The Comedy Game

The Comedy Game is an Australian television comedy anthology series that aired in 1971 and 1973 on ABC. The new comedies screened in the series were seen as possible pilots for a full television series.^[1]

The episodes led to the series Our Man in Canberra in 1971, A Nice Day at the Office in 1972, The Aunty Jack Show in 1972, Flash Nick From Jindivick in 1974 and Scattergood: Friend of All in 1975.

Season 1[edit]

A Nice Day at the Office[edit]

Aired 2 November 1971 (Sydney), 25 November (Melbourne). By Marcus Cooney and John Brendan. Plot: Harvey and Crisp work in the filing section of a government office.

John Bell as Sean Crisp
Neil Fitzpatrick as Ted Harvey
Fay Kelton as Vicki Short
Kevin Lesley as Claude Fogarty

Use No Hooks[edit]

Aired 9 November 1971 (Sydney), 2 December (Melbourne). The story of newlyweds George and Peggy Trump and their friends Gordon Bates and Leonard Cartaris. Produced by Maurice Murphy.

Keith Lee
John Hamblin
Grahame Bond
Max Meldrum
Joan Bruce
Tessa Malone
Anthony Wagner
Redmond Phillips

Our Man in Canberra[edit]

Aired 16 November 1971 (Sudneuy), 16 December (Melbourne). By John O'Grady.

Jeff Ashby as Humphrey Sullivan
Robyn Nevin as Kate Sullivan
Walter Sullivan as The Minister
Cul Cullen as Fred Larkin
Delore Whiteman as Mrs Wheeler
John Meillon

Gaudeamus Igitur[edit]

Aired 23 December 1971 (Melbourne). By Jenny Wager. A university department has had no professors or students for thirty years.

Scattergood[edit]

Aired 9 December 1971 (Melbourne).

Aunty Jack’s Travelling Show[edit]

Aired 7 December 1971 (Sydney), 30 December 1971 (Melbourne). Writers include Geoffrey Atherdon Graham Bond, Sherman Merlick, Peter Weir. Music and lyrics by Bond and Rory O'Donoghue.

Grahame Bond as Aunty Jack

Arthur[edit]

Aired 14 December 1971 (Sydney), 6 Han 1972. By Michael Aitkins. Arthur Potter is an out of work young man.

Season 2[edit]

Fat Max[edit]

Aired 19 May 1973 (Sydney). By John O'Grady. About a 40 year old bachelor.

Barry Lovett
Graham Rouse
Olivia Hamnett

Catch What I Mean?[edit]

Aired 26 May 1973. By John Dingwall. Set in a drivers pool at a city newspaper's office.

Birth, Death and Marriage[edit]

Aired 9 June 1973 (Sydney), 7 November (Melbourne). Three separate stories. By Maurice Wiltshire, Ray Biehler, Arthur Sherman.

Garry McDonald
Jacki Weaver
Peter Sumner
Willie Fennell
Ros Spiers.

The Engagement Party[edit]

Aired 30 June 1973.

Ron Frazer
John Krummel
Sue Walker

Flash Nick from Jindavick[edit]

Aired 16 June and 23 June 1973 (Sydney), 14 and 21 Nov (Melbourne). By Grahame Bond.

The Only One Left[edit]

Aired 2 June 1973 (Sydney).

Garry McDonald
Terry Bader
Walter Sullivan

Basically Black[edit]

Basically Black was the first television program written and created by Indigenous Australians, and starred:^[2]^[3]

Aileen Corpus
Gary Foley
Zac Martin
Bob Maza
Bindi Williams

References[edit]

^ "Comedy Game, the (ABC 1971-1973, John Bell, Jacki Weaver)". 15 February 2017.
^ Gary Foley, Gary. "Images from history". The Koori History Website. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Lively Russian dancers in TCN9 special". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 40, no. 50. 16 May 1973. p. 10. Retrieved 6 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.

External links[edit]

The Comedy Game at IMDb

[1] "Comedy Game, the (ABC 1971-1973, John Bell, Jacki Weaver)". 15 February 2017.

[kooriweb-2] Gary Foley, Gary. "Images from history". The Koori History Website. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[aww-3] "Lively Russian dancers in TCN9 special". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 40, no. 50. 16 May 1973. p. 10. Retrieved 6 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.

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