4.2 /10 1 Votes
5.8/10 TV Starring HostDavid Tench Original network Network Ten Final episode date 25 December 2006 Language English | 2.5/10 IMDb Created by Zapruder's Other Films Country of origin Australia First episode date 17 August 2006 Genres Talk show, Comedy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No. of episodes 15 of 26 (as of 23 November 2006) (list of episodes) Running time 30 minutes per episode (inc. commercials) Nominations AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy, AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series Similar Enough Rope With Andrew D, Hungry Beast, The Gruen Transfer, CNNNN, Good News Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David Tench Tonight was a short-lived television talk show created for Network Ten in Australia. The series featured David Tench, an animated fictional character, as host. The name "Tench" is a partial anagram created from the name Channel Ten. The actor behind the digital Tench was Australian actor Drew Forsythe.
Contents
- Technology
- Viral marketing
- Revelation and premiere
- Public opinion and media regarding David Tench
- Cancellation
- Segments
- References
Tench conducted interviews with various "celebrities" including Jimmy Barnes, Meat Loaf, Toni Collette, Nelly Furtado, Johnny Knoxville and future Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The 2006 season finale (episode 15) was shown on 23 November 2006. A Christmas special aired on 25 December 2006 at 10:30pm. On 5 April 2007, the show was axed.
Technology
Tench was rendered and animated in real-time using motion capture technology. The guests were therefore able to see him and respond to him in real-time.
Radio host Mick Molloy, who was a guest on the 11 October 2006 episode, clarified on his radio show Tough Love that the David Tench desk had no-one behind it and the guest spoke to a television setup behind the desk to "interact" with Tench.
The character of Tench was conceived by Andrew Denton and technically designed by Australian visual effects company Animal Logic. Animal Logic used the VICON MX40 technology to create David Tench.
The concept of an animated talk show host was not entirely new. Hand-drawn animation was used to bring Space Ghost to life in the 1994 talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. An earlier similar gimmick was used in the British talk and music video show The Max Talking Headroom Show, featuring Max Headroom. Max, however, was not computer-generated but was realised by a clever mixture of prosthetic costuming and video effects, and was also able to interact with his guests.
Viral marketing
Before the program's airing, Network Ten used viral marketing to create publicity for the then unestablished show and character. Publicity included small-spot television advertisements with David Tench quotes written for the show, accompanied by the simple tagline, "finally, someone real on television."
A large amount of general interest was generated with seemingly minimal effort. However, this method of marketing was criticised by some as a cheap stunt to fool people's better judgement.
Revelation and premiere
During the finale of Big Brother 2006 on 31 July 2006, Network Ten had revealed Tench as an animated talk show host with an "American accent". However, he often had a cultivated Australian accent that vacillated into a transatlantic accent.
The 30-minute premiere episode aired on Thursday, 17 August 2006 at 8.30pm (AEST).
The show then moved to a new timeslot - Thursdays at 9.30pm AEST. The timeslot switch was promoted as a change to accommodate a new (in the network's words) "naught[ier]" content shift for the program, although based on the steady decline of viewing figures, it is easily visible that this is a change based on an attempt to reclaim audience share in the preceding timeslot.
The studio audience was made up of the general public who attended the show's taping.
Public opinion and media regarding David Tench
Cancellation
Andrew Denton was interviewed by the Daily Telegraph on 5 April 2007 and confirmed that David Tench Tonight was axed by Network Ten.
The program's website is no longer online.