So the other day I went and asked my local video store geek if there was any chance they'd import the ORIGINAL Aussie KATH AND KIM.  He and his associate looked at me like I was crazy probably because they'd seen or heard of the pointlessness of the American version.  I'm here to shout from the rooftops:  ITS ONE OF THE BEST COMEDIES TO HAVE EVER APPEARED ANYWHERE!

If you've seen the "american version" you know that Kath and Kim are mother and extremely spoiled and clueless daughter who have two goofy men in their lives.  Kim is so spoiled in fact that she moves back home about 2 months after her wedding.  Part of what makes this show is the dynamic between the women playing the mother and daughter and in the Australian original, these are also the writers, Jane Turner and Gina Riley.  The daughter is so clueless and full of herself, in fact, that she doesn't even notice that she's: 1) not really hip and gorgeous 2) not a "hornbag" but rather a chowhound 3) not in fact 25 but probably closer to 35.  Of course in America where no one is allowed to get down and dirty humiliating themselves (except on 30 Rock and reality TV) Kim is played by the really beautiful Selma Blair.  Kath's boyfriend/husband in the American version played by the very handsome John Michael Higgins lacks the greasy comb-over, and Kim's chubby and lonely second best friend Sharon has gone missing.

The lesson here is that the producers of American TV, always underestimating viewer's intelligence tend to remove the very things that make these shows funny: namely satire. They're also not inclined to let women comics write and producer their own shows as they do more commonly in England and Australia.  Then the conclusion becomes that women, somehow aren't funny.  We all know better and if you want to see the two funniest women after Patsy and Edina you can watch KATH AND KIM on the web.  The Joker is me.