ABSTRACT
Transgressive television is well represented in the history of local production. To assume people watch Perfect Match purely for romantic reasons is to misread the parodic opening titles and to misunderstand how violently it oscillates between sentimentality and cynicism. The format is simply the frame for transgressive TV. Less chat-oriented in the beginning than later, shows such as those hosted by Bobby Limb and Dawn Lake depended on a succession of musical acts and sketches. In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) added some game segments to this format and then began to burlesque the advertising spots. The Tonight shows differed from their American models in similar ways to Perfect Match’s departure from its American models: instead of taking the format seriously they used it as a set of conventions to attack and transgress. Graham Kennedy’s IMT is perhaps the best example of a host and a show which was always trying to break out of its frame.
