Criticism and poor ratings hit new show

Ben Elton’s new Australian TV show has been judged a massive flop.

Just 455,000 people tuned into his much-hyped Live Form Planet Earth sketch show – meaning it was beaten by 21 other shows on the night.

And many of those who did tune into Channel Nine were sorely disappointed with Elton’s offering.

Among them were fellow comic Corinne Grant who tweeted: ‘Elton's portrayal of women really horrified me.’

Among the characters were two schoolgirls who talked about posting pictures of their ‘fanoirs’ on Facebook and an impression of Nigella Lawson complaining that she didn’t like extra virgin olive oil but preferred one ‘really well shagged… taken roughly from behind straight up the nasty by a series of anonymous strangers’

But Grant’s colleague Dave Hughes was quick to reply: ‘Comedians, how about showing some solidarity and not publicly slagging off other comedians? Leave that to those who've never tried it’

And there was no shortage of that on Twitter, with comments including:

‘Channel 9 the home of laughter? This is true if that home is an old run-down shack and your step-dad beats you with a broken bottle’ Andy Thompson

‘I am LOVING the irony of a LIVE show that is completely outdated. Amazing.’ Chloe O'Toole

‘This just feels like a single hour-long sketch - no variety, no stand-out characters, no really memorable moments.’ Anthony Morris

‘This show is making me wish I was watching some Jeff Green stand-up tapes. #jeffgreenisaterriblestandupbutbeneltonmakeshimlookgood.’ Josh Kinal

However some were a little more forgiving, with James Brechney tweeting: ‘We are so harsh on #LFPE… Give them a few weeks.’

Earlier in the week, Elton – who now largely lives in Western Australia – spoke about how the nation hasn’t produced a great sitcom in 15 years, and he wanted to write one.

Here are some sketches from his show:

Published: 9 Feb 2011