Peter Berner

This is the last post I'm doing before we go to Disney World. I did the calculations though. By the time you guys read this, our vacation will be over. It's kind of crazy.

Tomorrow I'm going to finish packing, and then Jack and I will leave on Sunday. If something exciting and Australia-related happens at Disney World, I'll update. Otherwise....I'll just be laying out more pre-written posts. I feel kind of cheap doing that. I don't know why. But none of you guys have complained so.....

Anyway, let's move onto Peter Berner.

Who are you, Peter?

Another comedian.

Lord Wiki says he's the host of a show called The Einstein Factor. I think I've actually seen a clip or two from that, but I'm not positive. And I'm not sure if he IS the host, or was the host. Is the show still on?

There's not much here about Berner's origins. Lord Wiki's entry is very short. He says Berner appeared on the comedy scene in the 1990's.

In 1999 he made his TV debut. He starred on a show called BackBerner. Oh, I get it! Back BERNER. I missed that at first. But my brain popped back into my head.

BackBerner was sketch comedy. It was on from 1999-2002. From Lord Wiki's description, it reminds me a lot of America's...oh, crap I forgot the name of the show. It's the one with John Stewart. Daily News. Is that it?

No. It's The Daily Show with John Stewart. Oops.

Anyway, the shows sound similar to me. Both shows are parodies of news programs, and they both feature comedians interviewing various authorities and so-called experts.

I'm going to watch some bits from Backberner.

The book review bit is really making me laugh. I love the part about Peter Carey.

Now Berner is talking about streakers...hilarious. I'm laughing out loud, although I'm not rolling on the floor laughing. Does anyone actually do that? Well, I'm doing weights while I watch, so if I rolled on the floor, I'd probably hurt myself.

Well, I think I misread Lord Wiki. Backberner is different from The Daily News with Jon Stewart. In the latter, they interview real people. In the former, the people being interviewed are actors as well. I think both concepts work equally well.

In 2004, Peter Berner hosted the Australian Film Institute Awards. That's also the year he started hosting The Einstein Factor. Lord Wiki seems to be saying that the show is still on the air.

I'll watch some Einstein stuff later. For now, I want to finish with Lord Wiki.

He does a radio show...not on Triple J, but on Triple M. Is there a triple station for every letter of the alphabet? The show is called The Peter Berner Experiment.

Oh no. I just read a sentence or two ahead. The show is over. It ended in September.

In 2005, Berner did a documentary about The Archibald Prize. It was called Loaded Brush. He did some of his own paintings for the program, and tried to get them accepted into the contest. He didn't have any luck with that.

I don't even know who won the last Archibald thing. I should go look that up.....

Here we go. It was the painting of an Aboriginal singer named Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. The artist was a guy named Guy Maestri.

Berner currently sometimes helps to host a show called 20 to 1. IMDb says he's been doing that since 2005. And according to IMDb, The Einstein Factor is NOT on anymore. They say it ended in 2008, although I guess it could be on hiatus.

I'm reading Lord Wiki's description of 20 to 1. It's a countdown show. I love stuff like that. America has tons of them. Some of it is crappy ridiculous celebrity tabloid stuff, but other stuff is fun like best horror villain, most dangerous snake, best musical, etc.

Shit. I have so many windows open on my browser right now. I'm getting myself dizzy here. I'm NEEDING a vacation.

Lord Wiki says the latest episode of 20 to 1 featured TV couples. That would be fun. In August, they had Amazing Comebacks. I'd probably like that.

I wonder if the show has a website where you can see the results. I could spend all day reading it.

Well, here's the show's website. They have something about delicious divas. To me, that's a bit of an oxymoron. Although I'm guessing they mean it in a more positive sense. I think of a diva as being a spoiled stuck up performer. I get a sense that some people on their list are this way, but not all of them necessarily. I think they're more referring to just famous female singers in general.

They have a list of scene-stealing songs. "Unchained Melody" from Ghost is #1. I remember when that song became so popular. Waterloo in Muriel's Wedding is #19.

