Summer Heights High
Encyclopedia
Summer Heights High is a Logie Award
-winning Australian television mockumentary
series written by and starring Chris Lilley
. It is a parody of high-school life epitomised by its three protagonists: effeminate and megalomaniacal "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G
; self-absorbed, privileged teenager Ja'mie King
; and disobedient, vulgar Tongan student Jonah Takalua
. All played by Lilley, the characters never interact. It lampoons Australian high school life and many aspects of the human condition and is filmed in a documentary style, with non-actors playing supporting characters.
Following a similar format to Lilley's previous series, We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year
, Lilley plays multiple characters in the show. Filmed in Melbourne at Brighton Secondary College
, the series premiered on 5 September 2007 at 9:30 pm on ABC TV
and continued for eight weekly episodes. Each episode was also released as a weekly podcast
directly after its screening via both the official website and through any RSS podcast client in either WMV or MPEG4.
Summer Heights High was a massive ratings success for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, and was met with mostly positive critical reaction. The series debuted on 5 September 2007 and the eight-part series ended on 24 October 2007. On 26 March 2008, it was announced that the show had been sold for international distribution to BBC Three
in the United Kingdom, HBO in the United States, and Comedy Network in Canada.
. The team would film a documentary from the opinions of the students and staff, especially the three main characters: Ja'mie King
, a mean girl
-type prefect
exchanged from a private school
; Mr G
, a self-absorbed drama teacher; and Jonah Takalua
, a stereotypical Tongan delinquent, all played by the series' writer, Chris Lilley
.
The series is filmed in a documentary style, with the supporting cast drawn from the real-life students and staff of the school where the series was filmed. The program explored the facets of a typical Australian public high school such as social cliques, bullying, teenage slang, stereotyping
, profanity, racism, and homophobia
by showcasing three different individuals: the bully; the exchange student (originally from a private school); and the teacher. The three main characters' story lines never intersect. The school principal, Margaret Murray, appears in all of their stories, but she is most seen in Mr G's stories.
.
, a private school
exchange student, immediately makes friends with the most popular girls at Summer Heights High. It becomes obvious, however, that her friendship is not genuine when her so-called friends discover a poster in which she has made fun of them, calling them "povo skanks". Her manipulative character is reinforced when she manages to convince her new friends that the poster was meant as a joke and that they need to "get a sense of humour."
Ja'mie exhibits a racist attitude toward Asian people, as well as general snobbishness. She makes several attempts to alienate Bec from their group of friends, as she is of Singapore descent. She also harasses Holly about having large breasts, Jess for having skin problems, and Kaitlyn for being dumb and doing restricted maths.
During the show, Ja'mie falls in love with year 7 student Sebastian (Ja'mie is year 11), and decides to go out with him. However, the relationship only lasts a short amount of time as Ja'mie steals Sebastian's mobile phone and finds out a girl named Madeline has been texting
him, asking to sit with him in English class. Ja'mie dumps him and claims he made her "question [her] hotness."
Later on in the show, Ja'mie and her friends form a student representative council, and decide to organise a Year 11 formal
. Ja'mie plans to have it at a popular nightclub with an expensive DJ. However, at $450 a ticket, the student council faces cancelling the event because students can't afford tickets. Instead, Ja'mie arranges a day to raise money for AIDS in Africa, which is enough to cover Formal expenses. The Head of Senior School learns that the reason for this fundraiser is not to raise funds as intended, but to fund the expensive Formal. As a compromise, Ja'mie is offered to hold the Formal in the school's staff room, with no DJ and cheap, hand-made decorations.
She invites Tamsin (a lesbian student) to the formal, as she wants to make a big impression, but when Tamsin finds out that Ja'mie is not lesbian, she ditches her by SMS
, forcing Ja'mie to instead take Sebastian, with whom she gets back together, and stays with this time, despite still checking the messages on his phone.
