The Aunty Jack Show-Complete Second Series (1973)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Restoration Feature Featurette-Aunty Jack Introduces Colour Outtakes-The History Of Aunty Jack Interviews-Cast-GTK Interview 1972 Credits-Opening Titles (Colour) Music Video-Farewell Song (Colour) Featurette-Memories Of Aunty - Cast 2006
Rating
Year Of Production	1973
Running Time	172:26 (Case: 249)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Maurice Murphy
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Grahame Bond Rory O'Donoghue John Derum Sandra McGregor
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	None Given

    The second and final series of The Aunty Jack Show screened for six episodes starting in October 1973. John Derum had left the ABC to work at Channel 7, so the character of Narrator Neville was retired and replaced with Kid Eager, played by Garry McDonald. The other three regulars returned: Grahame Bond (Aunty Jack), Rory O'Donoghue (Thin Arthur) and Sandra MacGregor (Flange Desire). The second season is more polished than the first and is still quite funny, with a little less pathos in the character of Aunty Jack. It is also a good insight into the era in which it was made, and while some of the satiric references may not have any meaning to a modern audience there is still considerable energy and life in this series. It is probably just as well it ended after just 13 episodes. Too many comedy series go on too long, with the writers running out of ideas and the comedy becoming stale and uninventive. The Aunty Jack Show did not have time to run out of freshness, and stands up well today.

    Several characters return from Series One, though perhaps Mervyn Whipple, the Man of a Thousand Faces, should have stayed where he was. In this series he continually crosses paths with a blond-wigged character played by McDonald. Kev Kavanagh is in London, seeking out famous meat philosophers such as Lamb and Bacon. Neil and Errol continue to meet on a park bench. New characters include the Fol-de-Rol Singers and of course the legendary Norman Gunston, who would make Garry McDonald a television superstar in the years to come. The episodes included on this two disc set, with the first four on Disc One, are:

The Channel 9 Show (29:29)

    The executives at Channel 9 plan an Aunty Jack show, but with a female impersonator instead. Meanwhile in Wollongong, the ancient art of Gong Fu is taught by a restaurateur. The very first appearance of Norman Gunston in What's On in Wollongong.

The Iron Maiden Show (26:18)

    Aunty Jack's parents - the King and Queen of Wollongong who abandoned her 42 years earlier - are kidnapped, and Aunty Jack travels south to find them.

The Golden Gloves Show (28:03)

    Eager to impress Flange, the Kid concocts a scheme to steal Aunty Jack's golden glove.

The Ear, Nose and Throat Show (31:19)

    In an attempt to remove Aunty Jack's moustache, the gang shrink themselves down (along with some dynamite) and proceed to blast off a couple of hairs before they are accidentally swallowed by the eponymous heroine.

The Little Lovelies Show (28:09)

    Aunty Jack is haunted by her own ghost (played by Lex Marinos). There's a spoof on The Dam Busters, plus an opera about rugby with a brief cameo by wrestler/actor Steve Rackman.

The 'R' Certificate Show (29:08)

    Kid Eager wants to shoot Flange in the nude, much to Aunty Jack's consternation. Norman reports on a milk truck accident, with a very obvious gag at the end.

Video

    The series comes in the original 1.29:1 aspect ratio, and the original black and white.

    If anything this restored footage looks even better than Series One. While there are obvious problems, such as poor contrast and a lack of clarity due to the way the source was made, it often looks better than, say, some British TV series of the 1970s that I have seen. Shadow detail is not bad, and while the grey scaling is not ideal, with no pure whites or blacks, it can be watched without too much distraction.

    There are frequent analogue video tracking errors, and some of the series must have been preserved on film, as there are flecks and scratches even in what looks like video footage. Some of the series was shot on 16mm and this looks grainy by comparison with the video footage.

    Optional subtitles are available in English, in a particularly ugly yellow font. While I don't mind yellow, it should never be used on black and white material as it is very distracting. Otherwise the subtitling is well done. All of the extras also have subtitles.

    Both discs are single layered.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The sole audio track is, as you would expect, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

    Apart from a few instances of distortion this is a very good transfer of the original soundtracks. Dialogue is clear and the subtitles are not required unless you are hard of hearing, which case some hard of hearing information is included. Music comes across well, as do the effects, so that there is nothing to distract one from the content.

    The music and songs are by O'Donoghue and Bond and Peter Best. The usual clever songs of Neil and Errol are augmented with some equally clever ones by the Fol-de-Rol Singers, and The Farrelly Brothers sing Your Cheatin' Heart.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu Audio and Animation

    The menu features the opening sequence in colour with the theme song.

Featurette-Restoration Feature (5:46)

    A comparison of the pre-and post restoration footage for one of the segments in Series One, which was shot in colour. Bond and director Maurice Murphy provide commentary.

Featurette-Aunty Jack Introduces Colour (5:48)

    When the ABC went live with colour in 1974, Aunty Jack was there to welcome it in, in this short and not very funny sequence. I wasn't allowed to stay up and watch it, which was probably the right decision in retrospect. In any case we didn't have a colour TV at the time.

Outtakes-The History Of Aunty Jack (4:59)

    Bloopers, most of which are fluffed lines, though Garry McDonald has trouble with an uncooperative rabbit and an equally uncooperative punching bag.

Interviews-Cast-GTK Interview 1972 (7:14)

    Sad to say I can remember watching this series, though my memories are dim. It was something of a predecessor of Countdown, and as I recall the title was an acronym for "Get To Know". Bond interviews himself in self-consciously madcap fashion, with assistance from other cast members.

Credits-Opening Titles (Colour) (0:45)

    The opening credits from Series Two, in colour.

Music Video-Farewell Song (Colour) (2:03)

    The closing credits from Series Two, in colour.

Featurette-Memories Of Aunty - Cast 2006 (26:55)

    The principal cast of both series, including Derum, reminisce about their experience on the series and what has happened to them since. MacGregor now sports a distinct American accent, having worked in theatre in Los Angeles for years. There are some quite funny bits in this, many supplied by MacDonald.

    This set is only available in Wollongong (Region 4), not in North Wollongong (Region 2) or East Corrimal (Region 1).

    Classic Australian comedy from the 1970s, a real nostalgia trip for some of us.

    The video is very well restored though some allowances still need to be made.

    The same can be said of the audio.

    Plenty of pertinent extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall