Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes , called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville , and is used widely in variety shows , comedy talk shows , and some sitcoms and children's television series . The sketches may be improvised live by the performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their work from a “skit", maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or "bit") while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation. Sketch comedy is a genre within American television that includes a multitude of schemes and identities.
50-669: The D-Generation was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the Seven Network between 1988 and 1989. The show would also serve as a stepping stone for many early incarnations of iconic characters, including Lynne Postlethwaite, Gina Hard-Faced B***h, Eileen Maverick and Kelvin Cunnington. The series
100-411: A " purveyor of fine meats ", Kel Knight ( Glenn Robbins ), and long-time family friend Sharon Strzelecki ( Magda Szubanski ). Storylines follow the characters' day-to-day lives, and document their personal struggles and the banality of their achievements and aspirations. Kath & Kim satirises the mother-daughter relationship and the habits and values of modern suburban Australians, and emphasises
150-530: A cast of recurring characters. In North America , contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during the 1970s, largely growing out of The Second City in Chicago and Toronto , which was built upon the success in Minneapolis of The Brave New Workshop and Dudley Riggs . Notable contemporary American stage sketch comedy groups include The Second City,
200-677: A failure by the ABC who wanted to pull Kath and Kim . But it was championed by Robyn Kershaw the ABC Head of Drama so Kath and Kim had the distinction for a comedy show of being produced by the drama department, and was loved by the "suburban people" it supposedly attacked. The name of the series "Kath and Kim" is a pun of the idiom kith and kin which is an old fashioned idiom for 'friends and family'. Twenty-four episodes lasting approximately twenty-five minutes each across three seasons aired on ABC TV from 2002 to 2004. The series debuted on 15 May 2002 on
250-588: A ground-level shot of a hospital). Kath & Kim was broadcast Thursday nights at 8.30 pm throughout its run on ABC, while Seven Network aired the series Sunday nights at 7.30 pm. The series premiered in the United Kingdom in April 2004, when it was broadcast on the now-defunct subscription channel LivingTV , and later on Ftn . It made its terrestrial television debut when it screened on BBC Two from 12 May 2005. The fourth season has never been broadcast in
300-422: A helping hand and her own relationship problems. Her history with Brett is also explored. The second series follows Kim's pregnancy and her rekindled relationship with Brett. Kath and Kel's relationship goes through some teething troubles. Kim and Brett have a baby in the final episode of the second series whom they name Epponnee Raelene Kathleen Darlene Charlene Craig, shortened to Epponnee Rae. Several episodes of
350-458: A long-running role on TV soap A Country Practice . Several of Bufalo's sketches from the pilot (including the famous Thunderbirds parody) were incorporated into series one, and Bufalo himself returned for the specials. Actress/comedian Jane Turner and New Zealander Tony Martin joined from series two, and Melbourne Uni Revue stars Mick Molloy and Jason Stephens were added for the specials. Two "best of" videos were released: The Best of
400-462: A more embryonic incarnation earlier in the decade on the sketch comedy show Fast Forward (Seven, 1989–92). They also appeared in Something Stupid (Seven, 1998). Robbins had also appeared on Fast Forward , while Rowsthorn and Robbins had previously worked together on The Comedy Company . The skits were developed by Riley and Turner into a full series. Big Girl's Blouse had been deemed
450-417: A number of spinoff films, including The Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne's World (1992) and Superstar (1999). The idea of running characters was taken a step further with shows like The Red Green Show and The League of Gentlemen , where sketches centered on the various inhabitants of the fictional towns of Possum Lake and Royston Vasey , respectively. In Little Britain , sketches focused on
500-441: A record-breaking 2.511 million viewers peaking at 2.731 million. In its second and third episodes viewers fell to 1.994 & 1.817 million, respectively; however, viewers then rebounded for its fourth and fifth episodes with ratings of 2.047 and 2.157 million, respectively. Strong ratings continued with viewers of 2.049 and 2.066 million for the sixth and seventh episodes. The eighth episode and show's finale rated 2.338 million giving