The Ja'mie segment ends with her leaving the school after her term at Summer Heights High in the car with her mum and friend Brianna. At the very end, she stands up through the car's sun-roof and shouts, "Public schools rock!"
places him in constant conflict with other members of staff, and the school principal in particular. His self-centred attitude extends to frequently losing his temper with the students, and he is hostile to the disabled students being involved in his musical as he is under the belief that they will damage its quality. It is clear that he is unaware that his own perception of his teaching abilities is not shared by most students. He has written several musicals for the school, including You Can't Skate, Mate, based on the Avril Lavigne
hit single "Sk8er Boi", and Tsunamarama, based on the events of the 2004 Tsunami disaster
, set to the music of Bananarama
. Also IKEA
, the musical. Mr G has previously been featured on the Seven Network
sketch series Big Bite
.
Jonah also has difficulties learning, and attends "Gumnut Cottage", a remedial English class for students at Summer Heights High who have reading difficulties. His teacher there is Ms Jan Palmer, who seems to understand Jonah better than her fellow teachers and begins to form a connection with him, even though Jonah also acts out in her class. After being accused of threatening Miss Wheatley, Jonah is expelled from the school; before he goes, he returns to the Gumnut Cottage to read his story, and promises that he will really try to become a better reader.
In the closing scene his graffiti tag
*dick*tation appears at numerous locations around the school, and this is seen as his final revenge. His friends are Leon, Thomas, Ofa (Kiran Singh) and Joseph and have all formed a Polynesian breakdancing group named Poly Force. His most hated peer appears to be Keiran, a breakdancing rival in year 7. Jonah is in constant fights with him and often bullies him. He was banned from the amphitheatre where his group hangs out and was forced to stay at least 10 metres away from all year 7 students because Miss Wheatley caught him throwing Keiran's shoe on the roof and fighting with him.
On the final day of term Jonah returns to Summer Heights High to read his story he made to Gumnut Cottage, where he claims that all teachers at Summer Heights High are gay, except for Ms Palmer whom he says is awesome. He then promises that he will read books every day in Tonga. Also, on the final day of term, Jonah walks up and shakes Doug Peterson's hand; he then calls him a good bloke. When Jonah sees Keiran on the final day, his friends want to bully him but Jonah refuses, saying "Why do you want to do that?". This suggests Jonah has reached a level of maturity and acceptance; however, this impression of Jonah is then mitigated when we are shown the graffiti around the school and he starts "breakdancing" in front of cars.
, the latter also containing audio extracts from songs in the series including Mr G's "Bummer Heights High", "Naughty Girl", "She's a Slut" and Jonah's "Being a Poly". Part 2 of the soundtrack of the Summer Heights High album contained songs such as "My Name is Mr G", "This Time You're Dead" and the Summer Heights High theme. Most of the songs from Part 2 are from the final musical.
"Naughty Girl" was released as a single on 8 March 2008 with remixes by Paul Mac
, John Paul Talbot and Stylaz Fuego, peaking at number 7 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
. There was also a new music video clip to go with the song.
The premiere episode of Summer Heights High did well in the ratings as a strong lead-in from the return of The Chaser's War on Everything
. It peaked at 1.6 million viewers (5 capital cities) with an average of 1.22 million. Along with Spicks and Specks, Summer Heights High helped ABC TV
to achieve its strongest midweek ratings for 2007. The second episode rated stronger than the premiere with an average of 1.375 million viewers tuning in.
The third episode managed to rate very well with 1.275 million viewers while the fourth episode fared well with 1.235 against the season premiere of Prison Break
. The fifth episode only managed 1.156 million viewers, the lowest ratings for an episode of the show, although the program remained the highest-rating show in its timeslot. The sixth episode picked up slightly in viewers from the previous week with 1.192 million tuning in. The seventh episode grew in ratings as the penultimate episode, picking up to average 1.307 million viewers for the night. The eighth and final episode achieved the highest ratings for Summer Heights High with a total of 1.512 million viewers watching the concluding episode to the series.
.
The Herald Sun
reported that parents and some teachers have considered the possibility that the show is influencing children to misbehave at school. Students were reportedly imitating Jonah and Ja'mie, repeating lines that were bullying, racist and homophobic. Education Union branch president Mary Bluett stated in response that the show was "clearly tongue-in-cheek
".
