Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Fifteen Minutes of Fame Part 3

A Comedy Thing.

There was a call from the floor manager, the audience was encouraged to start clapping and it was then smiles, cameras and action. Daryl welcomed everyone back from the break and then mentioned my seat just feet from his desk. Suddenly I thought he was going to deflate my little bubble and send me back to that ominous seat way over in the corner. 'Now Brett's in a very precarious position because we are about to intro someone and it's not the ideal location', he began.

I was thinking, 'No Daryl, don't do it ... don't send me back there!'

'Now Brett would you like to', he hesitated, 'would you like to come around this side for a moment.'

Daryl motioned for me to pick up my stool and join himself and Livinia on the other side of the desk. It took less than a second for that request to register and speedily I jumped from my seat and with stool in hand scurried around to between the host and his off-sider. The thrill of being promoted to my new row right in the spotlight was obviously reflected by the size of my smile and the big-eyed sparkle visible through my spectacles, the audience giggled again.

'If you've just tuned in', Daryl began to explain to the viewers at home before diverting his attention to me sitting over his left shoulder.

'Now Brett, how many years has it been, three years ...'

'Three years', I said to Daryl motioning with my fingers.

'Three years you've been sending in and you finally got tickets to get into the show and you got the end seat, right on the end of the front row there.'

'Shattered I was Daryl, shattered', I interjected.

'I thought he said shattered', the audience laughed as the voice of Dickie Knee was heard in the studio.

I'm not sure what Daryl expected me to do. There I was sitting in the spotlight, I was cool calm and collected, zapping with excitement if not slightly tickled by bourbon and although I don't recall thinking about it, I would have subconsciously realised how many people would have been watching at that moment. Daryl had started bantering with me, I wasn't just going to sit there nodding my head, and I couldn't. I knew there was an audience but I couldn't let my focus drift away from the host, it was his show.

I was paying attention to every word he said and attempting to act and respond accordingly. There was a side shot of the three of us on set, Daryl, myself in the middle, and Livinia to my left. Underneath us at the bottom of the screen the caption 'The Three Stooges' appeared. So someone else had thought what I had!

If that was the case, Daryl was Moe, Livinia was Curly and I was Larry! It certainly seemed to be friendly unplanned chit chat between the two of us and it continued. Mr. Somers changed tack.

The preceding moment had been a continuation of the very first comments Daryl had made at the start of the show after his introduction.

'A lot of people in our audience down from Sydney for the show', he had said, 'well they're not here for the show, they're here for our water', he continued.

Daryl was referring to the Giardia parasite, the 1998 Sydney water crisis that had infected the water supply of Australia's largest and busiest city. Then he had carried the gag to say we (Victorian's) would send our Melbourne water north for the New South Welshman to enjoy, safely.

Melbourne is quite well known for its water quality. The gag had generated enough of a response to obviously warrant a new crack at the Sydney-siders plight. In comedy circles it's what's called a running gag. As I said, Mr. Somers changed tack; he had been a little bemused by my willingness of the 'shattered' comment just seconds before I think.