Australian
Screen

Update from the curator (3 June 2020):
These notes, written in 2008, do not adequately address the use of brownface in the portrayal of the character Jonah in this series. The curator recommends further reading on this topic, for example Morgan Godfrey’s Blackface in a white nation (2014) and Winnie Stubbs’ It’s time for Australia to boycott brown-face (2019).

Original Curator’s Notes
By this episode, the time spent establishing the characters of Jonah, Ja’mie and Mr G in earlier episodes is paying off as we see their stories unfold.

The fun lies not only in Lilley’s characterisations but in his interaction with the other performers and the richly detailed world they inhabit. Like its contemporary Kath and Kim (2002-current), which also plays with the mockumentary genre, plenty of humour lies in small details and passing lines of dialogue. The joke at the heart of Summer Heights High’s 'realism’ is that Lilley plays all the main characters but somehow we still believe it.

Summer Heights High builds on the mockumentary style of its predecessor We Can Be Heroes (2005) but has some narrative and stylistic shifts. Its focus on fewer characters in only one location, over eight rather than six episodes, makes for a different narrative rhythm. Summer Heights High also has less journalistic cues, with no narration such as that provided by Jennifer Byrne for Heroes, and a slightly heavier emphasis on observational footage. These stylistic differences work with the premise of each show: 'The Australian of the Year’ awards seem more like news-media fodder, a term at a high school more the terrain of a longer-format 'fly-on-the-wall’ documentary.

Once again, the team’s approach extends beyond simply incorporating documentary-style cues to drawing on documentary methods in development and filming. Summer Heights High’s development phase involved extensive field research, including visiting schools, speaking to parents and students and researching specific details of character and environment. Meanwhile producer Laura Waters and Lilley worked together to shape the narrative structure and style of the series, including creating story outlines, after which Lilley wrote the episodes. According to Waters, it is important to the pair not to race into production but instead to allow the development time needed to feel ready.

Shooting took place at Brighton Secondary College in Melbourne while term was underway, the real-life detail of the school environment overlaid with the fictional details of Summer Heights High and Lilley and the supporting cast interacting with extras from the school itself. Scenes were partly improvised with the cast of experienced actors and first-timers. Lilley and director Stuart McDonald did not use rehearsals but instead aimed to create an environment that felt real to the performers. The crew recorded the unfolding action as they would a documentary shoot. Editor Ian Carmichael then had a big task on his hands, reducing 175 tapes’ worth of material to just eight, again a process similar to documentary.

The result walks an interesting tightrope between observation and comedy, often seeming quite real and quite ridiculous at the same time. There’s also an ultimate note of sadness, stemming partly from the contrast between the three characters. With Mr G and Ja’mie, Lilley’s knack for portraying human vanity and manipulation is on full display; unruly, confused Jonah is the most sympathetic character and the least capable of manipulating those around him.

Summer Heights High is Jonah’s first appearance. Ja’mie’s first outing was in Lilley’s We Can Be Heroes (2005) and Mr G appeared as a sketch comedy character in the short-lived Hamish and Andy (2005).

Summer Heights High screened on the ABC as part of a popular Wednesday night comedy timeslot, following on from The Chaser’s War on Everything (2006-current) and followed by Spicks and Specks (2005-current). The series was sold internationally to stations including HBO in the USA and BBC3 in the UK.