Behind the scenes at Cheez TV

In the latest episode of GPTV I uploaded a video of the first time Michael and I brought Greener Pastures to Channel 10's morning cartoon show Cheez TV. Here's some behind the scenes photos from that fun shoot… 

Michael and Tim getting the star treatment in the make-up chairs. 

"What do you mean my forehead is shiny!" 

Most of the crew in on planning what and how we're going to shoot. As you can tell from the video, the whole thing is pretty much ad libbed. 

"Just draw a damn picture McEwen!"

Here we are getting to know Ryan and Jade while waiting to start taping. A couple of top blokes honestly excited to have us there. 

Setting up the time lapse drawing shot. 

Jade, absolutely enthralled by what Tim has to say. 

"Comics! I draw comics GOOD!" 

Team photo! We had an awesome time that fine day in 1996 shooting Cheez TV, and it shows on all our faces. 

GP TV. Ep04.

Ahhh, the familiar strains of the Cheez TV theme song… for so many of us it's a tune we'll never forget. Here, from way back in 1996, is the first time Michael and I were lucky enough to be guests of the show. It was the beginning of quite a long relationship and many appearances. I really loved working with Cheez TV whenever the opportunity arose and in the following years many did, either implemented by us or the Cheez TV producers. 

With our attendance at Kings Comics' OzCon 5 convention coming up soon we thought we'd see if we could drum up some publicity for ourselves, especially considering Greener Pastures had been nominated for five OzCon Awards that year (Favourite Title, Favourite Character, Favourite Artist, Favourite Writer and Favourite Cover (#4)), and so we contacted Channel 10 and tried our luck. They were keen as!

Look at how young Jade and Ryan were at the time! I think this was during their first 12 months on air. I believe Jade was truly excited to have comic book people in the studio and he was always welcoming and genuinely interested in chatting to Michael and me all the way until 2002 when I was on for the last time. Ryan, here and always, was pretty much joyously off the rails. 

Cartoons shown this particular morning were: Eek! The Cat; The Adventures of T-Rex; and Conan The Adventurer. 

Hosted by Jade Gatt and Ryan Lappin. 
Aired 7:00-8:30am, Wednesday, 21st February, 1996. 
On Channel 10. 

GP TV. Ep03.

And so we come to the first time the Greener Pastures' creators themselves were ever on television. The funny thing is, it wasn't on Australian TV! 

Michael and I thought we'd go to New Zealand, just for the heck of it, to visit their annual comic convention at the time: IcoNZ. It was July 1995 and this was their second of three IcoNZs. We weren't the only Aussies there either, Stuart Hale also made the trip representing Issue One Comics . 

One of my favourite sales techniques when interested punters asked if we were New Zealanders was to say "Yep! We're from the West Island!" which would usually take a moment, and a double-take, for the penny to drop. At one point I looked up to see Neil (Split Enz, Crowded House) Finn browsing through our work. He bought a copy of Greener Pastures and as he walked away I sheepishly said "You can write a song about it if you like…" I don't think he ever did. 

We had a great time and met some lovely people. 

I don't know exactly what television show this report appeared on, I assume it's the news or a magazine style show. Neither do I know exactly what night, but I assume it would be 1st or 2nd of July 1995, as that was the date of IcoNZ 2. After the inane chatter about trading cards, sporting memorabilia, and the fake Baywatch girl, they talk to some local NZ comic creators and Michael and me. 

Cartoonists interviewed: 
Craig Petersen 
Wade Shotter
Cornelius Stone
Tim McEwen
Stuart Hale
Michael Michalandos

Cartoonists work also shown: 
Matt Hatton
Ant Larcombe
Ant Sang
Sam Young
Paul Newell
Jason Paulos
There are also a few incidences where there is work that I'm not able to easily identify. My apologies. I am pretty sure there's a flash of Roger Langridge though.

Aired July 1995. 

GP TV. Ep02.

This is the second in a series of videos that in some way feature Greener Pastures. Broadcast on February 2nd 1995, I think this is the second time Greener Pastures was seen on TV, once again on Bert Newton's Good Morning Australia. Bert must have loved comics at the time!

The wonderful Annette Shiel is interviewed for her role as curator of ACE: the Australian Comic book Exhibition, which toured the country in two mostly identical travelling exhibitions from 1994 to 1997. It was a very good exhibition from an historical point of view and even spawned a book on the subject called Bonzer: Australian comics 1900s-1990s.

Greener Pastures #1 gets a great look-in at the 5 minute 30 second mark, featuring the cover for quite a while and being used as a prop in one of Bert's jokes.

Big apologies for the wavering sound – this has been digitised from a 17 year old VHS tape.

Cartoonists work shown:

Jimmy Banks

Jim Russell

Norm Rice

Eric Jolliffe

Ant Larcombe

Keith Chatto

Sam Young

Will Donald

Tim McEwen

Glenn Lumsden

Cartoonists and/or their work I can't recognise or can't remember also appear. My apologies for any omissions. I'm not an expert on most of the really historical stuff, so off the top of my head I can't name a lot of the creators there.

Hosted by Bert Newton

Aired February 1995

On Channel 10

GP TV. Ep01.

I have a collection of (I think) every time Greener Pastures has ever appeared on TV. The following story from a July 1993 episode of Good Morning Australia is the first time images from Greener Pastures were ever broadcast. They really only flash up for a moment and don't actually appear until about three minutes 21 seconds into the piece, but the whole five and a half minute clip is definitely worth watching from an historical point of view anyway.

The story covers the Unrealism Exhibition which showed in the Sydney suburb of Glebe in early July 1993. It was organised primarily by cartoonist Stuart Hale and another fellow whose name I can't remember (though he does appear briefly at about the 1:15 mark). A couple of pages of Greener Pastures #1 featured in the exhibition before that issue had even been printed.

Unfortunately it looks like some footage is missing from the beginning of the story and a little cut off from the end.

Cartoonists interviewed:

Reg Mombasa

Jason Paulos

Sam Young

Stuart Hale

Cartoonists also filmed:

Paul Rebec

Gerard Ashwood

Cartoonists work also shown:

Jozef Szekeres

Bodine Amerikah

Ant Larcombe

Kelly Baigent

Bill Flowers

Tim McEwen

Brendan Boyd

Glen Lumsden

Mark Sexton

John Petropoulos

Tom Priestly

Cartoonists and/or their work I can't recognise or can't remember also appear. My apologies for any omissions.

Reported by Susie Elelman

Hosted by Bert Newton

Aired July 1993

On Channel 10