Countdown: Do Yourself a Favour

AU

Documentary
English     9     2014     AU

Overview

Celebrating Countdown's 40th anniversary, host Julia Zemiro takes us through the show's fascinating story. Backed by a stellar cast of stars, original footage and music bringing the 70's and 80's alive.

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John Safran's Music Jamboree was a light-hearted Australian music documentary television series, hosted by John Safran for SBS television. The program was produced by Selin Yaman and directed by Craig Melville, Clayton Jacobson and a number of other directors under the production company Ghost of Your Ex-Boyfriend Productions in association with SBS Independent. It screened in 2002, and consisted of sketches and outlandish public stunts, typical of Safran's work. The series won two Australian Film Institute Awards; "Best Comedy Series" and "Most Innovative Program Concept". SBS followed the series up with the similarly styled John Safran vs. God in 2004. An infamous stunt of the series was sneaking nine friends into an exclusive Melbourne nightclub by dressing them up as the masked American metal band, Slipknot. The producers arranged entry for the impostors by pretending to be an American management company over the phone. Other stunts included disguising himself as well known entertainers such as Ozzy Osbourne and Prince to harass the public, sketch versions of music videos such as Eminem, the creation of Jew Town, a Jewish boy band to compete with Christian pop, and returning to Yeshivah College to pay homage to Kevin Bacon in Footloose. He also details his time in the hip-hop group Raspberry Cordial, and the related incident in which he met the Beastie Boys and the band's former DJ attempted to steal his girlfriend at the time.

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Stephen Tompkinson's adventure begins in dramatic fashion when his maiden flight over South Australia's Flinders Ranges ends in a crash landing at 40 mph. But he presses on to the Barossa Valley, where a serene flight over the vineyards is followed by a far from calm cricket match against local winemakers - the outcome of which sends Stephen packing for Victoria and a spell on the mighty Murray River. Stephen's bid to win Australia’s biggest balloon competition continues. A childhood dream is fulfilled when he walks out onto the pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground during an Aussie Rules game - and trumped the following morning when his balloon flies through the ground's goalposts. His balloon truck gets a makeover and the city's Greek festival nearly ends in a diplomatic incident. Then heavy rain prevents him flying over Canberra - and to get back on track he risks a flight to 10,000 feet. Actor Stephen Tompkinson's attempt to win Australia's prestigious Canowindra Balloon Challenge concludes in this final episode. Stephen heads to Sydney, where he samples some of the city's culinary delights with MasterChef's Matt Preston, helps judge a drag competition, and receives some encouragement from the British High Commissioner to Australia. When the day of the race finally arrives, he meets his competitors at Canowindra. The teams have to hit three targets laid out over the countryside, but things start disastrously for Stephen when he misreads the wind and drifts off-course. Can he recover and win the challenge?

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