AustLit

The first satirical/comedy television series produced in Australia, The Mavis Bramston Show was effectively an adapation of the stage revue format, the genre out of which many of its stars emerged as professional actors. The writers took aim at any number of contemporary issues, people, and social institutions, often garnering a good deal of controversy in the process.

The show's title derived from a long-held Australian theatrical in-joke concerning unimpressive overseas 'stars' brought out to headline local productions but who were in fact either second-rate performers or whose careers were in decline in their own countries. Such people became known as 'Mavis Bramstons.' In the TV series, the joke was played out by having the Mavis character (played by Maggie Dence) appear only at the beginning of each episode, as she arrives at Sydney airport and is greeted by the waiting press.