Nine’s Carols by Candlelight was another annual treat of terrific performers and showstoppers.
I enjoyed Sylvie Paladino, Anthony Callea and Denis Walter and his niece. Not so sure about Karl and Lisa’s comedy schtick….
But conspicuous by his absence was one Humphrey B. Bear.
When Humphrey’s name wasn’t included on the Press Release of performers earlier this week, I was a little worried.
Did the fact that he had been an asset for sale following the demise of Banksia Productions mean he wouldn’t appear?
On Friday I asked Nine if he was due to appear.
“Yes Humphrey will be there on the night and below are the meet and greet times,” a Nine spokesperson told me.
“Humphrey’s meet and greet times at the Bowl:
Friday Dec 23 4pm – 4:30pm
Saturday Dec 24 7pm – 7:30pm”
Humphrey was at the Bowl making appearances on the night and the Dress Rehearsal, but relegated to commercial breaks.
It was disappointing a Nine icon was absent for the national audience.
Assisting Santa this year were Happy Feet penguins, one of the sponsors of the event. Ker-ching.
Humphrey finally came out during the curtain call, a fleeting glimpse of a bear without pants somewhere amongst the crowd….
Christmas is one of the few times we get to see Humphrey -please sort this out for 2012?
I am a huge fan of the carols and they have been slipping for years now! I was really disappointed humphrey was bumped. Down with Happy Feet!!
Loved seeing Tim Campbell back on TV. He oozes personality. Please TV networks get him back on TV next year. As for Anthony Callea amazing performance as usual.
How bout giving this couple their own variety/talk show? What a talented pair.
Hold on…
Neither Fat Cat or Humphrey can talk yet Fat Cat gets the a*se?
As a girl, l grew up with both Humphrey and Carols. If you were to ask my 4 year old who is Humphrey? He would say Humphrey who. My question would be Ummm where is the Navity Scene?
“Humphrey Humphrey Humphrey Bear
You see him here and you see him there,
You hear his name down every street,
He’s the very best friend you’ll ever meet,
Hurray for Humphrey Good ol’ Humphrey,
Hurray for Humphrey Bear.”
If only you could say the same for last night. He’s a funny old fellow, who’s not getting the attention he deserves. He should be recognized as an Icon, therefore landing a carols spot. Oh well, at least they did better than Seven.
Yes the “Denis Walter / Stan Walker” slip up was bad. Rehearsal should have ironed that out.
I have a few comments about the carols.
1- I missed Humphrey as well and I did see him on stage at the end. He always comes out with santa.
2- I still dont know why Karl and Lisa have to host it. Why does Lisa need to have 2 different outfits for the night. Its not about her.
3- I missed Rachael Beck and her husband. Where were they this year.
4- I wish Karl would stop embarassing lisa onstage. Also what was with Lisa saying when talking about Denis Walter and Stan Walker they arent related. Why would she say that.
Not a surprise considering the movie has flopped so far by commercial standards…
I’m sure he has much to say on the matter.
Humphrey B. Bear narrowly survived the ABA (now ACMA) purge of “useless” children’s TV characters who “did not have a defined character and would confuse the young”in 1992. A famous case of such a character falling foul of the ABA was Fatcat, who had his “P” rated program “Fatcat and Freinds” re-classified “C” meaning Fatcat was effectively banned from TV forever.
Since 1992, there is increasingly no place for characters like Humphrey on TV now. The fact that he’s still around in 2011 is a minor miracle in its self.
Yes, I was majorly disappointed to not see Humphrey as well. As long as Hi-5 have been there he has appeared with them and Santa. I believe he’s also been there longer than any version of Hi-5 were around.
At least he was there for the finale, but still sad that he was mostly relegated as entertainment during commercial breaks for those who attended.
A new low for product placement on television shows with the Happy Feet penguins making a random appearance on Carols by Candlelight.
Seems a shame that Humphrey, one of the traditions of Carols is pushed aside.
As I said in another Carols article on this site, Silvie Paladino and Anthony Callea always the highlight, and boy can Denis’ niece belt out a tune!
I noticed that too
I saw him during the credits and thought, i didn’t see you during the show!?
Brown bears are closer to the north pole than those penguins ever were.
’twas very dissapointing.