Australia, You're Standing In It

1 9 8 3 - 1 9 8 4 (Australia)

During the first series of Australia You're Standing In It, complaints flooded in every time the show lampooned God or the Queen. The scripts were written and performed by Steve Blackburn, Geoff Brookes and (husband and wife team) Mary Kenneally and Rod Quantock, who all came from the inner-Melbourne theatre restaurant scene.

AYSII was in many ways the brainchild of ABC producer-director Noel Price. In the late seventies he was producing language programs for children in the ABC's education department using actors from the Australian Performing Group and theatre restaurant scene to impart rather abstract ideas through comedy. The programs (Magic Bag and Words Fail Me) were so successful that Price suggested an evening comedy program to the ABC hierarchy.

Four years, and two pilots later, the result was AYSII, but without Noel Price who in the meantime had been reefed back to ABC drama.

One of the most successful segments of the show was Brainspace with Tim and Debbie (which was quite simply "A-mazing"). The couple were typical of those alternative left wingers who run community centers and student radio. They were P.C. before it became fashionable . . .

Offers of television and radio commercials flooded in to Steve (Tim) and Mary (Debbie) and, when the answer was no, advertising agencies went ahead anyway using Tim and Debbie impersonators.

Other memorable characters included the Dodgy Brothers (Wayne and Arthur), an Australian Jewess called Rachael and the ultra-right wing voice of bigotry, Rump.

Images courtesy of Brainspace - Home of Tim & Debbie