Blah Blah Blah (TV series)

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{{Use Australian English|date=September 2013}}

Blah Blah Blah was a 1988 comedy television show starring Andrew Denton, broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The show is most notable for the fact that it began the television careers of many Australian performers including Anthony Ackroyd,{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102036610|title=The making of a new comic|date=1988-12-08|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=32}} Flacco and Roy & HG.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127250273|title=This 'sophisticated' life|date=1993-09-27|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=32}} With its late night time slot, it was able to get away with a lot more adult humour and content than many other shows of the era.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102037398|title=Liberal ditty loses vote|last=Warden|first=Ian|date=1988-12-12|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=24}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101979625|title=Naughty bits, late at night?|date=1988-02-29|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=17}}

Regular segments included In Bed Tonight with James Scanlon, and a performance by a rock band.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101973533|title=Don and Bert are nowhere to be seen|last=Wallace|first=Lisa|date=1988-02-01|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=22}}

A running joke at the beginning of the series was that Denton was the "work experience kid"{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102082438|title=A cynic looks in on a wedding|last=Warden|first=Ian|date=1988-04-25|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=28}} filling in while they were waiting for the real star of the show to arrive, à la Waiting for Godot. In contrast to the Godot play, he finally does arrive, five minutes from the end of the final episode.

The show also featured some controversial live performances: Ignatius Jones, former lead singer of Jimmy and the Boys, performed live in a suit made entirely from cuts of meat; and in November 1988 Lubricated Goat performed live, stark naked.{{cite news | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102035963 | title = I Saw: Corruption as entertainment | last = Warden | first = Ian | newspaper = The Canberra Times | volume = 63 | issue = 19,418 | date = 5 December 1988 | accessdate = 6 October 2016 | page = 32 | via = National Library of Australia }}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102037855|title=MUSIC|last=Lynch|first=Amanda|date=1988-12-15|work=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995)|access-date=2019-05-15|pages=34}}