We Can Be Heroes

With the local content down to a depressing 20% on our TV screens, finally an Australian comedy has been produced that can enjoy a well deserved cult following, and fill the void of Australian comedy to stand up next to Kath & Kim. We Can Be Heroes is a true blue satirical look at the search for the Australian of the year with six contenders all played by the ever observant Chris Lilley. The detail and subtlety Lilley puts into each character's language and social interactions is truly astounding. Most people would have gone to school with their own Ja'mie or have an Aunty reminiscent of Pat Mullins or experienced the vocal styling's of Daniel with his deaf twin brother Nathan. In the tradition of the mocumentary brought to us by previous comedy's the Office and Kath & Kim, We Can Be Heroes raises the bar of observational humour to another level never seen in this country before. A truly phenomenal achievement in Australian comedy in 2005. God bless the ABC.

This is a great show. I just laugh and laugh each episode i watch.

Then I laugh and laugh when trying to relate to to others who haven't watched it before.

And the thing about it is, you can't helping finding a bit of truth in every character. It's such a good take on Australian society and the kinds of people we choose to honour.

It's fantastic to see that, where everything else being produced in Australia is garbage, there are still occasional gems such as this and Kath and Kim.

I hope this is a sign of even better things to come.

Chris Lilly is a legend

We Can Be Heroes is the greatest Australian comedy to be released in the past decade. Many would give Kath and Kim that credit but Chris Lilley truly goes above and beyond in this masterpiece. Every character he plays has the perfect blend of subtlety and caricature. His characterization stays sharp all throughout the series, which is full of hilarious situations and even some sad ones. Every Australian who watches this show will feel as though they have met the characters personally, so astute is Chriss Lilley with his observations and performances. The production values are high throughout with the show looking just like an ABC local interest documentary series. I truly hope that Chris Lilley will go from this project on to many more and keep showing all Australians how funny we really are.

Australia is lucky enough to call many great comic actors and comedians their own - Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Glenn Robbins, Eric Bana - and has produced such fine comedies like "Kath & Kim", "Big Girl's Blouse", "Fast Forward" and "Full Frontal". Joining the list of greats is Chris Lilley and his terrific 6-part mockumentary "We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year".

In the tradition of "Best in Show" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "We Can Be Heroes" follows the lives of several contestants, in this case, for the Australian of the Year award. Lilley plays all of the 5 nominees himself, and does a great job of showcasing his acting abilities, as well as brining life to some memorable characters, most of all school girl Ja'mie who really deserves a show of her own. Each of the nominees that Lilley plays are very different from one another. The outgoing Ricky, the stuck-up Ja'mie, the modest Pat, the arrogant Phil and the hilarious Daniel.

Each of the 5 nominees have all been nominated for various reasons, some more convincing than others, and some totally absurd. But that just adds to the humour of the show. The characters are not all likable, but it's better that way. Lilley is backed-up by a terrific group of supporting cast who play the friends and family of the nominees, and each of them do a great job given the short periods of time they are on screen for. The narration from Jennifer Byrne gives the show an authentic feel. A great show, would be awesome to see a second season with some outrageous new characters, or Ja'mie in her own show!

We can be heroes is one of the funniest shows of all time. the show is about six people(played by Chris Lilley)who have been nominated for Australian of the year award. One of the characters are two outback teenages, Daniel and Nathan Sims who are my favorite but they are all still very funny. i also thought it was really cool that Chris Lilley could played all the characters so well. I rated it ten because i think it's so well done and incredibly funny i would give it one hundred. Chris Lilley comes up with great ideas like a 47 year old woman rolling from Perth to Uluru and a Chinese 23 year man who has a PHD in physics and loves acting and spells fun with a ph(phun),a teenage boy going to give his deaf brother one of his ear drums so he can hear again,a teenage girl who has 87 sponsor kids and the most popular girl in school and a man who saved nine kids fro a flying jumping castle.