I Like You... "Summer Heights High"

"I like you..." is a recurring section of "Where the Wild Things Were Last Thursday Around 8" which highlights the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the people, places and things that make each and every day a little more bearable just because they happen to exist.

Reader, I'll be honest with you. I had a very, very difficult time deciding who or what I was going to induct into the "I Like You..." hall of fame this week. I batted around the idea of honoring one of Rochester, New York's best and brightest, up and coming, super talented stand-up comedians; namely, one Billy T. Anglin. But, I know Billy a very little bit and, even though I truly believe him to be the best comic in Rochester right now, I'm going to wait a little while before I induct Mr. Anglin into this prestigious, albeit tiny, club. However, because I shamelessly promote anything I enjoy, it is now mandatory that all Last Thursdayers out there seek out Billy on Facebook or Myspace or whatever the f_ck you kids are using these days. Like all local artists in any city it is a constant struggle to get your foot firmly planted in the door, so any support and encouragement my lovely readers can provide Billy T. Anglin and all the local comics (Nigel Larson, Katie Wood, A.J, Dr. Will, etc. etc.) trying to get their big break would be hugely appreciated by myself and the entire staff of "Where the Wild Things Were Last Thursday Around 8." Okay, I'm done shamelessly plugging the locals, so, as they say on Broadway, "on with the show!"

I spent last Christmas by myself because my girlfriend was out of town visiting her family and my family decided they'd have a better holiday if I wasn't involved (I have a tendency to start drinking as soon as my nephews start opening their presents, by 10:00 AM I'm swearing at the decorations because they won't stop taunting me with their joy). So, I celebrated the birth of your lord and savior Jesus Christ by getting hammered on Pabst Blue Ribbon while I watched the entire second season of The Sopranos. It was, far and away, the best Christmas I've ever spent teetering on the edge of alcohol induced manic depression.

This is the most accurate depiction of last Christmas that a Google Image search could provide.

Needless to say I was ecstatic when my lady friend arrived home from her travels, because, as usual, she brought back with her a laundry list of TV shows, books, movies and hair products that her family knew we'd enjoy, because they are way, way more hip than either of us, and without their help we'd just be getting around to this "Golden Girls" show people like so much. On the tippity top of the list was a show from Australia I'd never heard of called "Summer Heights High," and if you've followed this blog with any regularity you know that I never want to do what people tell me I'll enjoy, because by default I am impossible to please, so I fanned away her suggestion with a "meh" and continued on, full steam ahead, into The Sopranos third season.

When I was done with the entire run of The Sopranos a month and a half later I was hungry for something new, something good and something that didn't make the Jersey shore look so cool, so I asked my lady love if she had any suggestions and when she brought up "Summer Heights High" this time around I was all for it and promptly moved the entire series to the top of the Netflix queue. When it arrived at our doorstep a couple of days later I didn't know what to expect, the only summary the love of my life could give me was "well it's one guy, he plays the three main characters, and it is Australian, I thought it was hysterical, but I didn't watch that much of it" I'm paraphrasing of course, but that is the gist of it right there. I honestly thought I'd just agreed to watch a performance art piece from Down Under about the ecstasy and agony of growing up in the Australian public school system; well, I was way, way off.

"Summer Heights High," is, at best, the type of show that covers the entire spectrum of human emotion while remaining firmly grounded in its comedy roots. It is shot in the faux-documentary style that is quickly becoming cliched, but it is not detrimental to any area of the show, and in fact provides the perfect setting for getting to know the three main characters, all of which are played brilliantly by the show's creator, Chris Lilley. And, it is the three main characters that make the show utterly brilliant... seriously, it's incredible to watch one guy play three different people with such vastly different personalities and mannerisms... because they are at first these wholly goofy characters that seem ready made for wacky, flamboyant and slapstickish physical TV comedy, but as the show begins to unfold so do the characters themselves and you start to realize how good it all really is.

From Left: Chris Lilley, Chris Lilley and Chris Lilley
From Left: Jonah, Ja'mie and Mr. G

Okay, the picture I posted above may not be the best representation of Chris Lilley's ability to slip into "Summer Heights High's" main characters, because it is only a visual representation, but you really do need to watch the show to get the full effect, because at the beginning when the viewer first meets Mr. G he comes off as your average, every day super flamboyant homosexual drama teacher with a penchant for nabbing the spotlight for himself as long as it doesn't interrupt his nihilism. But, as the show moves from episode to episode Lilley wisely stays within the walls of the fictional high school and slowly reveals Mr. G's aspirations and dreams and how he came to be part of the Summer Heights High faculty, and before you know it you really feel for the guy, despite the fact that he's obviously an ego maniacal, power hungry show off that wants nothing more than to have the attention of everyone in the room at all times no matter what room he is in. Not to mention one of his students (and, oddly a good friend it appears) is a boy with Down Syndrome named Toby who aspires to be (and eventually gets the chance) Mr. G. It is really a lot more touching than it sounds, trust me, you have no choice.

