Rove McManus Quits – Rover And Out : Comedy News
November 16, 2009 by Sean Lynch
Filed under Comedy, Comedy News, WOF Exclusives
After ten years on network TV, multiple Gold Logie winner Rove McManus has put an end to the comedy show which made him a household name, making a surprise announcement on – what was to be – the 2009 season final.
Rove McManus : Likes Icecream
“It is very short notice, I do realise that. But it’s only a decsion that I came up with very recently” said a somber McManus at the start of Sunday nights show. “It was difficult call to make, but after 10 years it felt like the right time to step away and take a break and reflect on what I want to do next as a performer” Rove continued in a press statement released by McManus and the Ten Network.
It’s been a big week of reshuffles in the world of radio and TV (with the split of Merrick & Rosso on in Sydney, and the end of Launchpad in Melbourne on Nova) and one has to wonder whether it is a case of “wanting to go” or “being pushed firmly” or “being put into a position that doesn’t give you much of a choice”.
Shaun Micallef is set for a return to the late night world with a “Special” to air on NYE, with several insiders suggesting it will be a launchpad for a permanent program for the Talkin’ About Your Generation host in 2010.
Personally, being a long time comedy and TV nerd, it is very odd to know something like Rove has come to an end. The show had copped its fair share of… well… I suppose you would call it “shit-canning”. Yes – criticism that was sometimes warranted, but by and large, out of line.
Whether you loved it or hated it (in particular Rove himself), you simply can’t deny the show had an astonishing impact on TV and the comedy industry in a post-Hey Hey world (ironically, Rove replaced Hey Hey the year it died – and now Rove dies the year Hey Hey returns). It not only gave a new wave of comedians a chance to peddle their wares – but it also opened doors and changed the perception of how we deliver and nurture talent (hello C31 and it’s alumni).
Some may suggest Rove may never have the same cultural impact that Hey Hey did, and I have to disagree there – because it sure as hell played a major role in my life.
In fact, when watching the 10th Anninversay Special a couple of weeks back, it was amazing how many highlights sparked memories of certain periods of my personal life, with events and emotions of what was going through my brain during those years flooding back. Regardless of what the sketch was, whether it was funny or not, Rove was along for the ride and will, in a strange way, always be connected to those fairly influential years of late high school, and early twenties.
I remember staying up after Late Line as a pimply faced teen, feeling like I was experiencing something not many others were (and as ratings suggested, I probably was only one of three people actually watching rove on Channel 9).
It was a new style of laid-back comedy that really tapped a comedic nerve with me, very rough, very playful – like this classic skit starring Dave Callan. Watch Out For Pete Helliar trying to not be seen laughing…
The show totally changed my perception as a youngster. It was young guys, doing new things, from a normal background. In fact, I remember a time in Year 10 when I actually mailed in a footy team photo of a young Peter Helliar as a “What The..?” who (by sheer coincidence) attended my school a few years earlier.
Imagine it – a real life comedian, on TV, who sat in the same classrooms you were whittling your hours away in. Hell, getting a message back on the “official Rove stationary” was a huge thrill for me then, and only spurred on my thirst for wanting to persure comedy.
How much of a gaywad I was… and still am. But I’m sure as shit that I wasn’t the only one either.
It was Rove which made me realise and find confidence in the fact that comedy was all of a sudden a viable and realistic option in life (not just a dream) – in fact, whatever happens here, my own life will always be inextricably linked to the pint sized comedian and his cohorts.
It sounds cheesy (especially to those who thought the show and its host were “bland” and “unfunny”), but it is true.
Hopefully future generations of Australian comedians are lucky enough to be given a Rove-ian figure to look up to, to emulate, to open doors both literally and figuratively because it can only be a good thing.
And what better way to go than with a reminder of the type of left of centre stuff Rove and crew were capable of (and, I must admit, this is the primary example for the style we later adapted / stole for The Shambles) and a fitting way to say goodbye.
Thanks for the memories Rove, Pete Corinne, Dave and all the cast throughout the various re-generations of the show, and a special mention to the excellent behind the scenes team and writing crew (many of whom came up through C31 and Community TV and were given a start and have been amazingly helpful to myself and the comedy community, great comedy writers like Declan Fay, Kynan Barker, Nick Maxwell and the late Richard Marsland).
I know I’ll be “exercising my rights” in your honour for as long as my dad will let me go on not having a real job. And no – I’m not crying, it’s just the pollen count.
I think it’s pretty telling that both the sketches you chose had Dave Callan in them
ha! nice pick up nellie, i didn’t even realise. a subconcious love for dave callan’s beardy goodness seeping out perhaps?.
i think the beauty of those skits and the first series was it was very much an ensemble, played to everyone’s strengths and appeared to have fun doing it. it’s something they attempted to recapture in the last few years on “Rove”, and I actually think a lot of the final two seasons were the strongest they’d been since ‘99.
a lot of comedy (in particular skits shows like “comedy inc” and “double take”) suffer from just being too impersonal and streamlined. that ability to be approachable on screen was a skill the “Rove” crew had, and should be commended on and hopefully remembered for.