I Blame Blogging

For a show like The Hungry Beast.

It's original. It certainly doesn't conform to any known pattern. "Some strange, some silly, and some serious TV." Which sounds a bit like the philosophy here : "Intermittent postings from Canberra, Australia on Software Development, Space, Politics, and Interesting URLs. And of course, Brains..."

It's a pot-pourri, a smorgasbord of stories, some sweet, some sour, some savoury, and some unsavoury. Something to tickle every palate, and nauseate a few too. To some, the contrasts will be like a Fish Milkshake. To others, the bite of the satirical comedy highlights the real effects on people's lives of tragedy. Not that they need highlighting - the film-makers present reality raw, unspun, even a little rough around the edges, but above all, honest.

It's life.

It's also quintessentially Australian in character. I know of no other country that could produce a program like this one. Few would want to, it's too unsophisticated for those who take themselves terribly, terribly seriously. How can you do a story puncturing sacred cows in the media, add one on a cat who cons little old ladies, then follow up by the heart-wrenching story of a soldier's widow? That was just in the first episode. The more serious stuff has extended versions available on the show's website, what's put on air is more of an abstract than a complete story.

Nat and I recently found out how they do business. No makeup, no pretence, and the only re-takes are when an aircraft goes by or a lawnmower starts up. 95% of the take will end up on the cutting-room floor - the segments can only be 5 minutes long - but what there is is unfiltered reality. They threw away the rulebook, and made their own.

There'll be an episode with a story on Intersex in the near future. Of two different people, of different ages, but sharing a common situation. Two people, friends, who meet in 3D for the first time. Both with a burning desire to inform the public about Intersexuality, just by being themselves. We can't all hide, all the time.