Flashbacks with Barry Humphries

These are brilliant, but probably only if you know the actual facts to some extent. Don't use these to learn Australian history unless you have a guide to translate them.

I'm not a particularly big fan of Barry Humphries style of humour, so it was a surprise a few years ago when I found the documentary he did for the ABC called 'Flashbacks' hilarious.

Basically it's a look back at Australian society in four parts (1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s) through news, TV and film footage plus the comments of Humphries in various guises (Dame Edna, Sir Les, Sandy Stone).

The footage from the 1960's and 1970s is especially hilarious and well-chosen, which manage to show how kitschy and cringe-worthy a lot of Australian culture actually is. My favourite bit - a segment from the 1970s when John Singleton's sincere comment 'Number 96' is the modern day equivalent to Shakespeare! There are some weaknesses - the 1980s segment is fairly uninspired. This is partly because Humpries fails to find much humour about many of the main characters of the era (Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Alan Bond) and partly because culturally speaking the 1980s were a much less interesting one then the 1960s/1970s were. And Humphries' attempts at humour with his various characters are patchy at best - Sir Les is probably the funniest of his characters.

Overall, this is a very entertaining show well worth getting on DVD.

Thank goodness Barry Humphries made this series of recollections of Australia in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. He looks at us with his unique blend of the satirist's wit, and a measure of affection for who and what we were. And yes, in hindsight many of our fads do look silly, and we look awkward and some of us are gauche, naive, and ignorant. We certainly aren't the only Western country to look at our recent past and laugh. One hopes that the days of "The Cultural Cringe" are long gone. "Flashbacks" is a delight, and having lived through every decade featured in the series, I watched it all with pleasure and that smile of recognition. Special thanks to Sandy Stone, Sir Les Patterson, Dame Edna, and most of all Barry Humphries for their sage observations.

Taken from news footage, TV shows and films of the era, Humphries has, with devilish cunning, picked out the worst of Australian 'culture' over 4 decades. And, unfortunately, it's all true. I've lived through three of the decades and can vouch that they are a true picture of ordinary Australian life. Very embarassing -- and very funny. My wife hated it, so it must be good. There's also a book of the series. Humphries is truly Australia's greatest comedian and social commentator. The only comfort is that the US and the UK were far, far worse but managed to keep it secret.