I'll say it - I was glad to see 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' back on telly. Even if it was on a Wednesday night (fucking what?) Mrs. Poopey and I hadn't laughed so hard all week until the moment last night when five doctors in blackface reprised their twenty-year-old routine sending up the Jackson Five on Red faces last night. I can't speak for my lovely wife but yours truly nearly gagged on his cup of tea, mainly because Hey Hey had the balls to let these guys anywhere near a primetime network broadcast - and to be honest I found it delightfully refreshing. Yep, no PC bullshit here on Hey Hey - let's get the freaks back on Red Faces and remind the nation there was a time when we didn't take everything so fucking seriously.
Of course Harry Connick Jr. was on the judging panel. And of course this was probably a very bad idea surprisingly not picked up on by the show's organisers. Anyone with half a brain would have wondered if an American musician who grew up learning from the best African-American jazz and blues players around him in the deep south might take offense at this kind of shenaniganry.
Up until this point the show in all it's shambolic glory was going (I think) really well - the ostrich was back, Blackman was on fine form - and they'd even retrieved Animal from whichever rock he'd been living under the past ten years. And having another chance to perv at Jo-Beth Taylor was fantastic.
But then Daryl had to go and lay down a grovelling apology to Harry. And that's fucked.
My three arguments are:
a) The dude playing Michael Jackson wasn't in blackface, he was in a ghastly pallid white death-face (the same as the real M.J. was in life) That says more about the issue than five idiots in makeup doing some dodgey choreography.
b) John Blackman wasn't offended, and his surname is Blackman.
c) It's ok for the Wayans brothers to make a shit movie with themselves made up as white women and the only offensive thing about it is that people paid good money to see it.
d) Ok, there's four. Dave Shappelle is fucking hilarious, especially when he's taking the piss out of white people. I love Dave Shappelle and am not offended. It's funny 'cause it's true.
So it's not as bad as they're making out, ok Harry? Now fuck off home and leave us Aussies to what we do best - not being so damned uptight about our low-rent light entertainment.
Tankard rating: Six Motown tankards
Shamonnnnnnnaaahhhh!
Gaarn.
