30 Seconds Series 1

Advertising's getting a hell of a lot of love on Australian TV's non-commercial networks lately. The Gruen Transfer's proved a hit on the ABC; now this comedy series appears on SBS and Foxtel. Set in the fictitious ad agency BND, 30 Seconds centres around Martin Manning (Joel Tobek), an ad exec in his mid-40s who's slowly losing his patience with the world of advertising, particularly the pressures from below (Gyton Grantley as the ambitious young buck Sumo) and above (Peter O'Brien as the company's CEO Brooker). It's not a million miles away from the similarly plotted UK comedy Absolute Power, although there are some deft touches that give the show its own personality: Manning's delusions, in which the everyday is transformed into advertisements, complete with jingles, are superb, as are the two most obviously comedic characters: O'Brien's beautifully restrained-yet-mad Brooker bears a passing resemblance to Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock, while Stephen Curry plays the can-do moron producer McBaney with understated class. Hopefully it gets the second series it deserves - in the meantime, get up to speed with this DVD.

Extras Making of, ad spots

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