This week as I ploughed my way through Twitter one night, I came across a tweet by Simon Owens (@SimonOMelb) mentioning his new Melbourne Radio Podcast and decided to go and download some of his interviews.
The first one I listened to was with George Donikian, which I enjoyed. Then – ah, a name from the 90s, I thought – and I liked the shows this guest was on, so downloaded it got.
Mention the phrases ‘D-Gen’, ‘Late Show’, and ‘Frontline’ to many Australian Gen Xers like me, and inevitably names like Mike Moore, Graham and the Colonel, Shirty the Slightly Aggressive Bear, and Charlie the Wonder Dog are mentioned with a smile.
One of the D Gen team and now Working Dog folks is Jane Kennedy who Simon chatted with.
I loved this interview, both for Jane Kennedy’s relaxed nature, and for her and Simon’s easy interviewee / interviewer repartee. Clearly, Owens wasn’t doing an expose into the machinations of the D-Gen (and who’d care?!); this was a great walk along memory lane and some fascinating insights into one of the team whose work in front of and off screen have delivered some great Australian TV.
It’s an interesting interview about how Jane joined the D Gen, some of the background to other members of the team, and her reflections on some of the shows they’ve done.
The complete works of Mike, Brooke and Marty (Frontline), Murph and co (Hollowmen) and the two series of the Late Show happily reside in this household; plus, I’ll admit the Frontline book stored on some bookshelf.
If like me you loved laughing at the P*ssweak Kids, wanted to go fishing on a river somewhere, and still believe that TV commercial ‘current affairs’ shows are in fact taking the mickey out of Frontline… then listen to the podcast. It was easily my podcast of the week.
Disclaimer: I knew Simon Owens as a teenager.
Image of Jane Kennedy in her role as Brooke Vandenberg (Frontline) courtesy www.cultfiction.com.au