550-481: A revised version of the previous sequence for the Seven Network run, where Cujo was retained. The five regular cast members are then credited over aerial shots of suburban houses (Szubanski is credited as a "special guest" despite appearing in every episode) before fading into an aerial shot of Kath and Kim's house (some episodes replace it with an aerial shot of the mall, while the episode "The Wedding" replaced it with
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#1732859151766600-564: A run of four years and released three ARIA Award -winning compilation albums – The Brown Album (1995), Poop Chute (1996) and Eat Your Peas (1998). In mid-2007, the duo had a highly publicised falling out following a dispute over the production of the DVD for the film Boytown and have not worked together since. TV: Radio: Film: Books: Michael Veitch and Marg Downey returned to sketch comedy in Let Loose Live (2005) but
650-560: A short-lived American remake , which ran for 17 episodes between 2008 and 2009. A two-part special to mark its 20th anniversary, titled Kath & Kim: Our Effluent Life and Kath and Kim: 20 Preposterous Years , was screened on 20–21 November 2022. Kath & Kim follows the day-to-day Australian suburban life of Kath Day-Knight ( Jane Turner ), her only child Kimberly (Kim) Diane Craig née Day ( Gina Riley ), Kim's husband and Computa City salesman, Brett Craig ( Peter Rowsthorn ), Kath's love interest and eventual husband who works as
700-565: A successful TV director who has made several videos and specials with Australian children's band The Wiggles . Jason Stephens is now the Director of Development for Fremantlemedia Australia, one of Australia's leading independent television production companies. He produced The King , the AFI Award-winning telemovie based on the life of Graham Kennedy , and is the executive producer of Newstopia (2007–08) with Shaun Micallef . Stephens
750-543: A very competitive timeslot and being amongst the highest-rating shows of the week. In the UK, its BBC premiere drew viewing figures of 1.691 million in May 2005. The enduring public interest and popularity of Kath and Kim has led to a merchandising industry. The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from T-shirts to posters. The Kath & Kim series have been released on VHS (although titles are now discontinued in
800-405: Is a cover of Anthony Newley 's " The Joker ", performed in the style of Shirley Bassey 's recording of the song. A reworked recording of its debut in the telemovie opening sequence, was utilised for the show's run on the Seven Network. The title sequence shows the main five regular characters over a white background. In season 3, it was amended to include Epponnee-Rae and Cujo, before switching to
850-493: Is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne , Victoria . The series received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor and cast performances, particularly of Turner and Riley. Aside from the television series which comprises four seasons, the franchise also includes a television film , Da Kath & Kim Code (2005), and a feature film, Kath & Kimderella (2012). The series also spawned
900-535: The Countdown tribute musical I Can't Believe its not Countdown . Downey has appeared in a number of film and TV productions, in both comedic and dramatic roles, including the 1994 TV movie Economy Class , the 2000 sitcom Sit Down, Shut Up , a recurring role in Kath & Kim and appearances in the 2006 US series Nightmares & Dreamscapes and the 2012 movie Kath & Kimderella . Nick Bufalo has gone on to be
950-592: The Upright Citizens Brigade , and The Groundlings . In South Bend, Indiana , area high school students produced a sketch comedy series called Beyond Our Control that aired on the local NBC affiliate WNDU-TV from 1967 to 1986. Warner Bros. Animation made two sketch comedy shows, Mad and Right Now Kapow . Australian television of the '80s and '90s featured several successful sketch comedy shows, notably The Comedy Company , whose recurring characters included Col'n Carpenter , Kylie Mole and Con
1000-543: The Westfield Fountain Gate (some parts filmed at Westfield Southland ), the local IKEA , Target and various local restaurants. It also occasionally mocks Australian and international mass popular culture, such as popular reality television shows Big Brother and Australian Idol . It sometimes makes statements about Australian politics. The crass and embarrassing behaviour of the characters, and their gaudy, out-dated retro fashion sense are popular features of
