Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Why cancel the Glass House

The ABC has axed the Glass House.

All I can think is "WTF". This smells of a world gone mad - the ABC is under the thumb of censorship loving fools.

Glass House axed

By Rebekah van Druten of ABC Online

The ABC has axed its popular comedy show The Glass House.

Comedian Corinne Grant says she and co-hosts Wil Anderson and Dave Hughes have known about the decision for a number of weeks.

"Obviously we're devastated ... it's very upsetting, but it's not an overnight shock to us. We have known about it for a while now. But we don't understand the decision at all," Grant said.

She says when the ABC broke the news no "good" explanation was given.

Lesna Thomas from ABC TV Publicity today confirmed the show has not been renewed for 2007.

She says it has had five years on air and that the national broadcaster has decided to go in a new direction.

Grant says that is ridiculous.

"Only the ABC would cancel a show that is at the height of its ratings success and say it is time to move on. That would be like Pat Cash winning Wimbledon and going 'oh, it's time to move on'," she said.

"We just won an AFI award, we're nominated for another one, we just got nominated this year for the Most Popular Light Entertainment Program for the first time in the Logies - why would you cancel a show when it's at the height of its popularity?"

Grant says suggestions that the show may have been axed because of regular segments poking fun at Prime Minister John Howard or US President George W Bush are speculative.

"If that was the case, and certainly the ABC have not said that at all, but if that was the case that would be extremely concerning," she said.

"That would be a national broadcaster being dictated to by the incumbent government about its content. Which is the kind of thing you see in North Korea, not Australia."

Grant has also denied claims by Liberal NSW Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells that she is guilty of a serious conflict of interest. The Senator says Grant is the face of the ACTU's workplace relations campaign.

"I am not fronting an ACTU campaign. That Senator is making that up. I am not the face of any ACTU campaign," said Grant.

Grant says a lack of funding may have been behind the ABC's decision.

"The ABC doesn't have a lot of money. Maybe it was the difference between our show and The 7:30 Report getting a new stapler."

The last episode of The Glass House will go to air on November 29.

Overnight Anderson, posting in his MySpace blog, urged fans to tune in.

"We are going to go out guns a'blazin, I promise."

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