''Big Bite'' was an Australian

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

which ran on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

from 8 May 2003 to 4 March 2004 in a prime time

timeslot Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automatio ...

on Thursdays. Since the end of the series, episodes have been repeated on the

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

cable channel, The Comedy Channel and 7Two.

Overview

Only moderately successful on its initial broadcast and despite an initially mixed reception, the show has gradually developed something of a cult following, due to having begun the careers of a number of now prominent performers, directors and writers. Andrew O'Keefe started his television career on the show and went on to host '' Deal or No Deal'', '' Dragons' Den'', '' The Rich List'', '' Weekend Sunrise'' and '' The Chase Australia''. Chris Lilley's character Mr G first appeared here; he subsequently appeared in '' Summer Heights High'' and released a novelty single. Other performers on the show included improvisational comedian Rebecca De Unamuno, experimental theatre star Melissa Madden Gray (now known internationally for her cabaret character 'Meow Meow'), Kate McCartney (who would go on to star in '' The Katering Show'' and '' Get Krack!n''), Richard Pyros (today a member of The Sydney Theatre Company's 'Residents' acting ensemble) and Jake Stone, former lead singer of popular Australian funk pop rock band Bluejuice. Other television personalities associated with the show included The Comedy Channel presenter Cameron Knight, comedian

Charlie Pickering Charlie Pickering (born 29 August 1977) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, author and producer. Pickering currently hosts ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'', a weekly news satire television show on the ABC (Australia ...

and actor

Charlie Clausen Charlie Clausen (born 31 July 1977) is an Australian actor most known for his role as Jake Harrison on ''McLeod's Daughters'' in 2003 and as Acting Sergeant Alex Kirby (TV character), Alex Kirby on the police drama series ''Blue Heelers'', whic ...

. Many of the actors from this series would later appear on '' The Hamish and Andy Show''. Regular cast member Tristan Jepson, who wrote and played

Tom Gleisner Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian and producer. Gleisner co-founded production company Working Dog Productions and currently hosts Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Early life and educati ...

in the show's acclaimed parody of '' The Panel'', committed suicide at the age of 26 in late 2004 after suffering from clinical depression. During the television broadcast of the 2005 Australian Film Institute Awards, he was honoured among the roll call of performers to have died in the previous year. The show's co-creators included Andrew Jones and head writer Rick Kalowski, who have gone to success as a sought-after writing team. The show's directors included Ted Emery ('' Fast Forward'', '' The Micallef Program'', '' Kath & Kim'') and Matthew Saville (''

Noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

'', '' We Can Be Heroes'', '' The King''). ''Big Bite'' was nominated for Best Television Comedy Series at the 2003 Australian Film Institute Awards, becoming the first commercial network comedy series ever nominated in any category of those awards.

Media release

A two-DVD set of the entire series (13 half-hour episodes) was released in Australia on 6 November 2006. This included the so-called 'lost' final episode of the series, which had not aired on Australian television during the series' original run.

External links

* {{Chris Lilley Seven Network original programming Australian television sketch shows 2003 Australian television series debuts 2004 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian comedy television series Television shows set in Victoria (state)

Overview

Media release

See also

External links