Skithouse

Yes, I'm going to throw it in the deep end with that opening statement. I could almost go further and say it's the worst show of all time but that wouldn't do because I've watched an episode of "Passions".

I watched the first episode with extremely high expectations after being in weeks of hysterics with the Ten network's UK import The Sketch Show and after the advertising campaign, how could I resist? I soon learned my lesson for being so susceptible to hype though as, through half an hour, nothing managed to make me smile. I found myself being far more entertained by ads for dishwashing detergent and breakfast cereals, and generally I detest all ads.

For one thing, there are three members of the cast I have heard of, the rest are complete nobodies and there's no prizes for guessing why. But Peter Helliar and Corinne Grant are funny enough people as we see on "Rove:Live" and "The Glasshouse" but they cannot act, and yet they try to. As for Ros Hammond, well she's got very steeply downhill since appearing in the brilliant and eccentrically hilarious three series of Shaun Micallef programmes.

But the cast aren't entirely to blame. The writing is juvenile, the jokes are either old or non-existent and always predictable from the start of each sketch, but the worst part of it is that the show takes itself far too seriously. It's always playing for laughs and trying to milk humour from every joke rather than, at least occasionally, laughing WITH the audience AT itself, which is one of the endearing qualities of both Shaun Micallef and the team from The Sketch Show.

It's a sad day in Australian television when I find myself pleased that "Comedy Inc." exists just because it raises the dignity of Australian sketch comedy up a slight notch. All I can say is, if Ted Emery and Gary McCaffrie were dead they'd be rolling around in their graves. I can't bring myself to give this a single star.