The D-Generation is an Australian sketch comedy series produced and broadcast by ABC for two series in 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the Seven Network between 1988 and 1989. The show would also serve as a stepping stone for many early incarnations of characters, including Lynne Postlethwaite, Gina Hard-Faced B***h, Eileen Maverick and Kelvin Cunnington.

Synopsis

The series was produced and directed by Kris Noble and was created and written by a group of Melbourne University students: Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Marg Downey, Michael Veitch, Magda Szubanski, John Harrison, and Tom Gleisner. Also part of the original team was Nicholas Bufalo, who appeared in the unscreened one-hour D-Generation pilot (1985), before accepting a role on the soap A Country Practice. Several of Bufalo's sketches from the pilot (including the Thunderbirds parody) were incorporated into series one, and Bufalo himself returned for the specials. Actress/comedian Jane Turner and New Zealander Tony Martin joined from series two, and Melbourne Uni Revue stars Mick Molloy and Jason Stephens were added for the specials.

  • Nicholas Bufalo (1985, 1988–89)
  • John Harrison (1985–89)
  • Magda Szubanski (1985–89)
  • Marg Downey (1985–89)
  • Michael Veitch (1985–89)
  • Rob Sitch (1985–93)
  • Santo Cilauro (1985–93)
  • Tom Gleisner (1985–93)
  • Sue Yardley (1987–89)
  • Jane Turner (1987–89)
  • Tony Martin (1987–93)
  • Jane Kennedy (1988–93)
  • Jason Stephens (1988–93)
  • Mick Molloy (1988–93)
  • Judith Lucy (1991–93)

Episodes

Series one (1986)

Series two (1987)

Highlights series

Channel 7 specials

Video and DVD releases

Two "best of" videos were released: The Best of the Original D-Generation was released on ABC-video in 1996 and featured selected highlights from the two ABC series.

A second video was released in 1997 called Degenocide: The Second Best of the Original D-Generation which featured additional material from the ABC series along with highlights from the Channel 7 specials including the highly popular Homicide spoofs. The latter video also featured bonus material including footage filmed on Super 8 by the group whilst at University, clips from the Channel-9 pilots, both of the Five-in-a-Row music videos, home-video footage of their 1991 stage show at Le Joke and clips from when the D-Generation were guest hosts on Countdown and Burke's Backyard.

In 2004, both of the above videos were re-released on a single DVD The Best and Second Best of the D-Generation.

Radio serial

The D Generation breakfast show is a radio program which ran for six years, from 19 May 1986 to April 1992, on Melbourne's Triple M (originally EON FM). Highlights of the show were released on albums.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of studio albums with Australian chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album details

! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions

|-

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | AUS<br/>

|-

! scope="row" | Thanks for Being You

|

  • Released: 1987
  • Label: ABC Records (L-25042)
  • Format: LP, Cassette

|align="center"| -

|-

! scope="row" | The Satanic Sketches

|

  • Released: December 1989
  • Label: Mushroom Records (L-30223)
  • Format: LP, Cassette, CD

|align="center"| 50

|-

! scope="row" | The Breakfast Tapes (1988-90)

|

  • Released: September 1990
  • Label: ABC Records (L-30421)
  • Format: LP, CD

|align="center"| 47

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title

! colspan="1"| Peak positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Certification

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:35px;"|AUS<br/>

TV:

  • The Mick Molloy Show (1999)
  • Any Given Sunday (2006) (Molloy)
  • The Nation (2007) (Molloy)
  • Before the Game (2007-2013) (Molloy)
  • The Jesters (2009, 2011) (Molloy)
  • A Quiet Word With.... (2010-2011) (Martin)
  • The Joy of Sets (2011) (Martin)

Radio:

  • Bulltwang (Sept.-Dec. 1991)
  • Martin/Molloy (1995–1998)
  • Tough Love (2004–2006)
  • Get This (with Tony Martin) (2006–2007)
  • The Lonely Hearts Club (with Tony Martin) (Feb-April 2011)
  • The Hot Breakfast (with Mick Molloy) (2011-2017)

Film:

  • Tackle Happy (2000)
  • Crackerjack (2002)
  • Bad Eggs (2003)
  • BoyTown (2006)

Books:

  • Lolly Scramble (by Tony Martin) (2005)
  • A Nest of Occasionals (by Tony Martin) (2009)
  • Scarcely Relevant (by Tony Martin) (ebook-2012)
  • Deadly Kerfuffle (by Tony Martin) (2017)

Other cast members

Michael Veitch and Marg Downey returned to sketch comedy in Let Loose Live (2005), but the show was axed after only two episodes due to poor ratings.

Veitch starred in the short-lived Channel 7 period sitcom Bligh (1992) and was a cast-regular in the TV-1 comedy series Shock Jock (2001-2002) and more recently on the Comedy Channel's Open Slather (2015). He also served as the host of ABC-TV's Sunday Arts, worked as an announcer on ABC radio, has authored six books (four of them on Second World War aviation) and has made successful forays into theatre including starring as Molly Meldrum in the Countdown tribute musical I Can't Believe its not Countdown.

Downey has appeared in a number of film and TV productions, in both comedic and dramatic roles, including the 1994 television movie Economy Class, the 2000 sitcom Sit Down, Shut Up, a recurring role in Kath & Kim and appearances in the 2006 US series Nightmares & Dreamscapes and the 2012 movie Kath & Kimderella.

Nick Bufalo has gone on to be a television director who has made several videos and specials with Australian children's band The Wiggles.

Jason Stephens is now the director of development for Fremantlemedia Australia, one of Australia's independent television production companies. He produced The King, a television movie based on the life of Graham Kennedy, and is the executive producer of Newstopia (2007–08) with Shaun Micallef. Stephens was also the creator of The Choir of Hard Knocks.

John Harrison left the group at the end of 1991 and virtually 'retired' from comedy, embarking on a career in the corporate sector. However, he made several guest appearances on The Late Show (1992-1993) and had a brief cameo as a newsreader on Tony Martin's 2003 film Bad Eggs.

Judith Lucy has had a career in stand-up comedy and has also worked in radio, appeared in the films Crackerjack and Bad Eggs and starred in two ABC-TV series Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey and Judith Lucy is All Woman.

References

  • The D-Generation at the National Film and Sound Archive
  • The D-Generation - Episode 1 at Australian Screen Online