The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 31

SUMMER AGE 3 THE AM THURSDAY 12 JANUARY 1995 vttksse fnw wr- -a And The Kitsch Just Keeps On Coming NE OF Australia's most con troversial game shows, the sex, power and champagne-fuelled Man Man. has IjjMc oYjULnJl Jr Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Members of the public have to compete against a team of six gladiators three men and three women who have "affectionate nicknames" based on their fighting specialties, and wear Stone Age, fur-trimmed costumes. In a dim set, contestants roll around in giant metal bails, fight with giant baseball clubs and scale spikey walls while being dive-bombed by gladiators on ropes. Gladiators will have to start with a bang to match the impact of the spectacularly kitsch Man Man.

In the show, 10 male contestants had to dance, sing karaoke, strip and chat up models in front of a cheeky all-woman audience. It was made in Melbourne and screened on Saturday nights at 7.30 pm as a challenge to Nine's Hey Hey It's Saturday, which it outrated in its first season. The show's premise was simple the winner was the man the audience fancied the most. The first in the 30-show series, which was hosted by actor Rob Guest, screened last April. The sight of a bevy of models in tiny frocks kissing men in G-strings and pushing the losers into a four-metre deep marble-lined swimming pool provoked outrage and delight.

Age readers described Man Man as sexist, irresponsible and distasteful. But one woman gleefully said the show was a great chance to observe and a smooth-line body. Seven's spokeswoman said Man 0 Man was controversial "but everyone understood that it was all fun we had lots of questions raised but it was fun, not Australia's Man Man, which was far less raunchy than its German counterpart had "become a model for the rest of the she said. RACHEL BUCHANAN been axed by the Seven Network. But It may be replaced by a show that is set to be just as talked about the sex, power and violence-fuelled Gladiators.

A Seven spokeswoman said yesterday that Man Man "was right for '94 but we have another program that will be just as successful for The spokeswoman said Man Man's budget was being ploughed into Gladiators, a game show that was Invented in America and is a big hit in the United Kingdom. Seven had not decided when Gladiators would screen, she said. Seven Is believed to be spending $2 million on a Gladiators set in Brisbane and taping will start in the next two months. The United Kingdom Gladiators is like a cross between Mad Max and an Dear Dear: but now battles wB replace beefcake on Seven. Still As Luverly As Ever W312-W317: the sbt puppies were found in a crate (as pictured) on a South property.

IT- i. uifTMrVnTllraaa One astute reader commented on the way MFL integrated music and narrative, another on Its elegance and romanticism. Many mentioned the wit of the storyline and recalled that it was based on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Cats rated a strong second with readers commenting on the world of fantasy that this musical evoked through Its use of the feline form and the hit. South Pacific trailed the rest, but Its few devoted followers pointed to the many hit songs that came out the musical and the themes of racial harmony and tolerance that It explored.

What came across strongly in the replies was how musicals occupy a very special place in our memories and cut across age and gender lines. PETER WEINIOER THAT OLD favorite My Fair Lady remains the favorite musical of Age readers. If the response to our hotline survey ii any indication. Readers were asked to pick between MFL, Cats or South Pacific, but we probably should have Included Phantom of the Opera, which is the biggest grossing musical ever In Australia, and is still running strong In Sydney. Several Age readers, displaying their customary Independence of mind, actually nominated Phantom, while other musical rebels went for Let A Chorus Line, and The King and I.

Of those who stuck by the brief, MFL (which by the way Is the second-highest grossing musical) was a clear winner for many reasons ranging from storyline to the music, songs, costuming and elaborate sets. Dogs, AD Ages, Seek Humans '1L lI) llS'iiirrf W80: this kelpie cross puppy is found tw Warrtbae, has eonai the last of a War which was Am ta Keller. THERE are few people who would not melt at the sight of an eight-week-old kelpie cocking its head inquisitively, especially when it is staring out from behind bars. Number W80, and hundreds of dogs like her, have been brought to the Lost Dogs' Home after being abandoned by their owners. The Lost Dogs' Home receives up to 200 dogs each week.

These dogs are either dumped on the streets and delivered to the home by members of the public, or brought in by owners who can no longer care for their pets. Scruffy and Missy were brought to the home this week because their owner was moving house and could not take them along. Manager of the Lost Dogs' Home, Graeme Smith, says this is preferable to dumping. "We are much happier to have people bring the dogs to us rather than just dumping them on the streets." Graeme says the rate at which the original owners claim their dogs is one in 10. Surprisingly, the claim rate for puppies is one in every 100.

According to Graeme, owners often dump puppies in the belief that someone will take them home, but it is often more difficult to find homes for puppies. Two days ago, the Lost Dogs' Home received a crate of six puppies which been dumped on a property in South Morang. According to the woman who i dogs so that owners who dump their pets can be traced. Stray dogs are held for eight days then checked to see if they're suitable for adoption. Half do not pass the veterinary check.

"We do not put up for adoption dogs that are sick or old, or prone to aggressive behavior," Graeme says. Dogs cannot be kept at the home for more than four weeks. The Lost Dogs Home finds families for about 2500 dogs each year. Village Voice is pleased to report that on the day we visited these forsaken pooches, W104 was adopted by a new owner and had his number replaced with a name. TANYA TAYLOR found the dogs, they had been left in the sun ail day without food or water.

"I was disgusted," she told Village Voice. "They were dehydrated and their tummies were sucked in." Graeme Smith says another problem is impulse buying, especially around Christmas. "Kids tell their parents they want a puppy and, in a moment of weakness, Mum and Dad give in." Graeme says people forget that the tiny animal dozing in their lap on Christmas Day is going to grow up. All dogs passing through the Lost Dogs' Home are ear-tagged with identification tattoos and fitted with permanent microchip IDs. Graeme says 'these IDs should be mandatory for all la Anata-ala moat profitable musical..