The Dream with Roy and HG

"The Dream with Roy and HG" was a sports/comedy talk show, broadcast every night during the Sydney 2000, Salt Lake 2002 and Athens 2004 Olympics, presented by Australian comedy duo Roy and HG.

Their telecasts became one of the most popular events of the Games, with Olympians from all nations queueing up to appear. The gifts given to interviewees became some of the most valuable collectors' items of the Games.

Due to the attention on Australia as the host nation, the 2000 season took the form of a two hour show and was made available to Olympic broadcasters internationally; the 2004 season was a one hour show broadcast in Australia only.

The pair became well known for their commentary of certain events, particularly the men's gymnastics, where they coined terms for various movements - including adapted vernacular such as "battered sav" and "Chiko Roll", and other inventions like "flat bag", "Dutch wink" and "hello boys" - that became familiar to viewers worldwide.

They also popularised Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat as their mascot, dismissing the official mascots as "Syd, Ollie, and Dickhead". This was emphasised in a satirical diving contest between Fatso, the three official mascots, and the Boxing Kangaroo later in the games. Fatso's huge popularity during the series caused consternation with the Australian Olympic Committee, who at first tried to ban the character from Olympic events after Australian athletes appeared carrying Fatso dolls at medal ceremonies. When auctioned for charity at the end of the series, Fatso was purchased by Seven Network CEO Kerry Stokes for AU$80,450. A statue of Fatso has since been erected at the Olympic Park site.

Insulting New Zealanders, particularly by way of the medal tally, was also a favourite pastime of Roy. When New Zealand won their first gold of the games in the rowing, he remarked that New Zealanders were "only good at sitting down and going backwards". During the 2004 season, Norway was insulted frequently, along with New Zealanders, as was former Olympic host city Atlanta, which Roy regularly denounced as "the toilet".

The show's popularity during the 2000 season prompted the creation of two spin-off shows, broadcast in Australia only — "The Ice Dream" during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and "The Cream", during the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The show's success also spawned "The Monday Dump", a weekly sports/talk show with a similar format but lacking the central focus of a single sporting event.

The Ice Dream

Targets of humour during the coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics included figure skating, curling, Monaco's bobsleigh team (especially Albert II, Prince of Monaco). They promoted the Smiggin Holes 2010 Winter Olympic bid, even presenting it to IOC president Jacques Rogge, who described it as "very impressive". According to "The Ice Dream", during the 1952 Olympics, Cedric Sloane skewered a seagull during a cross-country skiing event, putting a curse on the Australian team that could only be lifted when Australia won a gold medal (achieved by Steven Bradbury).

See also

* Australia at the Olympics

External links

* (2000)
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* (2004)
* [http://smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/12/1031608300675.html newspaper comment] .
* [http://autopilotproductions.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=2 The Official Anthem of the Smiggins Hole 2010 Bid - Unleash the Mighty Mongrel - By Sean Peter]
* [http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=Number%3A511665;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 The Dream at the National Film and Sound Archive]