After episode three, in which a character called Annabel dies after taking ecstasy, the family of Annabel Catt, a girl who died taking drugs at the 2007 Good Vibrations Festival
in Sydney, complained that the program had been lampooning Annabel's death. The ABC apologised to the family, stating that the situation was purely coincidental and assured them that the filming of the episode in question had been completed eleven days before her daughter's death. The ABC thereafter began to display a message before each episode stating that there is no link between the series' characters and people in real life.
The writer for the 2000 Network Ten
series Sit Down Shut Up claimed that Lilley had borrowed ideas for characters and plots from the series including the school name and aspects of the Mr G character.
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
-winning Australian television mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
series written by and starring Chris Lilley
Chris Lilley (comedian)
-External links:****...
. It is a parody of high-school life epitomised by its three protagonists: effeminate and megalomaniacal "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G
Mr G
Helen "Greg" Gregson, best known as Mr G, is one of the three fictional characters portrayed by Chris Lilley in the mockumentary series, Summer Heights High.-Biography:Mr G is a thirty-six year old drama teacher at Summer Heights High...
; self-absorbed, privileged teenager Ja'mie King
Ja'mie King
Ja'mie Louise King is a fictitious character from Australian comedy series We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year and Summer Heights High portrayed by actor Chris Lilley...
; and disobedient, vulgar Tongan student Jonah Takalua
Jonah Takalua
Jonah Takalua is one of three main fictional characters on the Australian mockumentary series Summer Heights High played by Chris Lilley. Jonah is the only one of the three main characters in Summer Heights High to debut in the mockumentary, with Ja'mie and Mr. G appearing in Chris Lilley's...
. All played by Lilley, the characters never interact. It lampoons Australian high school life and many aspects of the human condition and is filmed in a documentary style, with non-actors playing supporting characters.
Following a similar format to Lilley's previous series, We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year
We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year
We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year is an Australian mockumentary TV series created, written and starring Chris Lilley and directed by Matthew Saville.It follows the story of five unique Australians, who have each made a large achievement...
, Lilley plays multiple characters in the show. Filmed in Melbourne at Brighton Secondary College
Brighton Secondary College
Brighton Secondary College is a Year 7 to 12 co-educational. In 2010 it is estimated that 1200+ students will be enrolled at the college. Established in 1955, the College is set in spacious grounds in the City of Bayside, situated in Brighton East, Victoria, Australia...
, the series premiered on 5 September 2007 at 9:30 pm on ABC TV
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
and continued for eight weekly episodes. Each episode was also released as a weekly podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
directly after its screening via both the official website and through any RSS podcast client in either WMV or MPEG4.
Summer Heights High was a massive ratings success for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, and was met with mostly positive critical reaction. The series debuted on 5 September 2007 and the eight-part series ended on 24 October 2007. On 26 March 2008, it was announced that the show had been sold for international distribution to BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
in the United Kingdom, HBO in the United States, and Comedy Network in Canada.
Format
According to the prologue, a production and filming team travelled to a typical Australian public high school and followed the events and daily lives surrounding the students and staff for one termAcademic term
An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
. The team would film a documentary from the opinions of the students and staff, especially the three main characters: Ja'mie King
Ja'mie King
Ja'mie Louise King is a fictitious character from Australian comedy series We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year and Summer Heights High portrayed by actor Chris Lilley...
, a mean girl
Mean Girls
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy-drama film directed by Mark Waters. The screenplay was written by Tina Fey and is based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, which describes how female high school social cliques operate and the effect they can have...
-type prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
exchanged from a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
; Mr G
Mr G
Helen "Greg" Gregson, best known as Mr G, is one of the three fictional characters portrayed by Chris Lilley in the mockumentary series, Summer Heights High.-Biography:Mr G is a thirty-six year old drama teacher at Summer Heights High...
