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The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 86

Publication:
The Agei
Location:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Issue Date:
Page:
86
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Preview liTT: imEngE famous interviewers are pitted against rather more famous subjects, shows guts on the part of the ABC (not that there's a lot of money at stake in the bare-bones staging, but still). The danger in such a format is that the questioner will try to engage in a spot of Oprah-style celebrity tale-swapping, but Singer is admirably restrained. True, she does kick off by saying "as the face of AFI how important is and winds up with the hoary old epitaph question. But along the way she gives her man free rein and on issues such as racism, that turns out to be just enough rope to very nearly hang himself. All in all a good match, and you'd have to say the interview was the winner on the day.

Karl Quinn out against dumbed down current affair. Two Shot Monday, ABC. 10.30pm "Gee, you're a tough interviewer," says Ron Barassi to Jill Singer at one stage during their on-camera chat. "Probably the toughest I've ever had." "Oh, yeah," Singer responds dismissively. And you've got to admire the way she absorbs the flirtatiousness of the exchange and moves on into the murky terrain that Barassi's backhander was clearly meant to avoid: a failed marriage, the surrogate father he had in coach Norm Smith, and the emotional constipation from which a man of Barassi's generation albeit one so recognised for fiery on-field outbursts is almost obliged to suffer.

The art of the extended profile-cum-interview is almost dead on Australian TV, and the best practitioners of it have always been English anyway: David Frost, Melvyn Bragg, and Michael Parkinson above all. To commission this series, in which semi- Mark this: Ron Barassi under scrutiny. Doing serious prime time behind bars Several surprises awaited the crew of Nine's Doing Time inside two of our women's prisons. Story by Carolyn Batt Star turn: Sex And The City. so vehemently since their prep-school production of Richard III, when Niles chased Frasier around the dressing room, beating him with his hump.

In tonight's welcome return of this classic work of friction, the issue is lying or more pedantically, when is it OK to lie! After hearing Roz and Bulldog tell white porkies, the brothers confess to an ancient transgression involving a bully at their old school. Memories of being run up the flagpole still fresh in his mind, Niles feels no remorse. But Frasier is caught in his usual position, between the moral high ground and sheer cowardice. Will he confess to his old bete noir! Will his good intentions go awry as usual? Meanwhile, the nervy Niles resumes his endless quest for the elusive love of the adorable Daphne, manfully submitting his aching lumbars to her burning unguents and kneading fingers. Between times, the siblings squabble and Frasier plots a typically convoluted piece of deception.

Supremely clever writing and exquisite timing combine with classic sitcom setups to make Frasier a treat as precious as a double decaf non-fat latte dusted with the faintest whisper of cinnamon from the Cafe Nervosa. Barbara Hooks Sex And The City Monday, Channel 9. 9.30pm Watchers of opening credits the No-hoMs-barred: producer Stephen Peters, what we're doing with this program, because they believe part of the punishment these women have been given is that they lose that, voice and here we are giving them that voice back It's this whole issue of what is punishment." Charlene, who is serving a two year sentence for aggravated kidnapping, a crime she maintains she did not commit, is one person who believes it is important for the inmates to have their say. While admitting that the filming process was also a welcome break from the monotony of Mulawa life, she says she wanted people to see what life on the Inside was really like. if to The Micallef Programme Friday, ABC, 8pm Halfway through the series, not a lot more can be said about Shaun Micallef comedy program(me).

It's odd, offbeat, perceptive, odd, subtle, biting, occasionally cruel and often odd. Apart from its title, series two is tighter and flows more smoothly than the first much was learnt in the off-season. Micallef might not be to everyone's taste, but it's the best local sketch comedy show on the box. Tonight a rush of free-flow comic association ties together Picnic At Hanging Rock, a swipe at John Blackman, an unfortunately honest funeral speech, a flood appeal foiled by erect nipples, a sexually charged interview with a feminist author, and a corgi keen for a nailed-up Jesus to throw a tennis ball for him. (Has anyone ever mentioned that this show is odd?) There's also a slice-of-life working-class drama called Those Filthy, Stinking Poms, set in a squalid lounge room knee-deep in sludge, warm beer, and grotty ill-kempt folk.

It might not win the ABC any UK sales, but it's a nice return of serve to those Brits who've mercilessly milked the comic potential of their Antipodean cousins for so long. Gordon Farrer Frasier Saturday, Channel 9, 9pm The brothers Crane have not disagreed special, Channel 9 placed notices -around the prisons, seeking women who were prepared to be involved in the filming. There was some early suspicion, but gradually they saw it as an opportunity to put their side of the story, and their interest saw the project snowball into a series featuring nearly 40 women, filmed over three months. The Mulawa Governor, Stuart Campbell, was supportive of the program, mainly because he wanted to correct public perceptions about jail, and about Mulawa in particular. As a result, logistical difficulties associated with filming were minimised, though the crew instead faced considerable ethical challenges.

