Fell back in love with Mr G, Ja'mie and Jonah

Firstly, apologies that "On this day I" hasn't been pushing out posts as regular as it used to be. However secondly it is nice to know that it has been missed, so thanks to those who have actively encouraged me to get back into it. Life sort of got in the way!

Knowing that I'd be getting back into the blogging, and it got me thinking about what I could write about. 

September - where has the time gone? 

Today saw the return of school traffic. September used to be a bit of a tense month. Would I have all the new stationery I needed? What seat would I be given? What are my flatmates going to be like? Where am I going to go now?!

School life being a distant memory, my only exposure now is through my brother. He's just started a new job working in a school. At his previous post he was affectionately known as Mr G - and having spotted his "Mr G" gear in a recent venture into his bedroom (hosting hockey's Patrick Smith for the evening) that prompted me to watch Summer Heights High - turned out he's nicked it, so I bought it again and it's all come flooding back - so this blog is dedicated to Chris Lilley's creation.

If you have never watched it, I wouldn't dare spoil it for you but essentially Summer Heights High, written by and starring Chris Lilley is an award winning Australian mockumentary series starring three of the fictional protagonists (all played by Lilley) in a parody of public school life. 

I'll take the time to introduce each of the main characters very briefly, as they really do sell themselves:

Mr G

The drama teacher, Greg Gregson (aka "Mr G") is passionate about his methods. He is a megalomaniac. He's mental and narcissistic. He's just brilliant - from his dog Celine (who has an "oversized brain") through to his musical penmanship, Tsunamarama (based on the events of the Tsunami disaster, set to the music of Bananarama).

He misperceives (much in the same way David Brent does) that he is well-liked - it is clear that he is unaware that his own perception of his teaching abilities is not shared by most students, but I for one would happily play "Slap the Butcher" if I could every single day...

Jonah

Summer Heights High is Jonah's third school in eighteen months. Leader of the FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) Tongan year 8 crew. He's a teenager with Attention Deficit Disorder, problems with aggression and a passion for break-dancing. 

His disruptive behaviour is very funny and his struggles are not unjust. He just wants to entertain and has delayed "being smart" because he doesn't want to be yet. He's the class clown - the one your teachers all warned you about. We all had one, and if you didn't - then it might well be you. Sorry (Ben!)

Ja'mie

Ja'mie King is part of a school exchange programme. She struggles to cope away from her privileged background but in reality she faces the same issues all 16 year old girls do (I assume, based on TV's representations of teenage girls anyway). She's just "so random" and her prejudices are, well, brilliantly spiteful. Her actions are not without consequence, for instance when she accidentally forwards a slanderously photo-shopped picture of her new found public school friends to the wrong person on MSN, she's abandoned on the playground without a friend in sight.

She's attention seeking and keen to out-do her contemporaries - from asking a girl to her end of school formal to dating a year 7. If it's going to put her in the limelight, she'll do it. You do try to feel sorry for her and want to believe that the experience will humble her, but you know it won't and you don't really even mind. She's rich and she'll never be "povo", "skanky" or a "bogan". She is my favourite character, delivering the majority of the funniest one-liners throughout the series. The fact you sometimes forget that this is a man in drag is testament to Lilley as a performer.

His skills as a writer are no less impressive. The main story lines are stronger than most comedies but the subtleties of its humour are what I think will make this a series I return to again and again. The closure of the stories (particularly Jonah's) feels closer to a drama, you are on the journey with them and their development (or lack of) makes it much closer to documentary than mockumentary.

Well hopefully that's enough to tempt some of you into watching it - don't tell everyone but it looks like the full episodes are actually on youtube... so go and have a watch. 

Chris Lilley has a new series of a similar format coming out soon which I assume will air on BBC3 in the UK (as per Angry Boys and SHH) - hopefully I'll try not to let life get too busy for me to put pen to blog for a review of that. 

And if I do get busy, then puck you x