, a self-absorbed drama teacher; and Jonah Takalua
Jonah Takalua
Jonah Takalua is one of three main fictional characters on the Australian mockumentary series Summer Heights High played by Chris Lilley. Jonah is the only one of the three main characters in Summer Heights High to debut in the mockumentary, with Ja'mie and Mr. G appearing in Chris Lilley's...
, a stereotypical Tongan delinquent, all played by the series' writer, Chris Lilley
Chris Lilley (comedian)
-External links:****...
.
The series is filmed in a documentary style, with the supporting cast drawn from the real-life students and staff of the school where the series was filmed. The program explored the facets of a typical Australian public high school such as social cliques, bullying, teenage slang, stereotyping
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
, profanity, racism, and homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
by showcasing three different individuals: the bully; the exchange student (originally from a private school); and the teacher. The three main characters' story lines never intersect. The school principal, Margaret Murray, appears in all of their stories, but she is most seen in Mr G's stories.
Characters
There are three primary characters featured in Summer Heights High, all portrayed by Chris LilleyChris Lilley (comedian)
-External links:****...
.
Ja'mie King
Ja'mie KingJa'mie King
Ja'mie Louise King is a fictitious character from Australian comedy series We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year and Summer Heights High portrayed by actor Chris Lilley...
, a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
exchange student, immediately makes friends with the most popular girls at Summer Heights High. It becomes obvious, however, that her friendship is not genuine when her so-called friends discover a poster in which she has made fun of them, calling them "povo skanks". Her manipulative character is reinforced when she manages to convince her new friends that the poster was meant as a joke and that they need to "get a sense of humour."
Ja'mie exhibits a racist attitude toward Asian people, as well as general snobbishness. She makes several attempts to alienate Bec from their group of friends, as she is of Singapore descent. She also harasses Holly about having large breasts, Jess for having skin problems, and Kaitlyn for being dumb and doing restricted maths.
During the show, Ja'mie falls in love with year 7 student Sebastian (Ja'mie is year 11), and decides to go out with him. However, the relationship only lasts a short amount of time as Ja'mie steals Sebastian's mobile phone and finds out a girl named Madeline has been texting
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
him, asking to sit with him in English class. Ja'mie dumps him and claims he made her "question [her] hotness."
Later on in the show, Ja'mie and her friends form a student representative council, and decide to organise a Year 11 formal
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
. Ja'mie plans to have it at a popular nightclub with an expensive DJ. However, at $450 a ticket, the student council faces cancelling the event because students can't afford tickets. Instead, Ja'mie arranges a day to raise money for AIDS in Africa, which is enough to cover Formal expenses. The Head of Senior School learns that the reason for this fundraiser is not to raise funds as intended, but to fund the expensive Formal. As a compromise, Ja'mie is offered to hold the Formal in the school's staff room, with no DJ and cheap, hand-made decorations.
She invites Tamsin (a lesbian student) to the formal, as she wants to make a big impression, but when Tamsin finds out that Ja'mie is not lesbian, she ditches her by SMS
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
, forcing Ja'mie to instead take Sebastian, with whom she gets back together, and stays with this time, despite still checking the messages on his phone.
The Ja'mie segment ends with her leaving the school after her term at Summer Heights High in the car with her mum and friend Brianna. At the very end, she stands up through the car's sun-roof and shouts, "Public schools rock!"
Mr G
Hellen 'Greg' Gregson, aka Mr G, is a 37-year-old drama teacher at the school. Mr G not only believes that he is an incredibly talented and well-liked teacher, but also that his students share his intense passion for drama and performance. His narcissismNarcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
places him in constant conflict with other members of staff, and the school principal in particular. His self-centred attitude extends to frequently losing his temper with the students, and he is hostile to the disabled students being involved in his musical as he is under the belief that they will damage its quality. It is clear that he is unaware that his own perception of his teaching abilities is not shared by most students. He has written several musicals for the school, including You Can't Skate, Mate, based on the Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
hit single "Sk8er Boi", and Tsunamarama, based on the events of the 2004 Tsunami disaster
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, set to the music of Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
. Also IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
, the musical. Mr G has previously been featured on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
sketch series Big Bite
Big Bite
Big Bite was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Seven Network from 8 May, 2003 to 4 March, 2004 in a prime time timeslot on Thursdays...
