A PIECE of TV history is being made with the creation of animated talk show host David Tench. Network Ten's David Tench Tonight is the brainchild of Enough Rope presenter Andrew Denton and his production company, Zapruder's Other Films.
While motion capture and digital enhancement technologies have been used by the film industry for nearly a decade, this program is a first for television.
In David Tench Tonight, a virtual cartoon host interviews real people in real time.
Like other talk show hosts, viewers will watch Tench perched behind a desk, interviewing his guests live in a studio.
"That's the world-first about it, guests see him in real time," producer Todd Abbott said.
"It's never been tried before and I imagine it will grab the attention of people around the world.
"Tench is something that is pioneering the way for the future."
Denton's company has partnered with Sydney-based digital production company, Animal Logic, on the project.
The technology used to produce Tench is the same adopted to create creepy Lord of The Rings character, Gollum.
The real personality behind Tench - who will never be revealed - will wear a sensor-suit marking their basic movements, which will make the animated character come across as lifelike as possible.
Abbott said the concept of the program might be hard to grasp.
"It wasn't until I saw the early character work that the penny dropped," he said.
"It's a concept that doesn't bear trying to be explained, it only works if you see it. It sounds far more confusing than what it is."
mmm.. i saw a lil bit of this show the other night with the killing heidi chick n i dunno.. wasn't anything all that funny to me .. bit too odd 2 tell u the truth. maybe it'll get better...
His personality appears to be an amalgam of well-known figures. Radio's Alan Jones, former Good Morning Australia host Gordon Elliott and maybe even Ten's own Rove McManus could be in the mix. But as revealed today by columnist Jackie Lee Lewes it's
this is a crap show , hopefully we wont have to worry about who the hell it is talking anyway.
i watched the 1st one out of curiousity, along with many others ( no wonder ratings seem to go alright) ...this week - a drop in ratings , this could also be because people are not use to the habit and or forgot about it...or like me, thought it was sh*t the first time. none the less - i will expect this also to fall in a heap pretty quickly & hopefully.
i'll give it 10 episodes or under.
surely Denton could do better than this !
jokes are'nt funny, and i don't think we will adapt to the animation bit either ( i won't be ) i'd rather real life person myself, WITH HUMOUR .
i heard a ' rumour ' ( yep, another one ) .... Tim Ferguson was the voice ?
Ugh, he was even more annoying last night. I HATE his unfunny soliloquies and I LOATHE the fact that he addresses his guests by their full name. It was particularly distracting last night. It had the potential to be a great show if only the host wasn't such an arrogant twat.
It's also a little sad that they couldn't even wait until the second episode until the vocal identity of David Tench was exposed. Hell, it's been eighteen years and we still don't know which state The Simpsons live in.
I know people have discussed it, however to me the Audience has to be a canned one (or an audience watches it filmed and is cued to laugh) and it is one of the reasons the show falls flat ... there is no interaction with an audience in any way ... not a glimpse across to even pretend as if there is one there by host or guest ... even on shows like Parkinson ... though the audience is a not really seen you know one is there by looks from guests and Parkinson ... interview shows like these need an audience or it is just bland and Tench proves that point.
totally agree ! ..it has to be a lump of wood ready to be axed ..surely ! no interaction what so ever is a massive mistake, canned laughter is sickening ...i mean the whole thing just looks sooo fake , not just the animation ! lol
and now slightly changing subject ...co's i cant hold it any longer, and no councilors are open this time of night ,but:
i may regret this , and many will disagree with me , but i can't wait for a saturday live interview show to hit town one day ..say 1- 2 hrs . but its who i want that might disgust people even more ! .. yet i could understand where their coming from , but......
Bert Newton - BUT ! ..it must be his concept , his style , his rules with little network intrusion what so ever ....i think he's been nothing but screwed around since starting again, and has'nt run completely free for many years !
i still think he's got something inside, nevr mind good morning aust , family fued ...wrong shows wrong concept ...and its not him .
only prob i would suspect ...is todays PC Viewing Police whinging and complaining like pathetic 'tards over something he said blah blah ..actually , mmmmm maybe the full Bert Version days are gone , not him , but society in general are !
I find the Identity you mention as implausable mainly due to a number of points...
Gordon Elliot hosted his own call-in program from Perth, Western Australia, He returned to law school but kept working part-time on Sydney radio.
Gordon finally got his chance as a US reporter/producer on A Current Affair, where he worked from 1987 to 1991
He moved on to Hard Copy in 1991, during which time he also hosted the NBC network re-launch of To Tell the Truth
Gordon has acted in several movies and is raising two sons, Angus and Duncan
This fits in with Comments claimed :
His biography claims the Australian-born star recently returned to Australia after a decade in the US, where he hosted breakfast show Surprise! Good Morning! for eight years.
David has two children (Marcelle & Gigi)
David was lured behind the microphone first as a cadet and then as the regular sports reporter on radio
" appears to be an amalgam of well-known figures. Radio's Alan Jones, former Good Morning Australia host Gordon Elliott and maybe even Ten's own Rove McManus could be in the mix"
" Tench's looks were modeled on famous television talk show hosts such as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Bert Newton, as well as radio men Alan Jones and John Laws "
I must be in a minority here. I find the show to be entertaining. The canned laughter and fake laughs from Tench are weak-points for sure. But the one-liners still come across as amusing to me.
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