|
Time Off, October 1999.
Like most 'reality' shows on television which connect clips of life's horrific, weird, strange, amazing and shocking events, Unreal TV can be embarrassingly uneven, but with host Tim Ferguson at the helm, he's proven to be a versatile host who can bring it all together. And they've really had it all already with the most obtuse game shows from Japan to American cable sights that can only amaze.
"Yeah, they're great clips," laughs host Tim Ferguson. "It's got a lot of watchability. There's a few things that are edgy, crazy and weird. People are always telling me their favourites like the one where the girl snaps a fork with her bum, or 'I like the self-mutilators'. The great things about these clips is that they're so simple, you can find bits that appeal to you, and if you don't, there's something around the corner that will. In the end, it's just me sitting on a couch which is easy for other people, but it's actually quite difficult for me to be sitting still. I keep saying, 'Maybe I should be standing up in this bit, or maybe I swing in like Tarzan into frame.'"
As you can imagine, searching the world for Unreal TV's clips is a job in itself, and the entire planet is a fertile ground for the of Ferguson's from his Big Gig days, Mark Gibson, who does more than just plow through video clips all day.
"He's on the phone 24 hours a day. If he's not talking to one continent, he's talking to the other just getting the stuff in. The first thing is to find it, then look at it and decide if you want it. The second part is to track down the bastard who made it. It's quite tricky because you might get a tape that someone from London sends in, and it says 'We thought this would be good, it's a piece of Japanese cable TV', and then you have to find out who made it. It's a hell of a detective job to find out who owns it, but luckily enough, it's not my problem. I just sweep in and say 'Where do I stand?"
At the moment, Ferguson is also hosting Foxtel's Space Cadets show, which is six hours of science fiction on a Saturday night, and also has the benefit of being joined by guests like the actors who created R2D2 and Boba Fett.
As the sole host on Unreal TV, Ferguson's aim has been to make sure that the whole is as good as its segment parts.
"I want the hosting bits to be just as much fun as the other bits so writing for those and getting enough humour and excitement into those will be a challenge. Particularly because I'm gaffer-tapped to a piece of furniture. If I could get up and flap my arms more, it'd be a lot easier. It's a generic show, but instead of reinventing the wheel, sometimes it's good just to spin it a little faster."
Also on the schedule for Tim Ferguson later this year will be a venture behind the cameras and producing some concepts of his own.
"The good thing about being a hood ornament at Channel 9, I was able to poke my nose into the production side of current affairs, light entertainment, game shows, everything they do, so I learnt how to produce all kinds of formats. Production is, in the long term, where I want to end up, and producing is no arcane art.
If producing was complex and difficult, then producers couldn't do it, not the ones I know. If it was difficult, there's no way my mates could consider a job in the industry. It's not rocket science, it's leg work."
|
