TV: Shallow, low-brow revelations a bogan tragedy

Thanks to John Campbell of TV3 for the positive coverage of Wanganui. PHOTO/FILE

I thought the Australian comedy Upper Middle Class Bogan would be light relief and a good laugh.

But I should have realised as I hadn't heard anything about it, and it's been on for three weeks, that there was little to recommend it.

The show (TV1, Thursday, 8.30pm) has a top-notch cast but empty vacuous script with lots of f-word expletives, low-cut, tight, revealing tops on the bogan gals, plenty of tats, minimal story, lotsa booze - tragic.

It's the story of two families living at opposite ends of town ... the desirable avenue and the lowlife streets. And it's absolute American sitcom style from young doctor Bess Denyar with a posh mum, architect husband Danny and irritating 13-year-old twins Oscar and Edwina to her biological bogan family.

Bess finds out she's adopted and meets her bogan drag-racing team parents and their three loser bogan kids.

As well as the script aiming for a 9-year-old mentality, there was even that American thing of cheesy intro and outro music.

They say Australians have fallen into the American way, which is a huge generalisation, but this programme illustrates the trend perfectly with its dumbed-down dialogue and one-dimensional characters.

I suppose the positive is actors have got work and are getting paid.

Apart from that, there is no dramatic or comedic reason for this programme to be on in primetime viewing. Lucky old us again, eh?

Elsewhere, CoverBand's first episode (TV1, Thursday, 9.40pm) was like watching a bag of scratchy cats.

It didn't go anywhere, and I am not sure where it was supposed to go.

Shonky, disillusioned covers band Silhouette features a wildman singer called Jukebox with crazy hair who bounces around in a kilt, and revs the crowd up with loud rock hits.

It was a world of rock 'n' roll mercenaries, dodgy promoters, drunk crowds pretending that they're having a good time and condescending noise control officers. I'm sure this programme will go somewhere eventually but right now in its set-up phase it doesn't quite hit the mark.

There were some bizarre twists, including a quicky sex scene in a pantry where one of the chaps had an ovulating wife desperate to get pregnant, a crazed effeminate singer (a security guard in the local shopping mall) who flitted about wearing a satin cape ... still don't get it.

Am convinced I'm jaundiced when it comes to some of our supposedly slick new drama or comedy programmes, so maybe reality TV is best?

Thanks to John Campbell of TV3's Campbell Live for sending one of his young chaps into town to hit the positive aspects of Wanganui in total contrast to the hated Sunday programme.

So from huge negative to positive, now what about that middle ground? What about a programme featuring a couple of families, a park or two, a cafe or three, happy kids, happy dogs, happy faces, happy town.

Cheers, Pollyanna.