoid using people with a background in theatresports. "Part of the fun of watching Thank God You're Here is watching the fear in the eyes, the hesitation and those delicious few seconds while they try and think of a response to the situation," Gleisner says. "Theatresports people are such finely trained improvisational athletes that no matter what you throw at them they just bat it back."

Working Dog is wasting no time taking the idea to the international television market. The first episode has been express freighted to the annual sales conference MIP TV, which is being held this week in Cannes.

"We were told, which is self-evident I suppose, that no matter how interesting or appealing a format might be, if it tanks in its own country then you've got a harder job explaining why it's going to be enormously successful around the world," Gleisner says. "There will be enormous interest in how the first episode is received here in Australia."

Ten bit immediately, its interest undoubtedly sweetened by Working Dog's long-running talk show The Panel and past projects, which include television (Frontline, The Late Show) and film (The Dish). The biggest hurdle was explaining what the show was about. Early media reports focused on its use of celebrities—an element fast overcooking itself in the television development world.

"Celebrity is a ridiculous word because in our terms we actually need talent," Gleisner says. "We need people with a certain skill set, obviously with a leaning towards the comic, though we made a point that we didn't just want four stand-up comedians."

They also wanted to avoid using people with a background in theatresports. "Part of the fun of watching Thank God You're Here is watching the fear in the eyes, the hesitation and those delicious few seconds while they try and think of a response to the situation," Gleisner says. "Theatresports people are such finely trained improvisational athletes that no matter what you throw at them they just bat it back."

Working Dog is wasting no time taking the idea to the international television market. The first episode has been express freighted to the annual sales conference MIP TV, which is being held this week in Cannes.

"We were told, which is self-evident I suppose, that no matter how interesting or appealing a format might be, if it tanks in its own country then you've got a harder job explaining why it's going to be enormously successful around the world," Gleisner says. "There will be enormous interest in how the first episode is received here in Australia."

Thank God You're Here begins on Ten on Wednesday at 7.30pm.

By Michael Idato
April 3, 2006
The Sydney Morning Herald