Aussie TV time warp.

So have a look at this 'comedy skit' -- one in which Harry Connick Jr was forced to witness as a celebrity judge -- and then digest comments made afterward by one of the black-faced 'performers':

Dr Anand Deva, who played Michael Jackson in the skit, said the act was meant to be a tribute to Michael Jackson.

"It certainly was not meant to be racist in any way at all," Dr Deva said.

"I think he (Connick Jr) is taking it the wrong way."

Dr Diva said the group had tried to find Connick Jr after the show to set him straight and apologise.

"I suspect things are probably a bit different in America in terms of what that (black face) means," he said.

"I understand the history of the black face but certainly it was not construed in that way at all."

Dr Deva said if Hey Hey producers had said the skit may be offensive, he and his friends wouldn't have done it.

What is it? Are people capable of being this tone-deaf, or just incapable of understanding the world around them?

The shit that passes for entertainment on Australia's commercial TV networks is shocking. I'll always remember Win Butler of Arcade Fire asking 'What the fuck is up with Australian television?' during their Big Day Out show last year. I wasn't alone -- it truly is a debased medium.

This racist crap took place on a 2nd 'reunion' episode of an Australian variety show that was big in the '70s & '80s called 'Hey Hey It's Saturday'. (Only in a nation of very low expectations could a show with Saturday in its name be broadcast on Wednesday, but I digress.) The reunion shows have drawn huge ratings. There's always something to be said for nostalgia -- but have a look at all the smiling, laughing faces during this minstrel skit. Is this what people are nostalgic for? If Connick Jr -- a man who's spent the bulk of his life performing with African-American musical geniuses -- wasn't on the show there wouldn't have been a peep in the Australian media about its offensiveness.

I've often referred to Aussie culture as being in a time warp, circa 1972. I'll have to scale that back a few decades. On Australian commercial TV, it's 1952 -- only with bigger screens & high definition.