Good News Week - Ok! catches up with the stars for some front-page worthy fun
Published June 30 - Issue 109
Meeting a comedian is always daunting. There's the pressure of getting their jokes, laughing on cue and, of course, trying to impress them with your own wit!
Put three comedians who make up the top-rating satirical news-based quiz show
Good News Week in the one room and it makes it even worse. But catching up with Paul McDermott, Mikey Robins and Claire Hooper at a Sydney pub was like hanging out with three mates.
Paul and Mikey were original members of the show that started on the ABC in 1996, moved to Channel 10 in 1998 and left our screen in 2000. "[Channel 10] had been talking about bringing the show back for about five years, but we never had the right people,' admits
GNW host Paul. With stand-up funnygirl Claire replacing Julie McCrossin as a team leader, the show's smelling sweet success once again.
In our afternoon together, the
OK! crew laughed at the constant banter, squirmed at their dirty jokes, and most of all, wished we were funny like them....
How is GNW second time round?
Paul: It's fantastic. It's great to be doing the show again. I think it was the defining show of the '90s.
Mikey: It's great. Once you pay for a desk, this is a good show to make! I've been astounded by the popularity of the show since we've come back. And it's just been a hoot.
Aside from the set, and Claire joining the team, how have things changed?
Mikey: What's different now is what's different in news. Obviously there are new games, but the format itself is the same. It's basically people panicking in front of a camera, trying to recollect the events of the week and trying to make them funny.
Claire, how does it feel being the new kid on the block?
Claire: I try not to think about it too much because it will make me feel frightened. I don't think the boys can image how surreal it is for me, who used to watch the show years ago.
Mikey: She grew up watching us.
Claire: [Laughs] I was 165cm when the show first started and I haven't changed my height, so 'grew up' isn't right. But I think I did develop a lot of my comic appreciation from the show.
What's it like working with Paul and Mikey?
Claire: They're like older brothers. Mikey is exactly as you see him on screen and Paul is quite different in that he's gentle, lovely and caring. They're both very supportive of me.
Mikey, how would you describe Claire and Paul?
Mikey: Claire's incredibly funny. Paul's a turd. Apart from being deceptively nice, he's probably one of the most talented, crafted performers I've ever worked with.
Paul, any rebuttals?
Paul: I don't rate them! [Laughs]
Mikey: We're the ones getting in the way of your screen time.
Paul: I've been trying for ages to get rid of the teams. Things would be a lot better and cheaper!
Claire: Oh yeah, a lot cheaper.
Paul: There's a lot of joy in what [Claire] does and her observations are quite interesting and lovely. Mikey's like a big, black pit of despair. Light and dark.....glory and tragedy.
With shows like The Chaser having started since GNW, did you think the show would be this successful now?
Paul: You always hope that people enjoy what you do. It's certainly a bonus that they do.
Claire: There has been so much either modelled on the same kind of format or the same subject matter, since the show.
Mikey: But we didn't invent satirical comedy. News-based comedy has always been around...
Paul: I invented it!
Mikey: Paul invented satirical comedy and penicillin. We owe him.
Mikey, what's changed for you over the years?
Mikey: I'm older, wiser and lazier. When we first did the show I was always going out there and trying to prove myself, now I'm like, 'Ah, you go for it. Knock yourself out!'
Paul: That's quite apparent!
Mikey: I'm also carrying a lot less baggage around....about 60kgs. I suppose that means I stay awake longer during the show.
Where do you get new material?
Paul: God....
Claire: Don't say that, people take it seriously.
Paul: [Laughs] Everywhere and anywhere. I like more absurb stuff so that doesn't really have much correlation to life.
Is there anyone you particularly like poking fun at?
Paul: I think whoever is the president of the United States is always good for a bit of run.
Mikey: The perennial victim of the show always was, and always will be, Paul.
What about Kevin Rudd and John Howard?
Paul: Well, Kevin Rudd at the moment because John Howard has gone missing.
Claire: Yeah, and it's called 'the news' so...
Mikey: Kevin's been getting funnier by the week.
Paul: Yeah, well, he's got a butler. Anyone who has a $78,000-a-year butler is OK in my book.
Do you ever have a night when someone uses your punchline?
Claire: Yeah, you can see when two people have the same idea and they're just racing for it.
Paul: You can feel when someone's got it because their energy changes, they get more boisterous and lively.
Claire: It's hard when you know you've got a good joke but you haven't found the right words.
Mikey: It's simple. I have a set of electrodes attached to Paul's genitals and a button under my desk, so when I want to break in, I just press the button to grab his attention.
Paul: It's great that people actually think that I have genitals!
Catch Good News Week on Mondays, 8:30pm on Channel 10. http://users.on.net/spoofy/GNWOKmag300608.jpg http://users.on.net/spoofy/GNWOKmag300608x2.jpg http://users.on.net/spoofy/GNWOKmag300608x3.jpg There a bit grainy though....need to download adobe photoshop....