The last time I clapped eyes on Sam Pang in the flesh was in the media room backstage at the Logies, just minutes after he’d been anointed the most popular person on Australian television.
asserted
he → clap → television
“How are you?” he says today as we settle in to talk about the return, for a third season, of his variety show Sam Pang Tonight.
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we → say → show
“Last time we spoke you were front row, and one of the first people I saw post-Gold Logie.
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I → speak → Logie
Well, you know, Sam, it’s important to share these moments with the people you love ...
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you → know → people
“I did point that out,” he says, laughing.
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he → point → that
“You walk offstage, you’re taken to this room, and you’re like, ‘this is who I’m celebrating with?’
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I → walk → who
It’s a very special moment.
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It → ’ → ?
Don’t be fooled by the trademark sarcasm: it really was a special moment for Pang.
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it → fool → Pang
As he said on stage and again backstage that night in August, he grew up watching TV and the Logies, but never dreaming that a kid who looked like him (which is to say, of Chinese descent) might one day be part of the industry, let alone walk away with its top prize.
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which → say → prize
The whole experience was “crazy and weird and surreal” he says.
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he → say → ?
When his name was called out, he was surprised – “it could just as easily have been anyone else” – but at least winning made the decision not to drink on the night feel worthwhile.
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decision → call → night
“That would have been a big sacrifice to make: to keep yourself mildly tidy on the off-chance [you win], and then not have to say anything,” he says.
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he → make → anything
Pang didn’t drink in the three years he hosted the Logies either.
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he → drink → Logies
But any time he’d been there as a guest, he says, “I absolutely gave it a genuine crack – I’d make friends with the waiter: ‘Help me out here, it’s a long night.
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it → say → me
And what about when he woke up on the Monday morning with the gold statuette on the bedside table?
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he → wake → table
Did it feel as if the world had suddenly shifted on its axis?
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world → feel → axis
“I don’t think it’s changed anything workwise,” he says.
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he → think → anything
“On the Sunday I was at the Logies, on the Wednesday I did The Front Bar, and the following Monday I did Have You Been Paying Attention?
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You → do → Attention
With the hosting, it was always like a poisoned chalice; [you fear] you’re never going to work again.
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you → poison → chalice
[With this] I was thinking, unless this is a genuine disaster, I think The Front Bar will have me back.
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Bar → think → me
I think HYBPA will have me back.
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HYBPA → think → me
One of the more curious aspects of Pang winning the Gold Logie is that it’s not entirely clear which network should claim the bragging rights.
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network → win → rights
‘I’m very aware of doing too much …
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I → ’m → much
But I always defend myself with, “Yeah, OK, well which show do you want me to get rid of?”
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me → defend → show
“I’m definitely no network star,” Pang concedes.
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Pang → ’m → ?
He just got lucky by being part of teams on a couple of shows in The Front Bar and HYBPA that started small and eventually found their way to longevity and a decent-sized audience (it should be noted that he’s also been on SBS and Fox Sports; only Nine has not yet claimed a piece of Pang).
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Nine → get → Pang
“I feel very lucky not to be part of that old system of network stars, or signed to one network.
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I → feel → network
I feel very lucky that I kind of missed all that,” he says.
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he → feel → that
That’s both strategic and necessary, given his other commitments.
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That → ’ → commitments
“I’m very aware of doing too much, and I know already there’s a bit of, ‘Hey, you’re on a lot of shows,’” he says.
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he → ’m → shows
“I always defend myself with, ‘Yeah, OK, well which one do you want me to get rid of?’
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me → defend → one
There’s crossover, but I’m only on TV twice a week.
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I → ’ → TV
Ten might have been open to a longer run of the variety show, “but I think this is just what it is at the moment”, Pang says.
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Pang → think → moment
The idea of doing a full-time late-night show could not be further from his mind.
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idea → do → mind
“I never thought about this show as like an American tonight show, 11 o’clock every night, five nights a week.
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I → think → show
I never understood that model – I didn’t know who was even watching television at 11 o’clock at night.
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who → understand → night
It’s mind-blowing to me.
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It → ’ → me
At any rate, that model is under threat in the US right now, both economically (as live audiences dwindle, so does the ad revenue) and politically (thanks to Trump’s ongoing war against anyone in the media who dares to criticise him).
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who → dwindle → him
In Australia, it’s been extinct since the five-nights-a-week juggernaut Tonight Live With Steve Vizard ended in late 1993.
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juggernaut → end → 1993
Pang’s iteration of the format has more in common with Rove McManus’ one-night-a-week shows Rove and Rove Live, which ran in 1999 (a single season on Nine) and from 2000 to 2009 on Ten.
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which → have → Ten
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