.
Jonah Takalua
Jonah Takalua is a 13-year-old school boy of Tongan descent in year 8 at Summer Heights High, which is his third school after being expelled from two others for setting fire to a student's locker and drawing a penis on the principal's car. He causes trouble at the school by treating his teachers with a lack of respect, and bullying younger students. His most hated teacher appears to be Miss Wheatley, his English teacher. There is constant conflict between the two characters and as a result he is at serious risk of being expelled. Jonah also frequently insults teachers particularly Miss Wheatley and Mr Peterson with his famous quote 'Puck you, miss/ sir'.Jonah also has difficulties learning, and attends "Gumnut Cottage", a remedial English class for students at Summer Heights High who have reading difficulties. His teacher there is Ms Jan Palmer, who seems to understand Jonah better than her fellow teachers and begins to form a connection with him, even though Jonah also acts out in her class. After being accused of threatening Miss Wheatley, Jonah is expelled from the school; before he goes, he returns to the Gumnut Cottage to read his story, and promises that he will really try to become a better reader.
In the closing scene his graffiti tag
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
*dick*tation appears at numerous locations around the school, and this is seen as his final revenge. His friends are Leon, Thomas, Ofa (Kiran Singh) and Joseph and have all formed a Polynesian breakdancing group named Poly Force. His most hated peer appears to be Keiran, a breakdancing rival in year 7. Jonah is in constant fights with him and often bullies him. He was banned from the amphitheatre where his group hangs out and was forced to stay at least 10 metres away from all year 7 students because Miss Wheatley caught him throwing Keiran's shoe on the roof and fighting with him.
On the final day of term Jonah returns to Summer Heights High to read his story he made to Gumnut Cottage, where he claims that all teachers at Summer Heights High are gay, except for Ms Palmer whom he says is awesome. He then promises that he will read books every day in Tonga. Also, on the final day of term, Jonah walks up and shakes Doug Peterson's hand; he then calls him a good bloke. When Jonah sees Keiran on the final day, his friends want to bully him but Jonah refuses, saying "Why do you want to do that?". This suggests Jonah has reached a level of maturity and acceptance; however, this impression of Jonah is then mitigated when we are shown the graffiti around the school and he starts "breakdancing" in front of cars.
Other characters
- Celine (Mr G's Dog) that has an "oversized brain" and is said to be quite talented. She is able to do simple maths by stomping her feet, jump through hoops at questionable heights, and has modeled for commercials. She comes to school with Mr G and stays in his office. Unfortunately, she gets hit by a car and is reported to have died, or so it was thought until Mr G reveals in the finale that Celine was actually rushed to the hospital and survived, albeit now using a wheelchair.
- Margaret Murray (Elida Brereton) – The principal of Summer Heights High. She is often referenced in all three stories but plays the biggest part in Mr G's story. She is not fond of Mr G's irrationality which almost caused Mr G to resign though she was able to stop him when she told him that she would continue the production of the musical whether he was there or not. Elida Brereton used to be an actual high school principal for Camberwell High SchoolCamberwell High SchoolCamberwell High School is a government-funded, co-educational high for years 7 to 12 located on Prospect Hill Road in Canterbury, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, until the end of 2009.
- Rodney Parsons (Stan Roach) – A science teacher at the school who is also a close friend to Mr G and shares an office with him. It is evident that Rodney cares deeply for Mr G, however the sentiments are not generally reciprocated. Rodney is also a piano player and provides musical accompaniment for the school musicals.
- Doug Peterson (David Lennie) – The student welfare officer who is determined to help Jonah and to keep him from getting expelled. Mr Peterson also runs the "Polynesian Pathways" course. Jonah sometimes refers to him as "Paedophile Pete".
- The Year 11 Girls – Despite Ja'mie's harassment, Holly, Bec, Jess, and Kaitlyn almost instantly become her friends. Together, they form a student representative council. Also in the council is less popular girl, Ashley, who volunteered to show Ja'mie around the school. Although Ashley seems to have the qualities of a nice girl, Ja'mie doesn't like her, calling her 'fugly' on numerous occasions.
