Man O Man (Australian game show)
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television entertainment |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
| Products | Game show |
| Parent | Seven Network |
Man O Man was an Australian game show that aired on the Seven Network in 1994.
Presented by stage actor Rob Guest, the series was adapted from the original German format bearing the same title.
Concept
The show adopted a male beauty contest style, featuring ten male participants evaluated by an audience of 125 women who cast votes through handheld electronic devices following various challenges. Contestants eliminated from the competition were humorously removed by being pushed into a swimming pool by female models.
At the time, Guest was performing in The Phantom of the Opera in Sydney and took one evening off every two weeks to travel to Melbourne and film two episodes. While Guest served as host, John Deeks was responsible for energizing the audience during recordings and described the program as the "most bizarre" he had been involved with.
Introduction
Ahead of its debut, Seven Network organized a launch event attended by cast members from the new drama series Blue Heelers and actor Gary Sweet, who was starring in the miniseries The Battlers. During this occasion, a staged stunt saw network programming director Glen Kinging pushed into the pool.
Seven Network executive Bob Campbell insisted on covering a nude male statue on set with a fig leaf before broadcast. The inclusion of the swimming pool reportedly added $200,000 to production costs.
Audience response
Upon its initial broadcast, Man O Man secured strong ratings, winning its timeslot among commercial networks in Melbourne and Sydney. However, ABC's Keeping Up Appearances drew comparable viewership in Melbourne. Competition intensified with the return of Nine Network's Hey Hey It's Saturday. The show ignited discussions in the media about whether it constituted "reverse sexism," given its exclusively female studio audience and absence of male spectators. Host Rob Guest acknowledged the show's deliberately provocative nature, while Seven's Melbourne programming director Ian Duncan defended it as more appropriate than some competing programs.
The series quickly positioned itself as significant competition to the enduring Hey Hey It's Saturday. In 1994, Guest addressed criticism from rival host Daryl Somers, highlighting the difficulty of challenging a program with a 23-year run.
End of series
The final installment aired on 25 November 1994 as a Footballers Challenge special featuring athletes from Australian rules football, rugby league, and soccer, including risqué segments such as stripteases. Despite maintaining solid ratings, Seven chose to cancel the show to prioritize launching Gladiators in 1995.
Aftermath
Although its run lasted only one year, Man O Man continues to be frequently mentioned within Australian media circles. In 2023, TV Tonight humorously speculated about a reboot with Chris Brown as host. The program briefly resurfaced on 26 January 1997 during Seven’s Coca-Cola Interactive Summer Night promotion but has not been rebroadcast since.
Filming took place at Seven’s South Melbourne studios—also used for productions like Full Frontal and Jimeoin. After HSV-7 relocated to Docklands in 2002, Global Television (later NEP Australia) acquired the original studio complex. Seven retained a 50% ownership stake until 2014. The unique in-ground pool constructed for Man O Man remains beneath Studio A at the NEP facility and has been repurposed as a dance floor for Dancing with the Stars. It was also utilized by Network 10’s soap opera Neighbours during a 2005 plane crash storyline.
Rob Guest passed away in 2008. His obituary described Man O Man as potentially "the most puerile TV program before Big Brother," though Guest himself considered it an enjoyable experience.