Some of the British talk-show doyen’s Australian interviews are streaming on ABC iview, but now come with a contemporary disclaimer.
Between 1979 and 1983 leading British talk show host Michael Parkinson would decamp to the ABC’s Gore Hill studios in Sydney, where he would helm an Australian edition of a program that was already close to an institution in the United Kingdom. A selection of the 75 episodes produced are now streaming on ABC iview, serving as a mix of time capsule and cultural snapshot.
Each episode begins with a contemporary disclaimer: “The following program expresses attitudes that are not consistent with current standards and may offend some viewers.” That’s true, although the question is whether it’s Barry Humphries’ comic creation Sir Les Patterson or then-Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen discussing abortion that deserves the warning. There may be unseen episodes that do cross a line, but historic insight outranks contemporary privilege.