Hey Hey Its Saturday
| Hey Hey It's Saturday | |
|---|---|
2010 Hey Hey It's Saturday logo.
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| Genre | Variety |
| Directed by | Peter Ots |
| Presented by | Daryl Somers |
| Starring | Suze Raymond John Blackman Andrew Fyfe Russell Gilbert Livinia Nixon Ossie Ostrich Plucka Duck Dickie Knee Red Symons Wilbur Wilde Molly Meldrum (Current major cast members. For minor cast members, see cast section of article.) |
| Judges | Red Symons (Red Faces segment) |
| Voices of | John Blackman |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 29 (1971–1977, 1979–1999, 2010) |
| No. of episodes | 500+ |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Daryl Somers Graeme Trippett |
| Producer(s) | Bob Phillips Pam Barnes Jenny Parr |
| Location(s) | GTV Richmond, Victoria (1971–1999, 2009–2010) |
| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 3 hrs (1971–83) 2 hrs (1984–99, 2009–10) (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Somers Carroll Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nine Network |
| Picture format |
PAL (1971–99) 576i (SDTV) (2009–2010) |
| Audio format |
Mono (1971–mid-1980s) Stereo (mid-1980s–1999, 2009–2010) |
| Original release | 9 October 1971 – 20 November 1999 (first run) 30 September and 7 October 2009 (Reunion special) 14 April 2010 – 27 November 2010 (second run) |
| External links | |
| Production website |
somerscarroll |
Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years on the Nine Network from on 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999 (there was a recess in 1978). Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who later also became executive producer of the program. The original producer, Gavin Disney, left the program in the 1980s and Somers then jointly formed his own production company, Somers Carroll Productions, with on-screen partner Ernie Carroll, the performer of Somers' puppet sidekick Ossie Ostrich.
On 25 July 2009, the Nine Network announced the show would return for two reunion specials in late 2009 and hinted if they rated strongly, the show could return full-time. The first reunion show aired on 30 September 2009 and the second on 7 October and both won the ratings on their respective nights.
On 7 December 2009, it was announced that the show was planned to return in 2010 with a speculated run of 20 episodes. During the 2010 premiere on Wednesday 14 April, it was indicated that the 20-episode run would be split into two groups, with a break between them, and the second group was broadcast on Saturday nights from 16 October 2010 with the season finale on 27 November 2010. The show was not renewed for a new season in 2011 and since then there has been no announcement of it ever coming back on air.
Premiering on 9 October 1971,Hey Hey It's Saturday was a Saturday morning children's program in which Somers and Carroll provided "top and tail" segments between cartoon episodes. Due to the relative freedom afforded by its low-priority timeslot, the team was able to develop the comedic aspects of the show and the cartoon segments were eventually phased-out in favour of the live performances.
The constant ad-libbing (often laced with double entendre) of the presenters, including voice-over man John Blackman, soon attracted a cult following among younger and older viewers alike. The show's style was variously influenced by vaudeville, the American Tonight Show format, the Marx Brothers, The Goon Show and Monty Python. Somers was also strongly influenced by comedy duo Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton, and it is significant that Carroll wrote for In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) for many years.
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