Brendan Cowell: Actor & Playwright
*Webmaster's Note: The original article reviewed two shows, Pizza and Life Support. The Pizza portion of the review has been clipped in order to present only what is relevant to Brendan. Click the link at the bottom of the page to view the original review in its entirety.*

Take away Pizza or I'll do it myself 

By ROSS WARNEKE
Thursday 30 August 2001

(Pizza review clipped)

A much smarter Australian comedy follows Pizza on SBS on Mondays. At 9pm, the team from Life Support goes to work. This is a 10-week parody of those lifestyle and infotainment shows that teach us how to get the most from life.

First impressions count, and this week's premiere episode looked a winner.

Best of all is Todd, the laconic Do-It-Yourself expert (played by Brendan Cowell). For example, for those wanting to install an in-ground pool but hoping to save on the excavation costs, he has a simple solution. Bury some bones in the back yard, call the police to report the discovery of a mysterious skeleton and rely on them to dig up the place in a search for evidence of a crime.

There are more hits than misses in the various segments, ranging from men's health (DIY sex) with Dr Rudi, to travel with Penne (How to pass yourself off as an illegal refugee in order to visit, free, the world's most exotic tourist destinations). It's pacy, funny and imaginative. But it's on SBS, so it won't rate. The sad thing is that quality often doesn't.

This article was found at
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/2001/08/30/FFXWE9KFZQC.html
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