1050-482: The ABC Network with "Sex" and became one of the highest-rated shows for ABC. A replacement of a full series occurred in 2005 with the telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code . The fourth season of Kath & Kim began airing on the Seven Network on 19 August 2007, due to the contract expiring with ABC . In late 2009, they announced that writing had begun on season 5, but by May 2010, Turner said: "We sort of felt like it
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#17328591517661100-498: The Fringe and A Clump of Plinths (which evolved into Cambridge Circus ), to radio, with such shows as It's That Man Again and I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again , then to television, with such shows as Not Only... But Also , Monty Python's Flying Circus , Not the Nine O'Clock News (and its successor Alas Smith and Jones ), and A Bit of Fry and Laurie . An early, perhaps
1150-486: The Fruiterer . An early British example is the influential The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959). Sketch films made during the 1970s and 1980s include If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind and the sequel Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? , The Groove Tube , Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) , The Kentucky Fried Movie and its sequel Amazon Women on
1200-644: The Kountdown Specials and Souvenir Editions. In 2022, to mark its 20th anniversary the Seven Network began airing repeats of the series from 29 September 2022. Kath & Kim premiered on 16 May 2002 and became one of ABC 's highest-rated shows. When the show premiered on the Seven Network , it became the highest-rating episode in Australian television history, until the record was broken by Nine Network 's Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities on 9 February 2009. The fourth season of Kath & Kim debuted with
1250-586: The Moon , and Monty Python 's And Now for Something Completely Different and The Meaning of Life . More recent sketch films include The Underground Comedy Movie , InAPPropriate Comedy , Movie 43 and Livrés chez vous sans contact . Many of the sketch comedy revues in Britain included seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . Since 1999, the growing sketch comedy scene has precipitated
1300-576: The Original D-Generation was released on ABC-video in 1996 and featured selected highlights from the two ABC series. A second video was released in 1997 called Degenocide: The Second Best of the Original D-Generation which featured additional material from the ABC series along with highlights from the Channel 7 specials including the highly popular Homicide spoofs. The latter video also featured bonus material including footage filmed on Super 8 by
1350-508: The Raw' with Kath & Kim" as well as goof reels, deleted scenes, a performance of "Lady Bump" at the Logies , interviews with Kath & Kim, bonus "Wine Time" material as well as Prue and Trued telling it how it is. Ratings: Special features: including an extended ending for the telemovie, behind the scenes, goofs, a feature entitled "Barry Humphries at 'The Buckingham'", deleted scenes as well as
1400-571: The TV debut of actor and comic Eric Bana . Fast Forward itself led to the Channel 7 comedy shows, Big Girl's Blouse (1994), starring Magda Szubanski, Jane Turner and Gina Riley , and Something Stupid (1998), with the same trio plus Marg Downey. Both series featured the parodic Aussie suburban characters who were later the 'stars' of the hit series Kath & Kim (2002-2007). Szubanski, Riley, Turner, Downey and Veitch would reunite once more as part of
1450-508: The UK, but did premiere when it was made available on Netflix . In 2017, the rights to the series were acquired by the Nine Network which began airing repeats of the series from 1 August 2017 until 21 November 2017. In 2018, the series was released on Netflix in several regions, as well as the films and TV specials. In July 2019, the series was launched onto Netflix in Australia as well as
1500-1000: The VHS format) and DVD, in box sets and separate series editions in both region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, Latin America) as well as region 2 (Europe). The series has also had a CD release, featuring songs from the series and recordings from Kath and Kim. In addition, there has been clothing (such as aprons, T-shirts and oven mitts). Merchandise is available to purchase online, from the Kath & Kim official website. Ratings: Special features: Features entitled "Being Stewpid", "Wine Time Philosophy" and "Scenes that are different, un-ewes-yewl" as well as re-living Brett And Kim's Connubials! Ratings: Special features: Features entitled "A bit of huffy puffy with Kath and Kel", "More Yumor", "More Wine Time philosophy" and "Scenes that are different, un-ewes-yewl". Ratings: Special features: feature entitled "'In
