"Rove" (1999) TV series

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Comedy

Cast

Rove McManus	...	Himself - Host (10 episodes, 1999)
Peter Helliar	...	Himself (10 episodes, 1999)
Corinne Grant	...	Herself (10 episodes, 1999)
Dave Callan	...	Himself (10 episodes, 1999)

Runtime:

Australia:60 min (10 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Roving Enterprises

Oh come on, it's not that good

Alright it is not bad for an out of the box late night talk show, but it is not that good either.

The problem is the lack of guests on this show. Not that Rove has no guests, it's more like he has no good guests. Being new and being in Australia Rove must stay alive by picking off the scraps, linking up with satellite to conduct interviews with anybody remotely famous. The guests he does manage to recruit off the street are unheard of, yet Rove manages to make you feel stupid for not having heard of them before.

The skits while amusing at first have quickly become boring and dry and although its in its third year it has yet managed to produce high quality entertainment. Yet for some inexplicable reason I continue to watch this show, probably more out of a lack of alternatives than for any other reason. You see down here in Australia we don't have actors, we just have people who like to think they can act, and therefore we have little need for a show like Rove.

Nevertheless, his titilising yet rare comic mischief is spontaneously refreshing and what the show lacks in depth it makes up in denial. Indeed some segments can, on a good night, be funny. Many viewers tune in simply to watch the so-called 'What-the' segment and switch the tele right off quick-smart. Quite to my displeasment the What-the's have lacked in clarity and humility over the past weeks.

The guests and interview portion of the show does, however, need considerable attention and contemplation. I have often found myself actually feeling embarassed for Rove because his guests are so mundane and he is either unwilling or unable to use them effectively in his show.

Alas Rove Live is an endearing program which appeals to the humoiderous sarmentum of the viewer's heart and attempts desperately to achieve audience oblection.

To have a Roving time? I think not. 5.5/10