Mr. G, as amazing as he is, is only the anchor that keeps the show in place, because he is an adult and his age and station in life allows him the opportunity to be the "constant" to the shows teenaged characters, Jonah and Ja'mie who are, for better or worse, stuck in the teenage hell that is figuring out where you fit in, so they are always up to something, always changing, where Mr. G is always up to one thing (making himself a star) and never really veers off course. Now, it should be said that both Jonah and Ja'mie have their very own cliques and each is, of course, the leader of that group, but, man they couldn't be further apart on the personality and social scale that rules high school with an ugly, iron fist.

Jonah Takalua is the "problem child" of Summer Heights High, and it doesn't help that he is from the Pacific island of Tonga; which, and I didn't know this before, is a problem. Islanders are not treated well in the universe of "Summer Heights High," to the point where even the teachers have a bias against them. In a scene early in the season, Jonah and his friends walk into class just a little bit late and the super bitchy teacher I want to kick in the stomach says "oh, look who decided to show up, if it isn't the islander boys." Written out like that it looks harmless, but to hear this f_cking shrew of a woman say it is infuriating. Anyway, Jonah isn't the smartest kid in the world, but he is one of the biggest and so has spent the majority of his life using his size to intimidate his way around the social hierarchy of school life. He is on the outside, but he is also on the inside because he could kick some ass if he had to... this is all first episode stuff. After a few episodes you start to get the sense that Jonah isn't just a prick because he's big and bored with school, and you find out that he has some serious learning problems which are, I believe, the root of his frustration. But, let's be honest, we all knew kids like that growing up and they were dicks. Still, Jonah becomes the character that makes you cry, he is the only member of the show that makes you, the viewer, feel every single emotion you can think of and then some. It is truly amazing to watch, and yes, you will be in tears at the end of the last episode, so be warned.

And then there's Ja'mie. Shrill, annoying, petulant, spoiled Ja'mie. I have never in my entire life hated a 16 year old girl as much as I hate Ja'mie; which means Chris Lilley f_cking nails his portrayal of the private school girl who volunteered for the exchange program that would send the top student at Summer Heights High to Ja'mie's private school for a year, because it would make Ja'mie look good. Reader, let me tell you something I'm not proud of: I have, many, many times forgotten that Ja'mie is not really a 16 year old spoiled b_tch. While watching the show I find myself thinking and saying aloud to my embarrassment "if that girl is anything like that in real lif... of f_ck it's a guy, right, right... man he's good at playing a 16 year old girl... that's pretty creepy... ah she's such a b_tch!" Ja'mie is the worst kind of girl you knew in high school, because she's the one who knows she's hot (not really, but in the context of the show she's supposed to be, play along now kids), knows she has more money than everyone else, and wants absolutely nothing more than be popular and pretty for the rest of her life, so that's exactly how she is, and she'll do anything to get what she wants. Ja'mie goes so far as to throw a fake AIDS fundraiser, so her and her friends can afford to throw a formal dance. She routinely calls her public school friends "povo" (which is like saying "poor redneck" in the states), "skanks," "triad asian," and pretty much any derogatory name in the book. She doesn't win her battles with kindness, she scares away the competition with b_tchiness, but, as usual Chris Lilley has layered this little girl so well that you start to see the chinks in her armor pretty early on, but unlike Jonah and Mr. G, you never feel bad for Ja'mie. She. Is. The. Worst. And, the show is infinitely better for it. You do need a villain, after all.

"Summer Heights High" is no longer on HBO and there will most likely be no future episodes, and that is the way it should be. The 8 episodes of the only season are some of the best television I've ever had the opportunity to watch and any additional episodes would likely ruin the experience. I can't tell you how much of an impact the show has on your emotional and mental state, because I'm assuming it will be a different for everyone, but it is the experience that matters. As much as I love "30 Rock," "The Office," "Fawlty Towers," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and a whole host of other television shows that I could have inducted into the "I like you..." hall of fame, I chose "Summer Heights High," because in my humble opinion, the world would be better off with a little more Mr. G and a little less Jim Halpert.

Congratulations on your induction into the "I Like You..." hall of fame, as usual you will not be receiving a free t-shirt.