'Put a gap in em': how Roy and HG's The Dream skewered the Sydney Olympics

The fictional broadcasters’ deadpan absurdism and fondness for euphemism was the surprise hit of the 2000 Sydney Olympics coverage

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The clip is from 2000, but it’s 1990s Australia at heart. The man and woman on screen have a shared vibe of “primary-school music teacher who once came uncomfortably close to joining a cult”. Both foreheads are hung with puffy fringes. His shirt is acrylic cobalt panelled with faux-tribal patterns, her lavender is offset by a loosely knotted gauze scarf. Their singing barely crests a monotone, their dancing never exceeds the self-conscious white Australian sway.

“Go you good thing,” is their refrain in unison, with the conviction of a trainee waiter recommending wet sawdust as a main. “Go, and go in hard. Go you good thing, go.”

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Word of mouth went wild. Within a few days swimmer Michael Klim was holding Fatso while receiving a gold medal

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