"Australia's Funniest Home Video Show" (1990) TV series 1990-????

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Writers:

Bryan Cockerill (writer)
John Holding (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | unknown

Genre:

Comedy | Reality-TV

Plot Keywords:

Video Footage | Spoof | Australian | Slapstick | Blooper

Cast

Toni Pearen	...	Herself - Host / ... (55 episodes, 2003-2009)
Shelley Craft	...	Herself - Host (15 episodes, 2008-2009)

Also Known As:

"Australia's Funniest Home Videos" (Australia) (new title)
"Graham Kennedy's Funniest Home Video Show" (Australia) (first season title)

Runtime:

Australia:30 min (1990-2003) | Australia:60 min (2004-)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Channel 9 Studios, Willoughby, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Taffner Ramsay Productions

Trivia:

One of the show's more controversial editions, "Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos", was thrown off the air by an outraged Kerry Packer, who was offended by the show's adult content. He telephoned producers to say "Get that sh*t off the air". Doug Mulray had introduced the commercial break, and the programme failed to return. GTV-9 in Melbourne had a black screen reporting technical problems, while TCN-9 Sydney and most other stations in the network resorted to showing two re-runs of "Cheers" (1982) to fill up the airspace robbed by the cancellation of the show. Doug Mulray was sacked from his short-lived post as presenter, and as a radio disc jockey. In all, the show lasted a paltry 35 minutes out of an original 90.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Crazes and Phases (#3.7)" (2006)

Every Episode's A Classic

Australia's Funniest Home Videos has been running for over 15 years now, and personally I think it remains one of the funniest shows on television today. Of course it is low-brow entertainment, but there's something so appealing when it comes to laughing at other peoples' misfortunes.

Following on from the successes of previous hosts, Toni Pearen does a fine job with the 'filler' material- even if it is corny and trite. The video clips themselves are almost always funny. Small children getting hit with swings, piñata parties gone wrong, stilt performers crashing to the ground- its all been done, but it just never loses its hilarity. Sure, you get the occasional lame video of someone's kid being cute for the camera- these are referred to as "Winning Videos"- generally they should be ignored at all costs. Don't worry- if you happen to be watching during a package full of these, it wont be long before the show returns to what it does best- showcasing gymnastics mishaps, diving board fiascoes and people getting hit in the face with all kinds of projectiles.

Obviously the show doesn't dress itself as something that its not- this is comedy in its dumbest, physical form. And it works. Watch an episode with a group of friends and have a few drinks. If you're not laughing within 5 minutes you should probably change channels and get back to 'Friends' or something equally as boring.

Don't deny yourself the amusement. You have to laugh at yourself (and others) from time to time.