This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Skithouse" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Skithouse
TheSkithouse logo
Starring	Peter Helliar Corinne Grant Damian Callinan Scott Brennan Michael Chamberlin Fiona Harris Roz Hammond Tom Gleeson Cal Wilson Jason Geary Ben Anderson Tripod
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	19
Production
Running time	22–24 minutes
Original release
Network	Network Ten
Release	9 February 2003 (2003-2-9) – 28 July 2004 (2004-7-28)

Skithouse (styledskitHOUSE) is an Australiansketch comedy television series that ran onNetwork Ten from 9 February 2003 to 28 July 2004. The series was produced byRoving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedians, including comedy-bandTripod. Reruns can now^[when?] be seen onThe Comedy Channel onFoxtel. In theUK, it is shown on the channelParamount Comedy 2 andTrouble. The title name itself is apun on the colloquialism "shithouse".

The series only ran for two seasons, before being cancelled due to a combination of dwindling ratings and the withdrawal of the cable network Foxtel as co-financier of the program's production.

Skithouse was produced by Roving Enterprises, a production company formed byRove McManus. Two key performers were Rove'sRove Live co-hostsPeter Helliar andCorinne Grant. The show also featuredCal Wilson,Scott Brennan, Fiona Harris,Damian Callinan,Roz Hammond,Michael Chamberlin, Ingrid Bloom,Tom Gleeson, Jason Geary andBen Anderson. Members of the comedic band Tripod also featured, not just as the band but in the actual skits as well.Tripod are Scod (Scott Edgar), Yon (Simon Hall) and Gatesy (Steven Gates).

The director wasFull Frontal alumna, Daina Reid.

Since the cancellation of the series, a number of the stars have moved on to other areas in the comedy industry. Scott Brennan and Fiona Harris starred inComedy Inc. (before the show's end) as well as Damian Callinan and Cal Wilson staying onNetwork Ten onThe Wedge with Roz Hammond and Ben Anderson as part of the ensemble cast onThank God You're Here. Tom Gleeson has gone on to host popularABCTV quiz show, "Hard Quiz" which he has been the host of since October 2016.

The show consisted of numerouscomedicskits. The half-hour shows themselves often seemed to have themes (or at least they repeated the use of sets, costumes, characters and props). Its comedic styling was reminiscent of many classic Australian sketch comedies, likeFull Frontal andFast Forward, sharing common elements such as self-depreciating humour, low-cost props and effects.

Many characters recurred throughout the series, often appearing several times in a single episode, creating a semi-coherent storyline. Some more notable recurring characters and/or scenarios are listed below.

The Australian Fast Bowler (Gleeson)

Acricketfast bowler, loosely resemblingDennis Lillee, who uses his bowling skills to help people or defend against evil,superhero style.

Bubble Wrap Man (Yon)

Bubble Wrap Man is a send-up of traditional superheroes. His outfit consisted of a standard red superhero outfit, complete with underwear on the outside, and a bubble wrap cape. Bubble Wrap Man would appear in stressful situations for other unnamed characters, and say to them: "Pop the bubbles on my cape!"

The "I'll Snap Ya" Guy (Callinan)

A parody of an Australian 'bogan' who continually narrates sketches in which he speaks of various people he has punched (or 'snapped').

Redheads (Gleeson, Wilson, Hammond, Yon)

Stereotypedred-haired Caucasian people who have an extreme fear of sunlight. They seem incapable of natural speech, communicating in squeaks.

Batman (Callinan)

Adepressed,alcoholic version ofBatman. HisBatmobile is a wreck, he has no work, and seems romantically attracted toRobin (Chamberlin). He is perpetually at odds with the more dynamicCaptain Terrific (Helliar), who is now Robin's partner.

The "I Love Beer" Guy (Helliar)

A man who, despite professing to everyone how much he lovesbeer, quite obviously cannot stomach the drink. Onlookers try to convince him that it is okay not to drink beer, but he refuses to acknowledge his dislike. This is a mockery of the common stereotype of the beer-drinking Australian male.

The Ticket Lady (Harris)

A perpetually cheerfulparking inspector who is oblivious to how much she is hated by the general public; she often speaks highly of people while being pelted with rocks, eggs, and other heavy objects. Usually ends a sketch after having something thrown at her, by exclaiming "Ilove this job!"

Glenn Bush (Brennan)

An awkward, annoying schoolboy in his teens, with many pimples and a squeaky voice. Glenn is mostly portrayed at school camp in video diary format, or doing a school biology assignment with his "friend" (Chamberlin), who cannot get rid of him.

Tripod as themselves

The three friends engaged in various strange orgeeky activities, including playingDungeons & Dragons, and teaching Yon how to dance.

"Nothing Suss!" (Gleeson, Brennan)

Two men attempt to sell odd products (normally partnerexercise equipment) in the medium of an infomercial for their mail-order service. The two frequently use the exercise equipment to demonstrate and end up in sexually suggestive positions, while maintaining all the while that there is "nothingsuss" about what they are doing.

The credits of each show are accompanied by a song by Tripod. While sometimes new material is used, it is sometimes a song previously featured in their "Song In An Hour" challenge withTriple J.

The main title was composed by John Von Ahlen and recorded atSubterrane Recording Studio, and the end credits read "Theme by John Von Ahlen for Planet J Productions". The incidental stings were also recorded at Subterrane Recording Studio. The credits of each show are accompanied by a song byTripod. A compilation of expanded studio versions of these songs was later released as the albumMiddleborough Rd, which won anARIA award in 2005 for Best Comedy Release.

TheARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented byAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of themusic of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

• Rove Live
• Tripod

• SkitHOUSE at the National Film and Sound Archive
• skitHOUSE atIMDb

• Network 10 original programming
• Australian television sketch shows
• 2003 Australian television series debuts
• 2004 Australian television series endings
• Television shows set in Melbourne
• 2000s Australian comedy television series

• Use dmy dates from May 2015
• Use Australian English from May 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Articles needing additional references from November 2019
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• All articles with vague or ambiguous time
• Vague or ambiguous time from October 2024