Extended Studio 3 cast, Australia Day 2012.note
What do you do when you have a children's channel with no commercials? Fill up the space between shows with a quirky program to entertain your younger audience in the interval, and feature younger celebrities that will appeal to them. Thus, Studio 3 was created. It is described on it's home, Australia's only free-to-air children's channel, as 'the hub for everything that happens on ABC3 - the place where it all comes together.'
Hosted by Kayne Tremills and Amberley Lobo, known as 'Kayne and Ambo' (although they were recently joined by James Elmer and then Olivia Phyland and Alfie Gledhill), it's an eclectic mix of audience participation, celebrity interviews, and odd skits. One recurring feature is a series of mini-episodes starring the hosts, called Bitcom. Bitcom proved popular enough to get it's own 40-min special, Bitcom and the Oblivion Ray.
Tropes on Studio 3:
- Almighty Janitor: The Janitor (especially given the fact he is played by the director and writer Dave Cartel).
- Audience Participation: Various initiatives, such as "Sponsor the Show". There are also chances for kids to be part of the show by sending in videos, photos or popping up on the show's webcam.
- Baseball Episode: The yearly Australia Day 'Smackdown' specials featuring all the current hosts from ABC3's shows, none of which actually feature baseball. They have included the Cricket Smackdown (2011), the Tennis Smackdown (2012), and the Soccer Smackdown (2013).
- Big Bad: Katinka, the evil sandwich making lady from the ABC3 Canteen in Bitcom
- And then there was Captain Cameron and Brigadier Bridget from Bitcom and the Oblivion Ray
- Big Damn Movie: Bitcom And The Oblivion Ray, which was certainly made clear in the ads
. - Big Eater: Kayne.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The current female hosts: Liv (blonde), Grace (brunette), and Ivy (redhead, although it's difficult to see at times under her headwear).
- Cutaway Gag: Frequently in the Smackdown specials.
- Enemy Mine: The group briefly teamed up with Katinka in Bitcom And The Oblivion Ray but were at least smart enough to know she would betray them.
- Evil Laugh: The boys team in the Soccer Smackdown engage in this when they decide to cheat with the Soccerus Meteor. Bajo however descends into crying randomly.
- Flashmob: For publicity, a pretty neat one, in Melbourne.
- Gag Series: Whether the whole show on balance counts as this is debatable, but certainly Bitcom does.
- Idiot Hero: Fictional Kayne sometimes fits this.
- Intrepid Reporter: Ben Crawley's segments, where he "takes ABC3 out of the studio and into the streets, as he roves around his hometown of Adelaide and beyond, discovering the undiscoverable and mentioning the unmentionable."
- Large Ham: The hosts, often.
- Not to mention Bitcom's Katinka
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The actual power of the Oblivion Ray since wiping peoples memories makes it easier to take over the world.
- Mythology Gag: A joke in Bitcom also serves as a callback to the ABC's previous kids' filler show, Rollercoaster.Kayne: I didn't know you were into magic, mate.Janitor: Did you know that the ABC had a rollercoaster?Kayne: No.Janitor: Well it would appear you don't know everything.
- News Parody: On one recurring segment, the two hosts act as decrepit, old-fashioned news presenters: Ken Smartley and Anne Bronsonson.
- No Name Given: The Janitor is called the Janitor who is actually played by the director and writer Dave Cartel (you can't imagine how much trouble one troper went to find this out).
- Parody: A staple of the show.
- Running Gag: Too many to count.
- Particularly prevalent one is Ambo's vain crush on the oblivious Scotty, which was addressed in the 2013 Smackdown when Nicole asks: "Is that still going on?"
- But special mention goes to the ending of every Australia Day Special which results in the house of one of Kayne's relatives exploding thanks to Bajo in some way.
- Say My Name / Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "KATINKA!!" courtesy of Kayne.
- Ship Tease: Amberley and Scotty has been teased a lot.
- Shopping Cart Antics: The discovery of a shopping cart in the parking lot causes Kayne and Ambo to completely abandon their plans in favor of playing with it.
- Slapstick
- Spin-Off: The Bitcom special, Bitcom And The Oblivion Ray.
- Talk Show: Various interview segments with celebrities, also parodies this sometimes.
- Vox Pops: Used regarding various kid-related topics. A roving camera ensures that kids get the chance to share what they like best, whether it's performing a new BMX trick, introducing their pets or showing off their town.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Alfie Gledhill and Khaled Khalafalla did not stay very long on the show, both for fairly understandable reasons: Alfie went onto other acting jobs, while Khaled felt his comedic talents were rather restricted on the show.
