New television comedy Diplomatic Immunity pokes fun at South Pacific issues, but doesn't single any one nation out, writes Russell Baillie
What fortuitous timing. Just as we slip deeper into the economic crisis new local comedy Diplomatic Immunity brings back Blam Blam Blam's early 80s sarcastic classic There is No Depression in New Zealand as its theme tune.
However, because this is a culture-clash comedy involving the fictitious - but oddly familiar - nation of Fe'ausi and its consulate in suburban Auckland, the song has had a ukulele makeover.
"Yes, I have to say it's funny how times change; it was all booming along when we made it," laughs series creator James Griffin, in the next breath ruing the fact that a gag later in the series uses a Guantanamo reference in a joke. "And they've bloody shut Guantanamo down. So I'm thinking on the one hand, 'Good'; on the other hand, 'There goes my gag'."
But Diplomatic Immunity still has fun with plenty of South Pacific issues - democracy, corruption, reliance on New Zealand aid, natural resource exploitation.
"We took equally from everyone. When I was creating the bloody thing I wanted a monarchy, I wanted a country that has kind of a banking system like the Cook Islands. In later episodes we discover they have an outlying atoll called Kakapoo which they are strip mining the phosphate from and making many many bird poo dollars."
Fe'ausi represents the South Pacific rather than an any one specific country. But what inspired Griffin, one of New Zealand's most celebrated screen writers and Canvas columnist, was more personal than political.
He always found it quirky that some of our Pacific neighbours have diplomatic outposts in ordinary houses in Auckland suburbia.
And having pivotal roles on the likes of Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune and many more, in recent years Griffin also worked on the Polynesian comedies Sione's Wedding and bro'Town. Diplomatic Immunity's lead palagi character Leighton Mills is a disgraced Foreign Affairs diplomatic character demoted to working as a New Zealand Government liaison at the Fe'ausi consulate.
He's a fish out of water - a bit like Griffin felt working as the lone white guy in the early creative stages of those productions. "What it started out as was a good-natured pisstake of cultural sensibilities and I've always wanted to create a country - what fun. And it was me kind of looking around when I was doing Sione's Wedding and being the lone palagi in this kind of world for a long period of time."
Griffin had sometime Outrageous Fortune cast member and bro'Town voice Dave Fane in mind for the role of Fe'ausi Consul Jonah Fa'auigaese all along during the writing.
Says Fane: "You feel pretty special and you feel like you're pretty damned hot and you feel honoured that someone the calibre of James thought of you. It's like in the words of To Sir With Love': 'How can you thank someone who's taken you from crayons to perfume?"'
Likewise, Craig Parker - who Griffin had scripted for many times - was cast as Mills early in the process.
And with some other familiar faces (Mario Gaoa, John Leigh, Kayte Ferguson) and some new ones (Lesley-Ann Brandt, Hannah Marshall) in places, Griffin says the comedy started to take on its own quirky shape away from his pages.
"It started to take on the elements of all the comedies I loved growing up with," says Griffin. "Dave and Craig and people like that - they would run with it. There were elements of The Young Ones in there.
"In later episodes some of it reminds me of Get Smart, some of it reminds me of Hogan's Heroes. It's just meant to be a good-natured yarn that pokes a bit of fun at people."
Says Fane: "In the end it isn't so much one country not understanding the corruption of another country, it's just one country not understanding how the other can see the corruption as being a good thing - and therein lies the comedy.
"It's like The Odd Couple, except on a larger scale - between two countries."
Says Parker: "It is irreverent. I think there's a lot of comedy that comes out of supposed taboo areas and to me that's the best kind of comedy.
"I think that's a real New Zealand sort of humour as well. We're not a prissy culture when it comes to what we laugh at. We like the slightly blacker comedy, the slightly darker humour and this has moments where you go, 'Oh my god, they're going there'. And on this show, we go there. And it's funny because it's not done maliciously.
"The comedy comes out of celebrating the madness of cultures colliding."
The No Depression revival came when Griffin and director Murray Keane were racking their memories, trying to find a track for a party scene, figuring a classic New Zealand song given the uke treatment would work nicely.
It evolved into the theme of the whole 13-part series, in which every episode has a song or an album name as its title.
The timing of Diplomatic Immunity's debut episode next week also neatly ties to next weekend's Pasifika festival, even if the Most Royal Kingdom of Fe'ausi and its illustrious ruler King Gideon won't be represented among the gathered cultures at Western Springs.
"I think maybe because of the recession TVNZ can't afford to do that," says Griffin.
"It's a pity. I would have loved to see it. Maybe if there is a second series."
LOWDOWN
What: Diplomatic Immunity
Where and when: TV One, 10pm (after Dancing with the Stars), Tuesday
