THE ABC last night axed its popular and irreverent television comedy show, The Glass House, which has been at the centre of a storm over allegations of anti-Howard Government bias.
The ABC gave no explanation for the decision apart from telling the cast and crew yesterday that not all shows could be renewed.
Host Wil Anderson posted a blog last night promising to "go out with all guns a'blazing". "It's been a really fun five years," he said.
Co-compere Dave Hughes said axing the show made little sense.
"We have had our best ratings ever," he said.
The Glass House has become the latest casualty in the "culture wars" and comes just a day after Liberal NSW senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells said during a grilling of ABC executives that co-host Corrine Grant had been guilty of a serious conflict of interest because she was the public face of the ACTU's workplace relations campaign.
And it follows revelations the ABC will pay a new chief censor $280,000 a year to investigate and monitor instances of bias on ABC programs.
Anderson, Hughes and Grant regularly make jokes about John Howard and US President George W. Bush, provoking critics to accuse them of bias.
But during a recent show Anderson responded to criticism by saying if Mark Latham had been in power they would be having a great time.
The decision to axe The Glass House came despite the show achieving its highest ratings since it first went to air in 2001 - with average audiences of 728,000.
The program regularly outrated commercial programs in the same time slot and this year won a peak audience of almost 860,000 viewers.
The last episode of The Glass House will go to air on November 29.
Stupid f****** right-wingers. Why can't politicians just laugh at themselves? Barnaby went on and he did. Political insecurities derail arguably the funniest show on television.
I love how the right wing loonies constantly moan and bitch about the ABC being left leaning.
Have they looked at comercial TV??!!
Also they complain about the Glasshouse being too left wing. It's a satrical show numbnuts, they take shots at anyone and everyone. They take more potshots at Bush and Howard because they are the ones in power and therefore, constantly in the news (usually making godawful statements or decisions).
Like Wil Anderson said "If Mark Latham was Prime Minister we would be having alot of fun!!"
I'm sure the government told the ABC board to axe the show. Fair go lads.
Wouldn't the ABC have a programming department that would do that? I would think there would have been an uproar if the board sacked a show.
Just because you hate Howard you can't blame him for a show getting the ass on the ABC. If that was the case I could think of many shows he would have got rid of before this show.
I liked that show. That, "Spicks and Specks" and "Enough Rope" are all quality. Shame.
Although, if it's a ratings winner, does anyone think there's the possibility that a commercial network will adopt the program in its current format (e.g. same hosts, same concept etc)??? I guess it'd be unlikely, because a show of this nature a) gets a certain 'feel' by not being on a commercial network and b) ads would ruin the show, but hey, we can all dream, can't we?
reason
Glasshouse-politically incorrect, yet intelligible show that pokes fun at whatever axed by a board that has continually been lobbied by the liberals to cease anti-govt bias.
Big Brother-politically incorrect show that continues to outrage conservative politics-slapped on thw wrist for misdemeanors.
anyone want my tv. i'd imagine Chaser wont get another gig, and with simpsons and futurama available on tv, and the quality of tv football calling, i dont need it....oh...dvds....nevermind.
heres a thing. am i charged for the ABC via taxes? if so, i want my money back. i can live without spicks and specks and i have no use for a channel bowing to political pressure.
citizenerased wrote:i'd imagine Chaser wont get another gig
The ABC confirmed yesterday that the Chaser guys will be back for another season next year. And thank God for that, they provided some of the funniest stuff on TV this year IMO.
BERT wrote:I'm sure the government told the ABC board to axe the show. Fair go lads.
Wouldn't the ABC have a programming department that would do that? I would think there would have been an uproar if the board sacked a show.
Just because you hate Howard you can't blame him for a show getting the ass on the ABC. If that was the case I could think of many shows he would have got rid of before this show.
we've got a government which is hostile to views against its own, and because it has detected - rightly or wrongly - these views in the ABC, the government has attempted to put pressure on the ABC to remove those views. Just consider the new "editorial guidelines"; just consider the government stacking the board with nutters like Keith Windschuttle. Howard may not have pulled the trigger, but it's his wedge politics that is behind all the "culture wars" of the present, and it's hard to see the axing of the Glasshouse as something other than an instance of this.
citizenerased wrote:i'd imagine Chaser wont get another gig
The ABC confirmed yesterday that the Chaser guys will be back for another season next year. And thank God for that, they provided some of the funniest stuff on TV this year IMO.
I agree that The Chaser are very good, but I don't think it is as good as the Glass House and they are very different shows anyway. Next year ABC is going to be shit.
And they talk up Chris Lilley's new show coming up next year. If We Can Be Heroes is anything to go by, it will be funny for about two episodes and then the repitition of jokes makes it lame.
