LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
With restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 in-place across many Australian towns and cities a new phenomenon is being observed by those on lockdown.
At the time of writing, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported a sharp spike of Spicks and Specks reruns being viewed in cities with the harshest COVID-19 restrictions.
Running from 2005 to 2011, Spicks and Specks was an Australian music-themed television quiz, where host Adam Hills quizzed panels of celebrity guests about obscure musical knowledge in a way that taught ABC viewers something without making them feel dumb.
Now as cities such as Melbourne introduce a nightly curfew, Spicks and Specks reruns are more pronounced than ever as TV viewers look to soak up lighthearted musical lore made in a time when no one had to worry about accidentally killing Nan with a hug.
“Oh no way! Hamish Blake!” stated viewer Michelle Hortense, from inside the apartment she had already rearranged three times.
“Haha! He knows nothing about music does he! Good thing Kram is here!”
According to Hortense, she does not normally watch either of the two Spicks and Specks repeats that the ABC plays back to back every night, but since she has been forced to spend more time at home the show has been as comforting as a hot tuna bake on a winter’s eve.
“Ah that’s right they have a little song at the end. Aaaah…Why did they stop making this? Seriously, why?”
When asked about the cancellation of the program ABC chairperson Ita Buttrose stated “Spicks and Specks was a show that gave a lot of Australians hope, taking up valuable time slots that could instead fill them with dread.”
“If we did a new version of it we’d have to have millennial comedians on it. What, may I ask, would be funny about that? Nothing. No, it’s cancelled forever.”
“Fucking snowflakes.”
