The Panel is an Australian television show, first aired in 1998, and was very popular in its first few years. The show always ran at 9.30pm on Wednesday night, sometimes it would run late and cut into the 10.30pm news afterwards. It takes the form of a chat show, with a panel of five people, discussing and joking about items in the news, current affairs, and general pop culture. It is similar to the UK series Have I Got News For You A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... Have I Got News For You (sometimes abbreviated to HIGNFY) is a long-running UK television topical panel game. ...

The show is produced by Working Dog Productions, and is broadcast by Network Ten and affiliates; it is also simulcast on the Triple M radio network. Working Dog Productions is a small film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. ... Network Ten is one of Australias three commercial television networks. ... Simulcast is a contraction of simultaneous broadcast, and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. ... Triple M is a network of radio stations owned by the Austereo Radio Network. ...

Hosts

The regular hosts are Glenn Robbins, Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Kate Langbroek and Santo Cilauro (usually sitting in this order from left to right at the desk). However, guest panelists are quite common, with other Australian comedians, actors, and international guests (Harry Shearer appears on the show whenever he visits Australia) regularly taking a spot at the desk. Glenn Robbins Glenn Robbins (born 1957) is an Australian comedy performer/writer. ... Rob Sitch on the left as Mike Moore Rob Sitch (born March 17, 1962), is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. ... Tom Gleisner (born 1962) is an Australian director, producer, writer, occasional actor and author. ... Kate Langbroek is an Australian TV and radio personality. ... Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer and screenwriter. ... A comedian (also comedienne, female) is a person who attempts to make people laugh through a variety of methods, normally through joke telling, or a stream of funny banter. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943, Los Angeles, California) is an American comedic actor and writer who began his career as a child actor in 1950s movies (The Robe) and television (The Jack Benny Program). ...

Guests

Guests include not only regular music and movie stars, sports heroes and political figures, but many lower profile individuals who have interesting stories to tell, such as round-the-world sailor Jesse Martin, or sex expert Dr. Cindy Pan. One of the most "excruciating" interviews, as Tom Gleisner described it, was in 2002 when Tommy Lee Jones was in the studio with Will Smith to promote their film Men in Black II. Jones did not respond to any of the humour present in the interviewers' questions and provided very brief answers. Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an Oscar winning American actor and director from San Saba, Texas. ... Will Smith in Hitch. ... Men in Black II is a movie starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. ...

Spin-offs

The success of the show has resulted in successful spin off shows in Ireland (hosted by Dara Ó Briain) and New Zealand (hosted by Cal Wilson). There has also been a spin-off produced in Afghanistan, short clips of which were played on the 2005 Christmas episode. Dara Ó Briain [da-ra oh breen] is an Irish comedian and television presenter. ...

It has also led to the release of albums in the Music - Live from the Panel series, consisting of songs performed on the show by local and international artists. Performances on The Panel are unique in that they are performed acoustically or with minimal instrumental backing, as opposed to other performances on variety shows, where a full band is present. A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ...

Current

The show is currently on hiatus and has not been broadcast in 2005. However they aired their traditional Christmas Night Special, which has been aired annually since 2003. The show may or may not return in 2006; no decision has been made as of December 25th 2005. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Network Ten are currently in a long running dispute with the Nine Network in the Federal Court of Australia regarding an episode of The Panel and its use of several snippits of Nine shows. Several appeals and related decisions have been made in the Federal Court (FCA), the Full Court of the Federal Court (FCAFC) and the High Court of Australia (HCA): Network Ten is one of Australias three commercial television networks. ... á market_share = 29. ... In Melbourne, the Federal Court is housed with other federal courts such as the High Court and the Federal Magistrates Court in the Federal Court Building on the corner of La Trobe Street and William Street The Federal Court of Australia is the Australian court in which most civil disputes...

• 2nd [2001] FCA 841
• 3rd [2002] FCAFC 146
• 4th [2004] HCA 14
• 5th [2005] FCAFC 53
• 6th [2005] FCAFC 194

See also

• List of Australian television series

This is a list of Australian television series and television programs. ...

External links

• Working Dog Australian television and film production company website
• The Panel (Australia) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Panel (Ireland) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Panel (New Zealand) at the Internet Movie Database