The Aunty Jack Show

560:, it was my first contact with television comedy, and I was amazed by the atmosphere of drive and energy that Maurice generated. He made it such an exciting time to be working in comedy because the creative climate under him was so open; nothing was considered too mad or bad or off-the-wall that it wouldn't be considered for broadcast. People like me were able to learn their craft 'on-air' in those days, which meant that we were able to make mistakes or even fail completely with programs and still have a job. Maurice encouraged us to take risks and experiment with comedy and I believe this resulted in some of the best and most innovative comedy ever seen on Australian television. 355:, a fantasy that examined three different views of Christmas; this screened on ABC-TV at the end of December 1969. The 50-minute film, which is Bond's first known TV appearance, was co-written by and starred Bond and Weir, with Geoff Malone, James Dellit, and Anna Nygh. The story concerned three men, once friends sharing many adventures, who are now mayors of three cities—medieval Ackley, the futuristic Cadmium, and Petal Lake, a community reminiscent of the 1930s. Into their midst comes the strange figure of Mr. Maloon, a man travelling on a heavily laden green bike, whose presence disturbs and embarrasses the mayors. 1593: 1428:, released in early 1974. "Farewell Aunty Jack" was released as a single in December 1973, reached Number 1 on the Australian charts a week later, where it stayed for 3 weeks. It was the first Australian single in picture-disc form to hit No.1 nationally, reputedly being the first disc of its kind in the world (although "Goondiwindi Grey" by Tex Morton in 1972 had also been issued in Australia as a picture disc too, but didn't hit the top spot nationally). 1607: 1293:. His main role was as Aunty Jack's new sidekick, the cheeky, gum-chewing, freckle-faced Kid Eager. In one episode McDonald premiered a new character, devised by a viewer: Wendy Skelcher had taken up a writing course and was inspired by the first episodes to write and submit scripts, which were welcomed by the team. This character featured only briefly in 585: 33: 521:, saying in a later interview: "We were very much in the vein of Monty Python, and I saw them in England and they were so superior to what we did… that was it. I told my writing partner I wanted to focus on films, I sold him my sketches and that was it. It was very difficult because he had just gotten a TV deal." 1545:

the footage was located and restored, enabling the missing episodes to be reconstructed. The long-awaited release of the complete Series 1 on DVD took place in December 2005, and the complete Series 2 followed in April 2006. Although the master videotapes were monochrome, and the main episodes are

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The adverse reaction was reportedly strong enough for the ABC to seriously consider taking the series off the air, but it is generally reported that impassioned pleas from the children of certain ABC executives saved the show from being cancelled. This would not be the team's last such run-in with

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After graduating, Bond and friends continued working together on a wide range of projects in radio, theatre, TV and film. He collaborated on several short films and stage pieces with Weir, and wrote and played in a number of stage comedies and revues. The success of Bond's work in the Architecture

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might be released on home video, it was more than thirty years after the show's first screening until this took place. Although there have been a number of reasons suggested, it is generally accepted that the major stumbling block was a long-running disagreement between Bond and the ABC, stemming

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were made in 1972 and 1973 respectively. The first series comprised seven episodes, the second six episodes. There were also two specials, one aired 8 June 1973 before the second series began in October, and a second aired in 1975 and an unaired pilot, before the series started. Each episode was

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premiered on 16 November 1972 and became an immediate cult hit with younger audiences, although it was poorly received by critics. Some viewers found it too confronting, and according to Murphy, the ABC received hundreds of calls after the first episode, complaining about the violence, the "bad

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By the time Series 2 was underway Bond was already tired of Aunty Jack so he decided to kill her off in the final episode, "The R-Certificate Show" when, shocked by the gratuitous sex and nudity, Aunty Jack expires from a heart attack. Bond then departed for a much-needed holiday on

1122:. It is decided that her moustache needs to come off, but the gang can't remove it and so they shrink to remove the moustache, but end up being swallowed and take our tour of the inside of Aunty Jack. The episode also shows a short documentary on a five-year bus driving course. 1483:(1977) which was cancelled after only a few episodes following a controversial incident in which ABC executive Alan Batemen pulled the premiere episode from the schedule half an hour before it was due to air and then erased the tape, reportedly because he was offended by the 600:

