Chris Lilley

My newest discovery is old news for any fans of Australian comedy. Summer Heights High premiered on HBO earlier this month. Chris Lilley writes and stars as the 3 main characters. They are played so well, it is easy to forget they are all the same guy. After a bit of research I discovered his earlier work, We Can Be Heroes. He played 6 different characters in that show, (shown above) one of which is brought back for his newer series. Both are readily available via bittorrent with lots of seeds. Download them and enjoy. He worked on a show called Big Bite before that, but I can't find it anywhere.

He really gets into the roles. I read that he spent a lot of time at a public school researching for Summer Heights High, to not only better understand his characters' world, but also to ensure the show was current. Sometimes the characters are so real, I don't laugh at them. There are moments of unease and discomfort that remind me of The Office (UK original) or Curb Your Enthusiasm, and believable personalities that reflect real people we all know.

In We Can Be Heroes, he plays two brothers who are constantly interacting. The two are often edited on screen so well together, I stopped picking it apart trying to figure out how they cut it so well. Lilley doesn't use extreme amounts of makeup to distinguish the characters, in fact he is very recognizable no matter who he plays. The magic is in the performance. I honestly think he could pull these roles off without any makeup or costume changes whatsoever.

He seems dedicated to creating his own visions with little outside influence. I really hope that the show is a success on HBO, but I also worry that his creation will be raped like so many other concepts borrowed or acquired by US television.

NBC is doing this with The Office right now. This original UK show was great show, and I really doubted they could pull off the American ripoff. I was reassured in knowing that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant would be involved. Yesterday I saw an interview with Gervais where he states that his involvement in the US version would be minimal. He compared the show to a cover song; you wouldn't expect original musicians to have direct input in another bands rendition of their song.

I think one of the reasons my favorite shows remain so memorable is because they knew when to quit. Good shows can end with a strong fan base even though they can potentially generate ad revenue for years to come by rehashing old ideas and writing pure drivel.