Miriam Margolyes was much better as the Spanish Infanta. She should stick to her day job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T-LxE4Pr3Q

Used by the ABC to spice up Q&A, Miriam was a comedienne out of her depth and irrelevant. You couldn't find a worse gig for her. Inappropriate casting, sack the manager who thought it was a good iudea.

In the ABC environment her presentation inevitably comes across as one of those stereotypical, people-hating, ponderous, dinosaur lesbian feminists of the previous Millenium, with the U-Haul trailer behind full of baggage. They give the impression that they would always be digging holes under all who come into contact with them. It only takes one in a work group to make life miserable for everyone.

However, I like to think that given the right opportunity -absolutely NOT current affairs or political comment - where Miriam could be entertaining as in her acting roles

Like all media outlets, the ABC uses people. Anyone who believes the promise by a journalist that they will be treated fairly and sympathetically is very naive indeed. The show's compere Jones, leaves no doubt that he is the ring master and it is all amusement, a circus, for the bored couch-bound.

There is not a lot of work for entertainers in Australia. Honestly now, how many actors and stand-up comedians can a small population with centralised media outlets support? Unfortunately, many like Ms Margolyes they are reduced to accepting gigs (Q&A) that their agent would usually refuse out of hand.

otb,

You tritely typecast Margolyes - as would be expected from OLO's leading faux defender of feminine honour (although I note that if she'd been a teenage girl yelling racist insults at the footy, you'd have been out of the blocks defending her with gusto).

The thing is that many people who have played comedy roles "surprisingly" have a brain and can think and act in contexts outside the boundaries of their profession.

Other than that, your little commentary was entirely within your usual orbit.

Dear Shadow Minister,

“Dwarf”?

Really?

At 155cm she is tall enough to serve in the Australian Defense Forces;

“The minimum height requirement for entry into the ADF, without shoes, is 152cm. Pilot and Aircrew candidates are also required to meet specific anthropometric measurements.”

And she is only marginally shorter by an inch or two than your now defunct Liberal poster child, 'Mr' Campbell Newman.

What is interesting is that when one types in Miriam Margolyes into Google there in the sidebar of Chrome is her height.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=miriam+margolyes&oq=miriam+margolyes&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.13240j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

Do the same for another slightly diminutive politician John Howard and there is his height – 176cm.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=John+Howard&oq=John+Howard&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j69i65j0l3.1043j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

But try Campbell Newman and everything else is there except for his height.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=john+howard&oq=john+howard&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65j0l4.4743j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=campbell+newman

It appears he is very coy about the actual measurement, so coy in fact that it took some rather determined digging to prise it out. Just under 160cm it seems.

It is plain from your obvious fixation with Miriam's height (you have raised it 5 times in just 7 posts) and from Campbell's obvious reluctance to reveal his own dimensions that you Liberals have a real issue with short people. Why do you think that is? Does it not fit with the 'born to rule' mentality? Indeed there are real echoes of an 'Aryan race' type complex.

Here is the difference, to person with Miriam's confidence it doesn't matter a fig, but to some one like Campbell (and it appears Liberals like you) it is obviously an embarrassing issue.

You really are a superficial lot aren't you mate.

Poirot,

It was the wrong gig for Margolyes, wrong panel and wrong audience too, made worse by stuffed suit Jones acting the patronising ring master as he does.

Q&A is very tired, predictable and boring and it shows. The production managers were only thinking about spicing up a flagging show. It flubbed.

Dear SteeleRedux and Poirot,

I think it was Albert Einstein who said -

"The difference between stupidity and genius
is that genius has its limits."

With that thought in mind anyone who can persist
in trying to demean Miriam Margolyes can't be
very bright.

Imagine trying to imply that this veteran of stage
and screen, an award-winning actress who's achieved
success on both sides of the Atlantic is second-rate.
When she is in fact still going strong and her
background is totally impressive as are her credentials.

I shan't list them all here simply because I would run over
the word limit. The following website is worth
a read:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0546816/bio

You get the impression that the plum ABC jobs are sinecures for life. There is very little mobility for that $1,3 billion put into the ABC annually.

Margolyes and other talent who come to Australia for any length of time, should be picked up by lateral recruitment and encouraged to create new shows and set new directions for the ABC.

The ABC should not be a sheltered workshop for employees for the whole of their working lives and especially where they are being paid big money.