Bond ended the show at the end of the second season by having Aunty Jack die of a heart attack, 'mortified' by the other cast members' 'dirty' language and content. Nevertheless, the cast was revived and returned for a special two years later to mark the inauguration of

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alternated one-off sketches with segments featuring many regular and semi-regular characters. All episodes featured segments with Aunty Jack and her sidekicks – Flange Desire (Sandra McGregor), Thin Arthur (Rory O'Donoghue) and, in the first season the Narrator Neville

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competition. Kid Eager discovers that the glove has magical powers and decides to steal it, whilst Flange Desire decides to marry Kid Eager for his money and so Aunty Jack and Thin Arthur engage him in a card game to make sure that the money goes to them instead.

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presented in this format on DVD, much of the footage for the series was filmed in colour and these are included as alternate scenes. The only episode in the entire Aunty Jack Show series not to be released on DVD was the 1973 special, 'Aunty Jack Rox On'.

292:. He cut his teeth writing and performing as a founder member and leading light of the university's legendary Architecture Revues from 1964 to 1969. It was here that he met and became friends with other Sydney students including scriptwriter 1009:

The episode sees Aunty Jack looking back on her past as Princess Jack, royalty in Wollongong, when 'things' kidnapped her parents, where she goes on search for them. Later in the episode, Kev Kavanagh is seen in London on a butcher's grant.

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featured the core characters, augmented by a rock group. Episode 2 featured 'Country and Mediterranean' music group The Farelly Brothers and their singing sheep Jason; Episode 3 featured meat guru Kev Kavanagh and the final instalment

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launching a new-look Aunty Jack Show, starring Kid Eager as Aunty Jack. Aunty Jack protests and takes back the show. Other skits include the Gong-fu skit, set in a Chinese Restaurant and a new segment 'What's on in Wollongong'.

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and referred to everyone as "me little lovelies" – when she was not uttering her familiar threat: "I'll rip yer bloody arms off!", a phrase which immediately passed into the vernacular. The character was devised and played by

1577:, starring Grahame Bond and Rory O'Donoghue. As well as Aunty Jack and Thin Arthur, the show featured the singing tramps Neil and Errol, Country and Eastern music exponents the Farrelly Brothers, the Ri Fol Tit Men and 1278:. There were also semi-regular appearances by the folk-singing duo Errol and Neil (Grahame & Rory), and rock'n'roll butcher Kev Kavanagh (Bond), a character that he had introduced (as "Mr Kevin") in Peter Weir's 1169:

The episode sees Aunty Jack haunted by her own ghost, using protection from the rest of the gang and a new fictional television show, New Faces, hosted by Norman Tavistock. The episode also features a daring

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publication. The magazine said the character's aggressive attitude, her golden boxing glove and her "I'll rip yer bloody arms off" catchphrase quickly established her, and the show, as comedy icons.

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Through Bob Allnutt, a staffer at the PACT Theatre Company who also worked for the ABC's Religious Affairs Department, Weir, Bond was one of a group of people commissioned to produce a TV special,

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For many years there were persistent rumours—fuelled by press statements from Bond himself—that some episodes had been lost or destroyed. This was given added credence by the fact that (like the

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Burfitt, John; Cullen, Tamara; Hadley, Amy; Hockey, Maddison; Mitchell, Thomas; Recchi, Karina; Vnuk, Helen; Wang, Cynthia; Zubeidi, Zara (July 2019), 101 Greatest Aussie TV Shows of All Time,

456:. Indeed, Aunty Jack's television debut took place an hour and a half before the British show was first screened in Australia on 30 December 1971 (The "Aunty Jack's Travelling Show" episode of 406:, which was about to be cancelled. The new series did not go to air because ABC executives felt that the Aunty Jack character and some of Bond's songs were "inappropriate" for young listeners. 1531:

incident. Since Bond and O'Donoghue controlled the rights for all the original music featured in the series, their refusal to release them effectively kept the series from release until 2005.