They have a list of Australia's Funniest People. Paul Hogan? What??? Really? No way. I'm getting a bit suspicious now. I think Americans would pick Paul Hogan as the funniest Australian. For some of us, it's the only Australian we even know about. And almost all the Divas were Americans. I'm starting to think it's Americans coming up with the list. Barry Humphries is #2. That's pretty good. Adam Hill is #19. I think he should be much further up.

And where the hell is Garry McDonald?

There's Best Screen Buddies. Thelma and Louise won this honor. Yeah, they glorified suicide, but they also pushed ahead Brad Pitt's career. I don't see one Australian movie on this list, although they do have Brokeback Mountain. I guess that kind of counts. It at least featured an Australian.

For TV characters You Love To Hate....Well, most of the Australian hate is aimed at Americans. Although, Prisoner is on here. That's one Australian show. Then there's Sons and Daughters. Is that Australian? American? Okay. Lord Wiki says it's Australian. So we have two Australian characters to be hated. But the others are all American. The winner is JR Ewing. Big from Sex and the City is #3. Really? I didn't think he was THAT bad.

They have the list of amazing comebacks. Drew Barrymore is #1, and I do like her comeback story. There's a few Australians on the list....John Farnham and Kylie Minogue. I didn't realize Minogue had been in a need-to-come-back situation. There are names on the list I don't recognize. They may be Australian too.

The Brady Bunch wins for best TV family. The Australian Sullivans come in at #5.

I wonder how the winners are divided. Are they voted on by viewers? Does a panel decide?

Anyway, I should probably move on......

I'm going to see if I can read about The Einstein Factor. Lord Wiki says it's a show where people obsessed with a certain subject are quizzed on it. I guess it would be like me being obsessed with Australia. I already quizzed myself a few days ago. I wasn't very impressed with my scores. I'm telling you the information goes IN my brain, and then falls out again a few days later.

Okay. I think in the first round they ask people about the subjects they're passionate about. Then in the second round, the contestants are given a broader range of topics. Then in the third round, it's a mixture.

It sounds entertaining to me. I think I'd prefer it to yesterday's game show....Deal or No Deal.

I like trivia games.

Here's the show's official website. They have a quiz. I'll see it, so I can smash any delusions I have of being intelligent.

I got a 2 out of 6. My delusions are gone. But don't worry. They'll return again. I'm resilient that way.

Oh wait! There's more quizzes.

I'll take this one. That time I got a 3 out of 6. I'm getting smarter!!

This page of the site lists the various topics people have been interested in. There's someone who likes Seinfeld; someone who is interested in Princess Diana; people interested in Marie Curie...... Well, there's all kinds of fun and quirky things here.

Here's a clip from the show.

I thought the first people on the show were the contestants, but I guess I was wrong. I don't know who those people are. Maybe celebrities of some sort. I'm feeling mighty ignorant right now.

The contestant on this one is into some type of aircraft....not really something I'm interested in.

Well, I was almost about to give up. I couldn't find anything exciting. But then I found the Peter Berner website. I'm not yet sure if this is his site, or a fan site.

The page counter says only 27 people have visited. (It was actually 26, but I reloaded). I'm thinking it's fan site that has been neglected.

This bio page says he started as a stand up comedian. Also, he does some visual art. Oh. I thought he was just playing around with the Archibald Prize thing. This page has some of his cartoons. I'll see if there's anything I like.

This one made me smile a tiny bit. The rest of them aren't quite clicking with me.

Here's a blog entry. I guess Berner wrote it. Maybe?

This could be his site. It kind of seems that it is. I wonder why it's not getting more visitors.

The blog entry is about a ballet dancer named Steve. I don't know if this is based on a real person, or just fictional stuff.

I'm going to watch some of Berner's stand up stuff. Here's one clip. There's some hecklers. Berner seems to be handling them well, but they don't seem very nice to me. Or maybe there's SUPPOSED to be audience participation here. I can't tell.

Berner looks like a giant. I'm guessing that's the set design.

Well, I'm going to quit now, and start printing out some kind of itinerary for our trip.