Fast Forward
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Fast Forward was a long-running Australian commercial television sketch comedy show that ran for 75 episodes from 12 April 1989 to 26 November 1992. It starred several former members of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series The D-Generation such as Magda Szubanski and Marg Downey, as well as other Melbourne-based comedians such as The Eleventh Hour's Steve Vizard and Peter Moon, and Jane Turner and Gina Riley who are now famous for Kath & Kim. It also marked the first time that Kath & Kim stars Turner, Riley and Magda Szubanski worked together on screen. It is one of many successful Australian TV and film productions that feature performers who began their screen career in the 1980s on the ABC-TV sketch comedy series The D-Generation.
Fast Forward was formatted to simulate continuous channel surfing, and after the punchline, each sketch would abruptly switch to a momentary segment of static, followed by another sketch, simulating the effect of the viewer repeatedly switching channels. It featured many send-ups of television programs of the day, politicians, and television advertisements.
The series' composite style, which blended direct TV parody with traditional sketch comedy followed several earlier Australian sketch comedy programs such as The Mavis Bramston Show, The Naked Vicar Show, Australia You're Standing In It, and The D-Generation. Fast Forward was succeeded by the series Full Frontal, which starred some of the same cast and marked the TV debut of comedian and actor Eric Bana.
Popular recurring sketches included:
- "Dumb Street", which sent up Aussie soaps Home and Away, E Street, Neighbours and A Country Practice
- "A Current Affair", which sent up the long-running Nine network current affairs show
- "Hunch" , which parodied current affairs host and talkback radio star Derryn Hinch
- Skippy, which sent up the well-known 1960s children's adventure series that starred an intelligent kangaroo
- numerous crude parodies of the programming on the then-new Australian multicultural TV network SBS
- 'Roger Ramshett', a politically-incorrect sketch involving an Indian carpet salesman
- "Brent Smythe + Barry", parodic 80s advertising executives
- a popular sketch featuring two gay male airline stewards, played by Veitch and Vizard, which featured Benny Hill-style sexual innuendo
- inept sports reporter Pixie-Anne Wheatley (Szubanski)
- Mary Mcgregor, a tipsy Scotswoman (Szubanski)
- "Bobbie Battista" (Jane Turner) a caricature of the American CNN newsreader (CNN was at that time relayed in a late-night timeslot on the same network that broadcast Fast Forward).
- political and personality send-ups including Joan Kirner (Victorian Premier 1990-92) and TV variety host Kerrie-Anne Kennerly.
- vintage overseas TV parodies including Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie, Get Smart, The Addams Family and The Munsters, all of which were repeated ad nauseam on Australian commercial TV from late 1960s up until the late 1990s.
Cast
Regular cast members included: Peter Moon, Steve Vizard, Glenn Robbins, Jane Turner, Magda Szubanski, Michael Veitch, Gina Riley, Brian Dawe, Marg Downey.