"We were put in a difficult situation on quite a few occasions where the women's honesty regarding what goes on in jail put us in a compromising position," says Peters. "Often the women would tell us things that we'd think, please don't tell us that." But getting involved in enforcing jail rules, or arguing the causes of specific inmates (as was sometimes requested), was beyond the role of his team, Peters says. To become in jail life would undermine the concept of cinematography. Even though it doesn't take sides, -the series may cause some controversy. It gives a platform to people who have had their voice taken away, and Peters is aware that this may arouse some anger.

"I'm sure a lot of people will dislike Switched on: Jim Lehrer, right, holding trainspotters of visual culture will note with interest the words "created by Darren For this is the bright young thing who brought us such gems of latter-day TV as Merose Place, Beverly Hills 902 1 0 and the sadly short-lived Models Inc. Star is to TV what Great Western once was to railways. The funny thing about Darren Star's work is the pilots tend to be dark and brooding, yet contain within them the seed of something guaranteed to pull in the punters. The usual form is that other creative forces come onboard and soon Star's seed has been nurtured into a blooming success. True, it doesn't always happen that way (pace Models Inc) and true, they usually get worse later on.

But the good news is we're still on the upslope with Sex And The City. Star has yielded the pen to another for this week's episode, entided The Boy Of Married Pigs, and the result is a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments. The first comes pretty early, as Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) joins a married couple at their weekend second right, with the Doing Time crew. "You- get this picture on the Outside, when you've never been to jail before, that it's full of all these women that do bad things to other women, they belt people, you know, the big bad picture. When you actually do come in here, you are nervous, you are scared, but then you start to realise as you get things together that it's not really the way it sounds like on the And she wants people to know that a person who leaves jail is not always the same one who went In.

"It's not good being here, freedom-wise and family-wise, but like I said, if you want to do something to change yourself you can." getaway. "They were perfect, like something from a J-Crew catalogue," Carrie tells us. "If they didn't have a house on the beach, I'd hate them." Her loyalty is tested soon enough. As she stretches on the landing outside her bedroom, Carrie is greeted by the man of the house in all his morning glory. Naturally, the wife's return is greeted with news of this close encounter.

"And PS," says Carrie. "Congratulations." This, of course, is all by way of a mere set-up for Carrie and her sexually voracious gal pals to embark upon a free-ranging discussion of the secret war between the married and the single. The skirmishes carry more than a ring of truth, and while the couples police may not like it, the broad minded almost certainly will. Karl Quinn Sir Newshour With Jim Lehrer Daily, SBS, 5pm The dumbing down phenomenon in Not all the prisoners were happy about the presence of the documentary crew. On one occasion, a cameraman was spat on, on other occasions, the crew was threatened.

On the other hand, some of the more co-operative women were such good company it was easy to forget their past deeds, again forcing the crew to grapple with ethical issues. "Some of the women you would happily sit down and have a beer with, if you met them outside They seem so normal, until they start talking about the night of the event, next thing they're telling us about stabbing someone to death. It's then you've got to remember that this woman did this thing to somebody, and that somebody had family and friends. So there are people out there who quite possibly hate this woman more than the devil. And you've got to respect that." Peters admits his own views of the justice system, and of the treatment of prisoners have changed as a result of filming the program.

But he says those views are not conveyed in the series, as the aim was simply to give an accurate portrayal of prison life. In the end, he says, people will make their own judgments about Mulawa's residents and the concept of punishment. And that putting them in a position to do so is what he hoped to achieve. Doing Time begins on Wednesday, Channel 9, 9.30pm. See preview, page 38.

'tfmM, DMAGINE you are sentenced to time in one of Australia's top security prisons. You are taken to the induction area, where your details are recorded, your possessions packed away, and your freedom taken. Then you are escorted to the cell which will become your home for as far into the future as you can think. Most people will never experience this. A few deserve to.

Nobody could want to. Perhaps for all of these reasons, many on the outside have a fascination for life on the inside. Doing Time goes a long way towards satisfying that curiosity. The Channel 9 film crew was granted unprecedented access to all areas of Australia's largest women's prison, Mulawa, and to the medium security women's jail at Emu Plains. The resulting program is a revealing and thought-provoking insight into life in a female prison, from the anger and fear of the newly inducted to the excitement and apprehension surrounding an impending release, from the sometimes surprising level of comfort afforded inmates to the bleak and depressing environment endured by the more dangerous offenders.

"Not only Is this a little peek inside jail, it's a warts and all, no-holds-barred look in jail," says executive producer Stephen Peters. "They (viewers) are really going to get a sense of what it's like to live in these jails." Initially planning a one-hour.

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Pages Available:
1,291,868
Years Available:
1854-2000