Col'n Carpenter is an Australian television sitcom that was first broadcast on Network Ten from 11 February 1990 to 9 December 1991. The series, which served as a spinoff to the television sketch comedy The Comedy Company, starred Kim Gyngell as Colin Carpenter, a character who had originally appeared in that sketch series. The series also starred Stig Wemyss, Vikki Blanche, Kaarin Fairfax and Anne Phelan.

Despite receiving largely negative reviews throughout its run, the series ran for 61 episodes across four series.

Premise The series followed the life and interactions of Colin Carpenter, an uneducated layabout who moves out of his mother's home to begin living in a flatshare with two housemates, schoolteacher Julia and environmentalist Michael. In early episodes, Colin's mother occasionally visits the trio, much to their annoyance. When Julia leaves at the end of the first series, she is replaced by nurse Linda.

Cast

Kim Gyngell as Colin Carpenter Stig Wemyss as Michael Preeble Vikki Blanche as Julia Barnes Kaarin Fairfax as Linda Wiiliams Anne Phelan as Mrs Fuller Monica Maughan as Dawn Carpenter (recurring role)

Episodes Series overview

Series 1 (1990)

Series 2 (1991)

Series 3 (1991)

Series 4 (1991)

Production

Development The character of Colin Carpenter was created by Kim Gyngell, first appearing in the sketch show The Comedy Company (1988–90). After The Comedy Company went on hiatus in 1989, two spinoffs were created: Larger Than Life, starring Mark Mitchell, and Col'n Carpenter. The two spinoffs premiered together consecutively on 11 February 1990, billed as Ten's Comedy Hour. Indeed, the two series were billed together in this manner until they began to be billed separately from 23 July 1990. Gyngell had concerns transferring his character from appearing in three-minute sketches to being the lead in a sitcom. Carpenter's backstory was developed for the series and he became a more rounded character, with elements of pathos being written into his character. Gyngell was noted for remaining in the persona of Carpenter long after recordings took place.

The series served as the first comedy role for Vikki Blanche, who played Julia. Blanche had to learn new acting skills required for the comedic role, observing the performances of Kim Gyngell and Monica Maughan, who played Colin's mother. Barnes had input into how her character developed. Barnes was contracted to the series for twenty-six weeks, leaving the series after a year. She told TV Week's David Brown in December 1990 that, although she had learned a lot, she wished to move on from the series and challenge herself. In late October 1990, following the conclusion of the first series, Australian newspapers reported that the series was to be cancelled; however, Len Downs, the reporter of programming at Network Ten, stated that the claims were "totally untrue".

When the show returned for a second series in March 1991, Blanche was replaced by Kaarin Fairfax. In addition, Charles "Bud" Tingwell joined the series as a producer; he had previously worked with Gyngell and Fairfax. It was the first sitcom that Tingwell had worked on. Despite disappointing ratings for the third series, a fourth series was renewed in August 1991. The series returned to a Monday night timeslot. Gyngell stated to TV Week that "the new timeslot has been a big part of the decision to go on". Fairfax was unable to continue in the series, as she was expected to give birth in October, while Tingwell left as producer due to other commitments. In September, in between the third and fourth series, Wemyss left the series after a falling out with producers. While acknowledging that Carpenter should remain the main focus of the series, Wemyss wished for more storylines to be centred on his character, stating to TV Week that "if you don't expand a character, he just becomes nothing. [...] It was obvious Michael wasn't going to be playing a major part in the way the show was going, so I didn't want to continue”.

The fourth series featured Carpenter living alone. Gyngell stated to TV Week that "he’s quite different now and that was important to follow through. The next obvious step was for Col'n to start surviving on his own". The first episode of that series featured a storyline where Colin's brother, Peter, returns to visit him; however, Peter, played by actress Dale Stevens, has since transitioned into a woman. Gyngell, who created the idea for the episode, stated to TV Week that "the transsexual storyline was mooted 18 months ago, but it was knocked on the head because it worried management. Now, because the show has survived so long, the network has started to trust us a bit more". Stevens later stated that the role was one of her favourites: "It was a real hoot, and I was amazed at how much I looked the part."

The final episode, broadcast on 9 December 1991, was a Christmas special, which was noted by TV Week for "depart[ing] from the usual traditional sitcom formula to acknowledge that for some people it can be a sad time", wherein Carpenter believes he will spend Christmas alone. The episode featured the return of Dale Stevens as Peta, Monica Maughan as Dawn and Roy Baldwin as Len.

Filming The series was filmed in Studio A at Nunawading Studios, in front of a live studio audience. Actor Michael Pope served as warm-up comedian. Fairfax stated that the crew had one week to work on each episode; by the end of the week, a new episode would be ready to work on. Each episode was rehearsed, before being recorded on Friday. Wemyss, whose hair was blond, dyed his hair black to play Michael.

Broadcast The first series, which aired from February to August 1990, was broadcast on Sunday nights at 7:30 pm, before being moved to a Monday night timeslot at 8:00 pm from 23 July. The second series, which aired from March to May 1991, returned to Sunday nights, at 8:00 pm. The third series, airing from June to September of the same year, was broadcast on Sundays at 8:00 pm until 5 August, where it was moved to 7:30 pm. The fourth series returned to the Monday night timeslot, airing from October to December at 7:30 pm.

Reception The series received largely negative reviews throughout its run. Ian Warden, writing for The Canberra Times, described Ten's Comedy Hour as "so consistently weak and pitiful and embarrassing" that he suggested viewers ignore the show and watch Floyd on France (1987), a cooking programme broadcast on SBS, instead. Robert Macklin, writing for the same newspaper, stated that Capital 10 (now known as CTC) "has some of the worst programs imaginable", listing Ten's Comedy Hour as one of the "examples of the depths to which programming has sunk on that network". Writing midway through the series, Warden stated that Fast Forward (1989–1992), a sketch comedy broadcast on Prime Television, "easily eclipses" Ten's Comedy Hour, which he described as "now unwatchable".

Mark Wallace, in a review for The Canberra Times written at the end of the first series, stated that, while Mark Mitchell's new sketch comedy The Big Time (1990) was "actually funny", Col'n Carpenter's Kim Gyngell "ran out of amusing lines when his partnership with Mitchell bit the dust in last year's edition of The Comedy Company". Conversely, Pam Casellas, writing between the first and second series, praised the development of Gyngell's character, writing that he is "too human" to be laughed at comfortably and that there is "a slightly uneasy feeling about him which gives him that extra comic dimension and sets him apart". In a separate article written midway through the second series, Casellas reported that series producer Bud Tingwell had agreed with her statement that Carpenter was "one of the truly great – perhaps the only great – comic character that has come out of Australian television".

Ratings The first series of Col'n Carpenter was grouped together with Larger Than Life under the banner title Ten's Comedy Hour; ratings were calculated for both series, rather than each show being rated individually. In April 1990, the first series had attracted 20 percent of the viewing audience. By 3 May, the series was ranked third in the top twenty highest-rating programmes for the first week of the ratings period. The following week, the series attracted 17 percent of the viewing audience. However, viewing ratings dropped significantly by early June, the series attracting approximately 8 percent of the viewing audience. By 22 July, the series had reached number five in the top sixteen highest-rated programmes for the week.

Ratings for the third series, which aired between June to September 1991, were "disappointing". By 11 November, the fourth series was ranked twentieth in the top twenty highest-rating programmes for the week, tied with sitcom All Together Now (1991–93).

References

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