KEY POINTS:
The foxy morons of Fountain Lakes, Kath and Kim, are almost home.
The comic mother-daughter creations of Jane Turner and Gina Riley will return to Australia's Seven Network with the fourth series of their hit show.
It was on the same channel that the first incarnations of the
suburban duo were seen in Big Girl's Blouse, the Riley and Turner-created sketch show, which showed the pair preparing for Kim's wedding.
Kath and Kim, and Kim's second-best friend Sharon played by fellow collaborator Magda Szubanski, have come a long way from their start in a throwaway sketch.
After three series on the ABC, Riley and Turner's alter egos are cult heroes who have added to the lexicon they ridicule as a staple of their comedy.
But for Kath and Kim it's been a long time between "cardonays" -- one of their many malapropisms.
Their last TV appearance came with the telemovie, Da Kath and Kim Code, in November 2005.
After that, as at the end of every season, Riley and Turner considered pulling the pin on their creation.
"After every series, you do feel like the well is dry," Riley says.
But after devoting a few weeks to coming up with ideas, they decided the show still had legs.
When we rejoin them, Kim is at her maniacal best, still living with her mum and devoted step-father Kel Knight (Glenn Robbins), an arrangement not to the liking of her husband Brett Craig (Peter Rowsthorn).
A besieged Brett arranges a holiday for him and Kim, which of course snowballs into an extended family getaway with Kel, Kath and even Sharon (Magda Szubanski) tagging along.
It's situation comedy at its best. While there is one cringe-worthy moment where Kath pulls out her now ubiquitous "look at moi ... I've got one thing to say to you" line, they largely avoid overuse of the characters' predictable catchphrases.
Each actor has their character down pat and the writers, Riley and Turner, are generous in handing some of the best lines to the support players, especially Robbins.
Despite their exaggerations, the gang is perfectly believable.
Most importantly, they are still funny.
While among Australia's best-credentialled TV comediennes, Turner and Riley are now synonymous with Kath and Kim.
During our interview they slip seamlessly between their characters and their laidback everyday personas, using trademark malapropisms in the same way their fans do: "it's noice, it's diff'rent, it's un-ewes-yewl!"
When a fan says "hi Kath" or "hi Kim" in the street, they reply with an in-character "hoi" and are on their way.
"We like it, just give them a 'hoi', get a laugh and keep going," Riley says.
"They're pretty user-friendly characters, not especially intimidating," Turner says.
The pair can ill afford to scoff at such interactions. They can be a rich source of material, such as the middle-aged man who told them his mother-in-law was on a "glutton-free diet".
"Everyone slips up and it's hilarious. It all goes into the memory bank," Riley says.
In series four, the celebrity cameos continue.
Little Britain's Matt Lucas and cricket legend Shane Warne, a popular topic of conversation for sports-mad Sharon, make memorable appearances.
Usually, stars express interest in appearing on the show, such as pop star Kylie Minogue who played a grown-up version of Kim's daughter Epponnee Rae in series three.
But Turner and Riley took a risk with Warne.
"Warnie's the only person we didn't ask before we wrote him, so thank God he said yes," Riley says.
"His kids are fans and he's a really good sport. He's got a great sense of humour and is really self-deprecating."
"Which was lucky because he had to be," Riley adds.
During their hiatus from Australian TV, Riley and Turner have acted as consultants for an American version of their show.
Ordered back to the drawing board by US network NBC after a pilot was made, the series is looking up with a new writer on staff, Turner says.
But the US version is more a hobby than an extra burden, Riley says.
"There's no pressure on us with the US show. It doesn't really affect us if it doesn't do well, whereas making it here is all pressure," she says.
"It's just interesting to see how it's done in America," Turner adds.
Turner and Riley couldn't be further from the US model of how a sitcom should be made. Instead of a room of writers, it's just them, usually at one of their houses, throwing around ideas.
"We tried to write in an office at the ABC, but that lasted about an hour ... there was no food," Turner says.
"I saw a thing where a group of sitcom writers were saying that wasn't the way to do it, that you had to start with the relationships," she says.
"We think it's completely about the jokes. There's no rules as far as we're concerned."
Instead of having a network peering over their shoulder, they brought the completed show to Seven.
"They haven't tried to influence us in any way," Turner says.
Turner and Riley are hands-on at every stage of production, from writing scripts to the editing room.
They even write content for their shows in character.
"We can't let it go," Riley says.
"People often say why don't you get in more writers and make more episodes, but we just can't relinquish that control."
- AAP
