2009 was a year of surprise hits for Aussie TV, with MasterChef, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, and the return of Hey Hey all defying the odds. A look back at the television year that was.
Hey Hey It’s Saturday
Wankley Awards: Getting your stolen Safran knickers in a twist
Blackface! A crucifixion! Masturbation! This week’s coveted Wankley award goes to the outrage surrounding John Safran’s new show Race Relations before it had even aired. Storm in a teacup, anyone?
Minutes from a Hey Hey Production Meeting
Ben Pobjie presents minutes from Hey Hey’s last Production Meeting, where a creative decision was made between “Jackson Jive”, “Schmuckie the Jew With The Giant Nose”, “The Asian Driver Song”, and “Al-Boomah, the Exploding Arab Clown”.
Red Symons: …and then nobody laughed
Red Symons speaks out on the Hey Hey blackface debacle and racism backlash: Americans are offended by blackface. Australians are largely not.
Q&A with Kamahl: why is Hey Hey so unkind?
Crooner Kamahl was used for a cheap laugh during ‘that’ skit on Hey Hey. What did he think of it? Crikey intern Melanie Mahony gets the full story.
Wankley Awards: Daryl Somers
Daryl Somers wins this week’s coveted Wankley Award, for not letting a bit of blackface controversy get in the way of crowing about Hey Hey It’s Wednesday’s stellar ratings.
Hey Hey’s Jackson Jive: Why we wore blackface
One of the Jackson Jive from Hey Hey it’s Saturday’s now notorious blackface skit explains why they chose to perform. And yes, they did think it would be “a little bit controversial”.
Canberra Calling: The Joe and Malcolm minstrel podcast
Crikey’s Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane and editor Jonathan Green blackface-off over the Liberal Party leadership.
Guy Rundle: More than red faces with the collapse of TV culture
There have been two recent moments when I’ve gasped at something on TV – one was the mess that was Hey Hey last night and the other was Denton’s baby, Hungry Beast, writes Guy Rundle.
Crikey Clarifier: What’s all the fuss about ‘blackface’?
In light of all the scandal following last night’s Hey Hey it’s Saturday, which featured a blackface skit, Crikey intern Melanie Mahony clarifies the history of blackface. Is it racist?
Crikey Says: Hey Hey it’s the internet
With Hey Hey’s blackface scandal, it’s not so much that community standards have changed in 20 years, it’s that thanks to technology it’s easier for the audience to make its feelings and displeasure heard.
Hey Hey misguided patriotism’s back
The reaction to Hey Hey’s ill advised Red Faces Blackfaces act is rapidly dividing into two camps: outrage and outrage, writes Sophie Black.
The world sees red over Hey Hey’s blackface
Whilst reanimating the fetid corpse of Hey Hey it’s Saturday, the show’s producers decided to also revive some ol’ fashioned 20th century bigotry, by putting on a Minstrel Show. Pundits across the pond didn’t quite see the funny side.
TV’s night of nights: live reheat consumes MasterChef
Never mind the ratings and the wave of happy, live-light-ent nostalgia, Hey Hey has no hope of hanging around: PBL simply can’t afford it.
Hey, Hey it’s… daggy and dated
Last night’s Hey, Hey reunion was a nice nostalgia trip, says Dan Barrett, but also a good reminder of why the show ended when it did. Channel 9 needs fresh ideas, not reanimated corpses.
Hey Hey, it’s, er, some day and it’s ratings fodder
Two announcements from the Nine Network have revealed the cynicism at the heart of TV programming, Hey Hey It’s Saturday is attempting to bleed Celebrity Masterchef viewers.
Hey Hey, it’s… a long Tuesday night
Hey Hey It’s Saturday is coming back! Only… not on Saturday. And because you requested it (really?) for the extended time of two and a half hours.
What’s that terrible smell? Oh, it’s the resurrected corpse of Hey Hey
Our screens have been mercifully free of Hey Hey It’s Saturday for ten years — so why is Nine reanimating its corpse now? Dylan Behan searches for answers.
Hey Hey, it’s a comeback
In good news for lovers of bad puppetry and weak one-liners everywhere, Hey Hey It’s Saturday looks set to return to Australian screens.
