30 Seconds (TV series)

:30 Seconds is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel which satirises Australian advertising companies and advertising industry. The name of the show comes from the advertising slots on television that are normally 30 seconds long. The show has had many guest appearances from famous Australians such as Claudia Karvan, Peter Heliar, Bridie Carter, Matthew Newton and Guy Pearce.

30 Seconds
Intertitle for 30 Seconds
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Tim Bullock Justin Drape Scott Nowell
Written by	Tim Bullock Justin Drape Scott Nowell Andrew Knight
Directed by	Shawn Seet
Starring	Peter O'Brien Joel Tobeck Gyton Grantley Stephen Curry Jenna Lind
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producer	Andrew Denton (Zapruder’s Other Films)
Running time	30 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network	The Comedy Channel
Original release	7 September – 12 October 2009

Plot

The show revolves around a fictitious advertising agency, BND which is a global advertising network, with 61 offices worldwide. The show takes place in one of the Australian offices.

Production

Location

The show was shot on location at the offices of real-life Sydney production company Blacksheep Productions, located in Mountain Street, Ultimo.

Lazzi

:30 Seconds occasionally has parts closely resembling a lazzi. This occurs sporadically throughout the show when Martin Manning sees a product. The product that Martin sees becomes centerpiece, while a culmination of the product in Martin's eyes, and how the product could be advertised. For example, the first use in the show occurs in the first scene, when Martin first looks at an Orange Juice container. Suddenly the packet animates and a stereotypical advertising voice over sounds saying: "Now with added goodatives". The scene returns to normal after this brief lazzi, and the scene continues on.[1]

Cast

• Joel Tobeck as Martin Manning
• Stephen Curry as McBaney
• Gyton Grantley as Sumo
• Kat Stewart as Marion West
• Peter O'Brien as Bill Brooker
• Jenna Lind as Kath Bullock
• Emily Brennan as Barbara Main
• Oliver Brookes as Joel

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date	Viewers (thousands) [note 1]
1	"Drink Rexponsibly"	7 September 2009	38 (20th)[2]
2	"Be The Tool"	14 September 2009	N/A
BND's masculinity is put to the test when briefed on two campaigns, however the largely male creative department is having trouble penetrating anything as Martin and Sumo wrestle over a female staff member.
3	"Good Clown Bad Clown"	21 September 2009	N/A
Bob's Burgers are worried about a new government report linking fast food and childhood obesity. BND's ingenious response hits problems when the Bobo Clown clashes with effeminate Cuban burger stylist Raoul.
4	"Invisible Fault Lines"	28 September 2009	N/A
At 25, Sophie Marsh, the face of Láfinité Rejuvenale is too old. BND need to find a new model and a new campaign for the famous anti-ageing brand.
5	"Twenty One Today"	5 October 2009	N/A
Martin's career flashes before his eyes as he plummets from 3rd to 21st in the Campaign Brief creative rankings, while Daiyonda are in a spin as their cars are voted 'worst on emissions'
6	"A Matter of Trust"	12 October 2009	N/A
A new business prospect presents a conflict of interest between a prospective client and BND's founding client; Brooker has big plans for the agency while Martin wrestles with a large overseas job offer.

See also

• List of Australian television series

Notes

1. Ratings are the overall national viewers; numbers in brackets indicate weekly ratings position for Australian subscription television rankings.

References

1. 30 Seconds, Episode 1

2. "Top 100 Pay Television Programs: Week 37, 2009 (06/09/2009–12/09/2009)" (PDF) (Press release). Seven Network Research. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.

External links

• :30 Seconds - Comedy Channel
• 30 Seconds at IMDb