I wrote this long before Good News Week was cancelled, but somewhat after it ceased to be particularly worth watching. It used to be bitingly satirical and almost always witty, but when it moved from the ABC to a commercial TV station it turned into just another attempt to grope at the Inner City twenty-something market. But in honour of their earlier glory, here’s a filk of the Hunters and Collectors’ Throw Your Arms Around Me.
[late 1999]
They would come to us at night time
Friday evening, ABC
Mikey, Paul and also Julie
The only program on TV
And they would squeeze the fun out of news
And Mikey made you laugh, Paul made you swoon
But now you’ll have to forget them
Now the ratings called their name, they’ll be looking for some new employment soon
And we may never see again
Paul’s sneer and Sandman’s naked bottom
And they may throw Good News Week off air
Yeah, they may throw Good News Week off air
Well they changed the program’s air time
All of Ten’s commercial guys,
Lord we met the stars of Neighbours
But no Kate Fisher – what surprise!
Now if they disappear out of view
You know that we will never let them go
For though I’m sure they’ll regret it
They’ll be back before you blink, doing breakfast on a Sydney radio
And we may never see again
The Gap or Julie singing Beatles
And they may throw Good News Week off air
Yeah, they may throw Good News Week off air
And we may never see again
The Soundproof Booth and Pauly singing
And they may throw Good News Week off air
Yeah, they may throw Good News Week off air