1550-564: The cast of sketch comedy series Open Slather (2015) on Foxtel 's The Comedy Channel . Three of the original D-Generation cast – Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner, along with Jane Kennedy and long time D-Gen producer Michael Hirsh are the principals of the successful Australian production company Working Dog Productions . TV: Radio serials: Film: Books: Tony Martin and Mick Molloy have remained an on-again/off-again team producing many film, radio and television features. Their most well known project 'Martin/Molloy', had
The D-Generation - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-423: The development of sketch comedy festivals in cities all around North America. Noted festivals include: Kath %26 Kim (Australian TV series) Kath & Kim (also written as Kath and Kim ) is an Australian sitcom originally airing in the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 and 2005 and subsequently on the Seven Network in 2007 and 2022. The show was produced by Riley and Turner Productions,
1650-408: The films Crackerjack and Bad Eggs and starred in two ABC-TV series Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey and Judith Lucy is All Woman . Sketch comedy Sketch comedy has its origins in vaudeville and music hall , where many brief humorous acts were strung together to form a larger programme. In Britain , it moved to stage performances by Cambridge Footlights , such as Beyond
1700-438: The firm of Jane Turner and Gina Riley , who star as the titular characters of Kath Day-Knight , a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim , her narcissistic daughter. Additional cast members include Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight , Kath's metrosexual boyfriend (later husband); Kim's henpecked husband Brett Craig ( Peter Rowsthorn ), and her lonely "second-best friend" Magda Szubanski as Sharon Strzelecki . The series
1750-548: The first, televised example of a sketch comedy show is Texaco Star Theater aka The Milton Berle Show 1948–1967, hosted by Milton Berle . In Mexico, the series Los Supergenios de la Mesa Cuadrada , created by Mexican comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños under the stage name Chespirito , was broadcast between 1968 and 1973, creating such famous characters as El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado . While separate sketches historically have tended to be unrelated, more recent groups have introduced overarching themes that connect
1800-413: The fourth season an average viewership of 2.122 million, making it the highest-rating TV season in Australia for 2007 and the highest-rating of all four seasons of the show. In 2007, Channel Seven started showing repeats of the show from season one onwards which had previously only aired on the ABC network. The repeats proved quite successful, with the first two rating 1.465 and 1.530 million, winning in
1850-571: The group whilst at University, clips from the Channel-9 pilots, both of the Five-in-a-Row music videos, home-video footage of their 1991 stage show at Le Joke and clips from when the D-Generation were guest hosts on Countdown and Burke's Backyard . In 2004, both of the above videos were re-released on a single DVD The Best and Second Best of the D-Generation . The D Generation breakfast show
1900-404: The kitsch and superficial elements of contemporary society, particularly the traditional working class which has progressed to a level of affluence (or "effluence" as the show's title characters would have it) which previous generations had been unable to achieve. Despite this affluence, good taste and a sense of cultural sophistication still eludes the show's characters. They visit places such as
1950-400: The show and asked to appear in it. Humphries declared himself a fan of the series before taking part. The storyline of the first series follows Kath's engagement and plans for her wedding to Kel. Kim frequently stays in her mother's house owing to her rocky relationship with Brett (most of which is due to her own childish, spoilt, and rude behaviour towards Brett). Sharon's always around with
2000-626: The show was axed after only two episodes due to poor ratings. Veitch starred in the short-lived Ch-7 period sitcom Bligh (1992) and was a cast-regular in the TV-1 comedy series Shock Jock (2001-2002) and more recently on the Comedy Channel's Open Slather (2015). He also served as the host of ABC-TV's Sunday Arts , worked as an announcer on ABC radio, has authored six books (four of them on Second World War aviation) and has made successful forays into theatre including starring as Molly Meldrum in