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Derum left the show after Series 1, wishing to pursue other interests. Derum appeared in archival footage in the special, Aunty Jack Rox On, and was replaced in Series 2 by a new cast member,

252:– who habitually solved any problem by knocking people unconscious or threatening to "rip yer bloody arms off". Visually, she was unmistakable, dressed in a huge, tent-like blue velvet dress, 1541:

Although (according to Bond) the original master tapes for three episodes were erased, all the original film footage shot for the missing episodes had survived and with the assistance of the

1499: 2018: 378:(in which he also had a small acting role), for which Weir directed one segment. Bond also provided the music and played a leading role in Weir's first film, the 1971 short feature 1351:

Colonel Passionfruit, a campy military commander who led his squad of gay troops through a dangerous choreographed war with the help of The Pride of Erin Mine Avoidance Tactic #III

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was also involved behind the scenes in the early days of the series. He had been part of the university revues they had done together in the 1960s, and had a small part in

1479:, beating another channel's first colour program by deliberately starting three minutes early. The team's last major TV collaboration was the abortive comedy series 1538:) the ABC had undertaken an "economy drive" in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which (it has been reported) substantial portions of many shows were erased. 1738: 1385:) in which viewers were promised "lots of bottoms and lots of breasts" – at which point two actors are shown, clad in multiple plastic 'joke' bottoms and breasts. 304:, who would go on to become an internationally acclaimed film director. Through these stage revues Bond also met his longtime musical, writing and acting partner 605:

in Australia on 1 March 1975. The special beat ABC's commercial rivals by beginning 3 minutes early, at 11:57 pm 28 February 1975 in black and white and then

2053: 400:, commissioned by Paddy Conroy (former head of ABC TV and now cable channel manager). It was intended to replace the long-running children's radio series 2043: 2038: 2033: 85: 2028: 2058: 528:

and its various spin-off series, and also acted as a vital buffer between the Aunty Jack creative team and the ABC's conservative management.

273: 326:. O'Donoghue was 14 at the time he met Bond, when The Pogs were brought in to provide musical backing for one of the Architecture Revues. 2023: 536:. Robinson later took over Murphy's mantle in the 1980s, producing some of the best Australian TV comedy series of the period, including 1676: 1976: 593:

management, however, and the tensions between the creative and bureaucratic elements in the ABC eventually came to a head with

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Bond was already an accomplished writer, producer, comedian, singer, songwriter and guitarist by the time he graduated with an

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At 11:57 PM on Friday 28 February 1975, Aunty Jack, Thin Arthur, and Kid Eager introduced colour television broadcasting on

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and was partly inspired by his overbearing Uncle Jack, whom he had disliked as a child, his grandfather Ben Doyle, and

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but ABC executives objected to the title. The program featured Bond, O'Donoghue and Derum, with Sharman Mellick and

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This marked the start of a fruitful partnership between Bond, O'Donoghue and ABC writer, producer and director

1739:"Peter Weir Shunned Stanley Kubrick, Made 'Green Card' Out of Depression & 10 Things Learned… – IndieWire" 1559:

at #99 in its list of the 101 greatest Australian television shows of all time, which appeared in its monthly

434:. They became the creative nucleus for a string of programs that strongly influenced TV comedy in Australia. 472:, Bond himself said that he had listened to The Goons only occasionally. He mentioned Australian radio star 2013: 1621: 1242: 1459:(1974), a series of four one-hour specials that showcased favourite characters from the series. Episode 1 1348:

to teach viewers the fine art of "elephanto reducioso" with the reluctant assistance of Colin the elephant

374:. Bond's friendship with Weir led to him writing the music for the three-part AFI Award-winning 1970 film 1628: 1424: 1366: 1309: 39: 1820: 1763: 1957: 1402:. It was not seen by Australian audiences until it was broadcast on ABC television on 26 January 1991. 529: 1171: 468:

have also been mentioned as an inspiration, but in Johnson and Smiedt's history of Australian comedy

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which ran from 1975 to 1983. After a faltering start, it became hugely popular and McDonald won the

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A compilation of colour filmed segments from the first series was edited into an 85-minute feature

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Maurice Murphy was a pivotal figure in this fertile era of Australian television comedy—he oversaw

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