Hello and welcome to the fifth and final instalment of my recollections of the original incarnation of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation (2009 – 2012).

I thought I’d round out this series with a few random memories, interspersed with some Interesting* Facts**. So here goes….

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One very strong memory from my time writing on the show was of my often standing on the sidelines, feeling frustrated. During record days, as I watched the games unfold, time and time again I’d find myself biting my tongue. Not just as a trivia buff and quiz enthusiast; “How can you NOT know that answer!? That’s such an easy question!?”… but also as a comedy writer and performer; “How can you not go for that gag?! Come on! We set that up for you!!!”  Not that I wanted to be out there on one of the teams… I was just repeatedly staggered by the players’ woeful general knowledge, and disappointed by the joke opportunities they so frequently let slip by. I’d often have to tell myself ‘Let it go, Hally… that’s just the gig…’

INTERESTING FACT: Did you know that “pottery” would be an anagram of “poetry”, if you added an extra “T”?

Another strong memory is the expertly light touch of Executive Producer Peter Beck, who never said “Wouldn’t it be funny if…?” He always just let Shaun, Michael and I write the comedy, never butting in with editorial suggestions. In the past, I’ve worked with some desperately unfunny producers who – despite their total lack of comedy qualifications – feel entitled to make inane suggestion after inane suggestion for the show’s comedy content. Peter Beck was the opposite of that. I’m now working for him again, on Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, and his cheerful, can-do, hands-off-the-comedy approach has also contributed mightily to this show’s success. Grazie Pietro!

INTERESTING FACT: One of the earliest known murals – in the Chauvet Cave in France – is still clearly visible after 32 000 years. And they didn’t even use an undercoat.

I remember the show was successful enough to spawn various items of merchandise, including a board game (which I wrote quite a few questions, and other bits and pieces for)…

An interactive DVD game….

And Michael Ward’s brilliant book; The Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation Book of Everything Ever…

… which is a fantastically funny read, and I recommend that you buy it immediately.

INTERESTING FACT: The stubble on a man’s face known as “five o’clock shadow” can actually appear at any time between 4:15 and 5:30.

My next memory is more personal. Between the third and fourth seasons, I moved to Sydney. The show was still being made in Melbourne, so for a few months, I flew myself down and back each week, staying three nights a week in Melbourne at my Mum’s. I have very fond memories of those times – sitting up late, chatting and watching Bing Crosby & Bob Hope’s Road To… movies with Mum on the nights when I was staying at her place. It was very different to the rest of my domestic life back in Sydney (with my wife and young daughter), but a lot of fun, and I know it made Mum very happy to have me back in the family home again. Of course, I couldn’t have known that she’d be gone just 2 years later. I have TAYG to thank for that precious time with Mum.

INTERESTING FACT: “Bones” was the nickname of Dr McCoy on the 60s TV series Star Trek. The nickname of Captain Kirk was, of course, “Daryl”.

The show finished its first run in 2012 after 80 episodes… but was then revived this year, on a different network! The new version again featured Shaun as its host, but the 3 generations were updated. The Baby Boomers were gone, and the 3 generations for the 2018 version were Generation X, Gen Y and Gen Z. It’s a great reboot; every bit as fun and entertaining as it was the first time round. The team captains are Robyn Butler and Andy Lee (who were both guest players in the original version of the show) and the young actor Laurence Boxhall, who’s quite a discovery. I was invited to work on the new version, but was sadly unavailable, as I had an acting gig at the time (Brigadoon). Otherwise, I would have done it all again in a heartbeat.

INTERESTING FACT:  It’s well known that George Clooney once had a pet pig called Max. But did you know he also has a pet mosquito called Ronald?

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And that’s it for my 5-part TAYG series. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any memories of this show, please do feel free to share them in the ‘Comments’ section below. See you next time, with

* May not technically be interesting.

** May not technically be a fact, either.