- Leon Pulami (Asolima Tauti) – Jonah's best friend and partner in crime.
- Candice Coxmurray (Kelly Dingledei) – Candice is the star of Mr G the Musical, as Annabel/Jessica
- Keiran (Ashley McLerie) – Jonah's breakdancing nemesis, a year 7 student who is actually a very talented breakdancer.
- Annabel Dickson (Coby Ramsden) – She dies because of an ecstasy overdose and Mr G is making a musical about it (while she is only portrayed in the series in a photograph, she is featured in a deleted scene).
- Ofa (Ofa Prescott) – The only girl in Jonah's friendship group and her sex is often confused due to being referred to as one of the islander boys. We do not find out that she is a girl until Episode 3 before the Middle School Dance. Jonah points out her gender when they discovered what he claimed to be semen stains on 'his' pants.
- Toby (Danny AlsabbaghDanny AlsabbaghDanny Alsabbagh is an Australian actor who played Toby Alsabbagh in the 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV series Summer Heights High. He later appeared in the music video "Naughty Girl"....
) A boy in Year 10. He has Down's Syndrome and is Mr G's assistant during the play. He later becomes Mr G in the musical, though Mr G voices over him.
- Rocky Takalua (Tovia Matiasi) Jonah Takalua's no-nonsense father who constantly threatens to send Jonah back to Tonga if he misbehaves. Rocky was accused of sexually abusing Jonah by Mr Peterson and Mrs Palmer. Jonah confesses he made up the story to get out of an English assignment.
Characters crossing paths
Mrs. Murray, the principal, is the only character mentioned or acknowledged in all three of the main characters' lives. The main characters do not interact with each other. Doug Peterson - student welfare - is mentioned in Ja'mie's story line when she tells Mr. Cameron, the upper school head, that she's been cutting her wrists because he wouldn't let them have a formal. Miss Wheatley is acted out in Mr G's musical, but her name is not mentioned.Soundtrack
A soundtrack was released through ABC Shops and the Australian iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, the latter also containing audio extracts from songs in the series including Mr G's "Bummer Heights High", "Naughty Girl", "She's a Slut" and Jonah's "Being a Poly". Part 2 of the soundtrack of the Summer Heights High album contained songs such as "My Name is Mr G", "This Time You're Dead" and the Summer Heights High theme. Most of the songs from Part 2 are from the final musical.
"Naughty Girl" was released as a single on 8 March 2008 with remixes by Paul Mac
Paul Mac
Paul Mac is a musician, producer and music remixer from Sydney, Australia. He was classically trained at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music. Paul Mac formed the bands Smash Mac Mac, Itch-e And Scratch-e, The Lab, and The Dissociatives, as well as releasing two records under his own name...
, John Paul Talbot and Stylaz Fuego, peaking at number 7 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. There was also a new music video clip to go with the song.
Ratings
The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
. It peaked at 1.6 million viewers (5 capital cities) with an average of 1.22 million. Along with Spicks and Specks, Summer Heights High helped ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
to achieve its strongest midweek ratings for 2007. The second episode rated stronger than the premiere with an average of 1.375 million viewers tuning in.
The third episode managed to rate very well with 1.275 million viewers while the fourth episode fared well with 1.235 against the season premiere of Prison Break
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
. The fifth episode only managed 1.156 million viewers, the lowest ratings for an episode of the show, although the program remained the highest-rating show in its timeslot. The sixth episode picked up slightly in viewers from the previous week with 1.192 million tuning in. The seventh episode grew in ratings as the penultimate episode, picking up to average 1.307 million viewers for the night. The eighth and final episode achieved the highest ratings for Summer Heights High with a total of 1.512 million viewers watching the concluding episode to the series.
