AT HOME WITH JULIA

A political satire about the day-to-day life of Victorian prime minister blah blah blah fuck fuck shit. According to google, starring Amanda Bishop and some other Australian actors people. 

Well obviously, it blows.

Australian television. We have potential, right? Kath and Kim, was good I guess, Wilfred, and there’s probably more... However, on the very rare occasion that we spawn something watchable, producers just make the same thing over and over and over and over trying to recreate the same thing for the same effect and get confused when it don’t not work. It’s like a comedian who tells you a joke, then tells you the same joke again with a funny hat on. He then wonders why nobodies laffing. Instead of revising his material, he tells the joke AGAIN, but in a funny accent and with a bigger hat. But alas, it’s still the same punchline.

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 *relevant

Enough shitty metaphors. To put it very politely, Amanda Bishop's (playing Gillard) voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. Her accent sounds like a mix between Kath and/or Kim, and the guy that plays John Howard on Full Frontal. It was hilarious on Full Frontal because it was a silly, over-the-top skit show. And this is political satire, right? It needs to have some kind of veil of seriousness to work, but Bishop's stupid voice reminds me of when you make fun of someone by impersonating someone in a voice they don't-even-have, which works when your teasing your boss or wife or parole officer, but not for an entire show. 

    

And the premise. Boy oh boy. The premise of this particular episode says a lot about Australian audiences, or what show's creators think of Australian audiences. The premise, is Julia Gillard is having some important industry heads over for dinner, but OH MY IT ALL GOES PEAR SHAPED but then turns out okay. WHAT A ROLLER COASTER.

Really? Fucking REALLY? I know I watch about six-thousand times more television than the average Australian (scratch, human), but I'm pretty sure this was the plot to the first episode of I Love Lucy. This premise has been satired to death, it was satired in the ‘Behind the Laughter’ episode of the Simpsons, as the fake first episode of the Simpsons where Homer is having his boss to dinner but HEYO it all goes pear shaped. I remember it being satired in Ren and Stimpy also, more than once. I didn’t even Google those references, that is sad.  

Things don't even go THAT pear shaped, the industry heads want some Australian food but HEYO that’s hard to get in Canberra “LOL you can’t get Australian food in Australia?! How Whacky!” YOU GET THE PICTURE.

It might be appealing to those interested in Australian politics *gun to head pull trigger hand movements* but those kinds of people are interested in things like, well Australian politics. Ask them which is better out of the Age and the Herald Sun and they'll be entertained for hours. For those interested in funny television shows however, this does not cut it.