I've been thinking . . . yes, yes, you smell something burning. Ha, ha. Done laughing? Thank you. After watching a few episodes of Thank God You're Here, I got to thinking about some of the commentators on my review of the premiere episode who said that the Australian version of this program was much funnier. So, using our trusty pal YouTube, I was able to turn up a plethora of clips from the Down Under version of TGYH. And, after viewing a number of them I can truly say that it is funnier. Well, in most cases, that is.
Once again, it comes down to how the unscripted actor reacts to his or her unknown environment. Most of the Aussie TGYH clips I watched had performers who took control of the situation and messed with the scripted actors. Then there were others who just seemed to be thinking for the right answer to the question the scripted actors were giving them. In the American version of the show it seems the improvising actors are not grabbing onto the whole scene. They're still thinking as actors rather than going with the flow of everything. There are exceptions, though, like Kevin Nealon in the second episode, and Harland Williams this past week.
Don't take my word for this, though. View these two clips from the Australian version of TGYH and let me know if you think they are funnier or not. Both scenes were used in the American version of the series, with Edie McClurg and previously mentioned Harland Williams.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2007 @ 2:26PM
Eklen said...
Soo much better, for one, neither the audience or the host was completely insane, which was a very nice change
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4-21-2007 @ 9:11PM
sean tubbs said...
Never mind the show - Is Burger King called Hungry Jack's in Australia?
This is a great way of doing an online clip, I'd have to say.
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4-21-2007 @ 10:27PM
astrogirl said...
Sean, hungry jacks is a franchisee of burger king in australia because the name "burger king" was already in use when they decided to open business here.
I have to say I prefer the aussie version, being aussie myself. It does depend on the guest though, as to how good the segments are.
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4-21-2007 @ 10:37PM
Tamara said...
Sean
Ages ago Burger King wasn't interested in entering the Australian market, so they licensed their menu to an Australian company. About 10 years later, Burger King decided to enter the Australian market, and tried to shut Hungry Jacks down(which they failed to do so in court). So then some areas(including mine) had a Hungry Jacks and Burger King store about 50m apart. And about 10 years after that, Burger King purchased Hungry Jacks, and decided to keep that name. They closed down the stores that were very close to each other, and renamed all the Burger King stores to Hungry Jacks.
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4-22-2007 @ 2:51AM
Narin said...
yeah, being an Aussie, I gotta say that the Australian version seems to be funnier than the American version at the moment. I think once actors become familiar with the structure of the scenes and stuff, it'll get funnier as well.
Maybe the American version needs to get some lesser-known guest stars with improv backgrounds instead of more famous people with little improv experience? That's seemed to work with the Australian version...
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4-22-2007 @ 5:22AM
W.D.C said...
I also like the Aussie version better Than The American Version.
Maybe it is the English accent that makes it funnier, Plus the sets seem to better. W.D.
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4-22-2007 @ 10:01AM
Discosis said...
Actually, in point of fact about Hungry Jacks / Burger King, thats not right.
Hungry Jacks bought the rights to BK here in Australia but went through a phase of just treading water ... not opening stores and not spending any money, etc etc.
This annoyed Burger King who then decided to enter the AU market themselves, first at airports and then in retail centres (this is when you saw a BK and HJ 50m apart).
HJ and BK did battle in court, and HJ won (which also won them the rights to the BK name). They took over the BK stores here and rebranded them back to HJ since was the more established name.
So to be on topic, the Aussie version of TGYH is *so* much funnier. :)
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4-22-2007 @ 8:27PM
kevie27 said...
It seems as though the common belief is that the aussie show is this pinnacle of comedy brilliance.
I’m an Australian & people need to understand that the aussie version has its flops as well. not every single person in the aussie version is hilarious, but about 70% or so are very good. It looks like this American version is at about 20% from what ive seen and heard.
As long as they keep the show going for a bit, it will get better. They will realise which performers are funny and which aren’t, and new performers will know how to approach a scene.
I’m not an expert on American television but it seems that new shows don’t get much of a chance if they don’t start strongly.
I hope they give this one a chance.
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4-23-2007 @ 2:30AM
Paul Little said...
I wasn't aware that chicken "is for girls". Thanks, Hungry Jacks!
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