International syndication
| Country | Broadcasters | Time Slot | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia AustraliaAustralia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
ABC1 ABC1 ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on... , ABC2 ABC2 ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia... , The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:... |
Premiered 5 September 2007. Currently showing on The Comedy Channel on Foxtel Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation.... . |
|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
BBC Three BBC Three BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent... |
Premiered 10 June 2008. | |
 United States United StatesUnited States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
HBO | Premiered 9 November 2008. | |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
TV1 TV1 TV1 may refer to:* TV1 , Australian cable and satellite television channel* TV One , New Zealand television network* TV1 , defunct Estonian television channel* TV1 , Lithuanian television channel... , Comedy Central Comedy Central New Zealand Comedy Central is a 24 hour comedy television channel owned by Viacom, broadcasting to New Zealand. The channel launched on 1 April 2009... |
Premiered 30 August 2008. Currently showing on Comedy Central on Sky SKY Network Television Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers... |
|
 Togo TogoTogo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately... |
TV H6 | Tuesdays, 22:30 | Premiered 12 September 2008. |
 Kenya KenyaKenya Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east... |
TV H6 | Tuesdays, 21:30 | Premiered 12 September 2008. |
 Israel IsraelIsrael The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... |
Yes Stars Comedy Yes Stars Comedy Yes Comedy is an Israeli television channel carried by the Israeli satellite television provider - yes, which broadcasts American and British TV shows of the sitcom, dramedy and comedy genres... |
Premiered 14 December 2008. | |
 Republic of Ireland IrelandIreland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
RTÉ Two RTÉ Two RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of... |
Wednesdays 2:05 am | Premiered September 2009, started repeat on 25 May 2010. |
 Denmark DenmarkDenmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
TV 2 Zulu TV 2 Zulu TV 2 Zulu is a Danish television station which started broadcasting on 15 October 2000. It is primarily aimed at viewers between 15 and 30 years of age.... |
Premiered 26 January 2010. Currently showing. | |
 Canada CanadaCanada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
HBO Canada HBO Canada HBO Canada is a Canadian television channel, which airs programming sourced from the HBO subscription service in the United States. HBO Canada is not available as a standalone channel, but as one channel within the TMN and Movie Central multiplexes.... , Comedy Network |
Premiered on The Comedy Network on 16 May 2010. Currently showing on both channels. | |
 Hungary HungaryHungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
HBO Hungary | Sundays, 22:00 | Premiered 18 April 2010. Currently showing on HBO Comedy |
 Independent State of Croatia CroatiaCroatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
HBO Croatia HBO Central Europe HBO Central Europe is a premium pay television service operating in eleven countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The headquarters are located in... |
Sundays, 22:00 | Premiered 18 April 2010. Currently showing on HBO Comedy |
Controversy
Even before Summer Heights High aired, some community groups complained about a "rape joke" and Mr G's inappropriate "touching" of a boy with Down syndromeDown syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
.
The Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
reported that parents and some teachers have considered the possibility that the show is influencing children to misbehave at school. Students were reportedly imitating Jonah and Ja'mie, repeating lines that were bullying, racist and homophobic. Education Union branch president Mary Bluett stated in response that the show was "clearly tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
".
After episode three, in which a character called Annabel dies after taking ecstasy, the family of Annabel Catt, a girl who died taking drugs at the 2007 Good Vibrations Festival
Good Vibrations Festival
Good Vibrations Festival commenced in 2004 and is an annual Australian music festival held in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Perth. The festival takes place during February.-2011:-2010:-2009:Master of Ceremonies – Supernatural-2008:-2007:...
in Sydney, complained that the program had been lampooning Annabel's death. The ABC apologised to the family, stating that the situation was purely coincidental and assured them that the filming of the episode in question had been completed eleven days before her daughter's death. The ABC thereafter began to display a message before each episode stating that there is no link between the series' characters and people in real life.
The writer for the 2000 Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
series Sit Down Shut Up claimed that Lilley had borrowed ideas for characters and plots from the series including the school name and aspects of the Mr G character.
DVD release
| Summer Heights High | ||
 |
Set details |
Special features |
|
|
|
| Release dates | ||
|
|
||
| Summer Heights High Special Edition | ||
 |
Set details |
Special features |
|
|
|
| Release dates | ||
|
|
||