2050-609: The show. Processed and widely recognised Australian foods, such as Jatz crackers, Tim Tams and Fruche yoghurt are frequently referenced in the series. Most episodes end with Kath and Kim sitting in Kath's back yard, chatting about issues related to the episode. Sometimes these chats help to complete the story which was told during the episode. This final element is accompanied by the show's credits. Several guest stars are well-known Australian comedy performers, some of whom previously worked with Turner or Riley. Bublé and Lucas were fans of
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2100-747: The sketches within a particular show with recurring characters that return for more than one appearance. Examples of recurring characters include Mr. Gumby from Monty Python's Flying Circus ; Ted and Ralph from The Fast Show ; The Family from The Carol Burnett Show ; the Head Crusher from The Kids in the Hall ; Martin Short 's Ed Grimley , a recurring character from both SCTV and Saturday Night Live ; The Nerd from Robot Chicken ; and Kevin and Perry from Harry Enfield and Chums . Recurring characters from Saturday Night Live have notably been featured in
2150-575: The television and radio show (Sitch, Gleisner, Martin, Cilauro, Molloy, Stephens and Jane Kennedy ) subsequently moved on to the equally popular ABC TV series The Late Show which ran for two years (1992–1993) with stand-up comic Judith Lucy joining the cast for the second series. Four D-Generation cast members (Veitch, Downey, Szubanski and Turner) went on to a similarly-styled and very popular sketch comedy series, Fast Forward (1989–1992) on Channel 7 . All later made guest appearances on this show's sequel, Full Frontal (1993–1997), which marked
2200-407: The third series focus on Epponnee Rae. The third-season finale features an adult Epponnee Rae, played by Kylie Minogue . The characters of Kath, Kim (created by Riley and Turner) and Sharon (created and played by Magda Szubanski ) first featured in their current forms during the mid-1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Big Girl's Blouse (Seven, 1994–95), having appeared in
2250-409: Was a hugely successful radio program which ran for six years (19 May 1986-April 1992) on Melbourne's Triple M (originally EON FM). Highlights of the show were released on albums. The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music . The D-Generation won one award from two nominations. Cast members of both
2300-456: Was also the creator of The Choir of Hard Knocks . John Harrison left the group at the end of 1991 and virtually 'retired' from comedy, embarking on a successful career in the corporate sector. However, he made several guest appearances on The Late Show (1992-1993) and had a brief cameo as a newsreader on Tony Martin's 2003 film Bad Eggs . Judith Lucy has had a successful career in stand-up comedy and has also worked in radio, appeared in
2350-425: Was produced and directed by Kris Noble and was created and written by a group of Melbourne University students who had gained local notoriety for their stage work: Rob Sitch , Santo Cilauro , Marg Downey , Michael Veitch , Magda Szubanski , John Harrison, and Tom Gleisner . Also part of the original team was Nicholas Bufalo , who appeared in the unscreened one-hour D-Generation pilot (1985), before accepting
2400-548: Was sold in 2016 for $ 1,485,000. The house was demolished in July 2022. Other footage was filmed around the Melbourne suburbs of Cheltenham and Moorabbin ; scenes set at Fountain Gate were actually filmed at Westfield Southland . Second-hand shops were used for Kath's clothing, whereas Kim was dressed in current trends. The theme music for Kath and Kim is performed by Gina Riley and
2450-636: Was the end two years ago. We thought, 'We've done enough and the well is dry and we can't think of any more ideas' ... We think we might just leave it for now." The alternative vocabulary including the mixed metaphors , hypercorrection , malapropisms , eggcorns (like "ravishing" instead of "ravenous"), and mis-pronunciations of the regular characters are much repeated by the show's fans. These include: "Look at moy" (look at me)—used by Kath to command attention during arguments, and "It's noice, different and unusual"—used by Kath, Kim and Sharon to express approval or agreement. Kath's home, known as "Chateau Kath",
2500-527: Was within the fictionalised suburb of Fountain Lakes, and served as the central filming location for the series. The home, located in Patterson Lakes, Victoria , 35 km east of Melbourne, was originally rented by ABC during the entire run of the series, and chosen for its likeness to Sylvania Waters . The property backs onto a canal, which ABC fenced off during filming in order for it to look more suburban. It
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