Puck and Other Four-Letter Words

Yesterday I fell in love with Jonah Takalua, the Tongan bad boy who attends Summer Heights High.   Jonah is one of three remarkable characters created and played by Australian Chris Lilley in this mock-documentary now on HBO.  The other two characters are equally notable: queen bee Ja’Mie and the grotesque drama director, Mr. G.  Lilley is spot on in his rendering of these three high school archetypes; he reminds me most of all of Tracey Ullman, but the series itself is in the tradition of the best mock documentarians, say those of Christopher Guest and Ricky Gervais.  I  haven’t seen much about this series here in the U. S., but it deserves more attention in my humble opinion.  And if you work in a middle or high school, spend time with middle and high school kids, write about them, for them, parent them, or otherwise are involved with them, this series may hit especially close to home.  I think it is brilliant.