Comedian real hero for brave Aussie spoofing

Inspirational Australians are everywhere you look. Two Tasmanian miners trapped in an underground nightmare for a fortnight have been hailed by Prime Minister John Howard as heroes of the nation and role models of mateship.

The lucky country fairly crawls with iconic characters, from crocodile-wrestling bushrangers to surf lifesavers to - in the words of Brisbane policeman Phil Olivetti - your Ian Thorpes, your Russell Crowes.

Olivetti himself is no ordinary bloke but a man who had greatness thrust upon him when he rescued a group of children from a flyaway inflatable castle. He got the kids out safely but faced terrible danger when the rogue castle became entangled in power-lines and he was trapped inside.

How do you pick the Australian of the Year among so many standouts? No easy task, but brave comedian Chris Lilley is game to try in a merciless send-up of his compatriots, the six-part mockumentary We Can Be Heroes (TV One, 10pm). And to make it that much more challenging, Lilley himself plays all five contenders for the title.

If you missed the first episode last week - not hard with that less than inspirational timeslot - don't despair. It was just the introduction to the AOY candidates. The real action is yet to come when the nominees slug it out for the title.

Along with Olivetti, they are: Chinese physics genius and keen amateur thespian Ricky Wong; Sydney schoolgirl and humanitarian Jamie King; teenager Daniel Sims, who is donating an eardrum to his deaf twin in a world-first transplant; and Perth housewife and roll-along-on-your-side champion Pat Mullins.

If you thought suburban nightmares Kath & Kim were a laugh'n'cringe fest, We Can Be Heroes takes the embarrassment to new levels. Lilley let us know early what depths of self-delusion we could expect his characters to plumb, when Olivetti - pondering the likelihood of his winning Australian of the Year - modestly told us, "I laughed at the suggestion when I nominated myself."

We Can be Heroes is deadpan humour almost too excruciating to watch. Olivetti is pure David Brent, while Ricky Wong, whose idea of a joke is "You're in the Wong lab", is a caricature few would try for fear of attracting the attentions of the Race Relations Commissioner.

Lilley leaps into even more dangerous territory in upcoming episodes in which Wong auditions to play an Aborigine in a musical called Indigeridoo.

If you like your laughs edged with terror, this is the comedy for you.

Although some of his impersonations, like Wong, are hilariously idiotic, Lilley is spookily good at the female roles. His arrogant schoolgirl Jamie King, sponsor of 85 starving Sudanese students ("If it wasn't for me you guys would be totally dead"), is scarily convincing in speech and body language.

But his Pat Mullins, the Perth housewife with one short leg who is planning to roll on her side from Perth to Uluru for charity, is so good that it's staggering.

Most frightening of all is that Lilley spent months interviewing a wide range of real-life inspirational Australians as research for the show.

Let's pray that this comic talent is never tempted to seek his victims across the Ditch.