The Jesters

Season 2

There is tension in the air as Dave and Steve are both nominated for the Gold Logie. With the end of the season drawing nigh, Michael is representing the team in contract and pay negotiations with the network, and he and Julia become involved in an increasingly vicious game of bargaining, threats and double bluff that continues through Logies night. Michael also fields other offers, including one to join Hamish or Andy as a sidekick. Michael enjoys using the offers as a bargaining chip - but is he using them or are they using him? Dave is surprised and hurt when Di announces her intention to retire and sets about trying to make her change her mind. Di wants her final deal for Dave to be a triumph. She plans to sell his hugely successful "Remembering" chat show to the highest bidder - whether Dave wants to or not. Kat is surprised when Steve makes a serious pitch to her for them to have a try at a proper relationship. Now Kat has to decide between her job, Steve and Dave. Meanwhile, the feature film Gum Tree has its international premiere on Logies Night and Dave has to decide whether or not read or believe the previews. It's right down to the wire as everyone goes for gold on Logies night.

A Jesters rip-off show - "Stunted" - featuring a new group of comics and celebrities has started on another network and the gang find themselves in the awkward position of being on the receiving end of pranks and stunts from their new rivals. Michael is appearing on Dancing with the Stars, something he agreed to do "for charity" but now finds that he is increasingly enjoying. As support for him grows he becomes more and more obsessed with winning. However, he is shocked to read some nasty comments about him on internet blogs and sets about to remedy this situation and "restore balance" by blogging under various fake names. But starting a blog and twitter war may not be the best idea from someone in the public eye. Meanwhile, Steve is attending rehearsals of his new play but finds he doesn't enjoy dealing with temperamental, difficult performers instead of being one.

Dave has invited the Jesters, Di, Kat & Julia to spend the weekend at his farm. The weekend doesn't start well, with Tony being hit by an errant golf ball. And Michael is thrown when he reads an internal network marketing research report which shows he is the least popular and least recognised of all the Jesters The evening's dinner, prepared by Di, turns into a boozy and dangerously frank affair. Kat and her new boyfriend make Steve see green. Michael has a

The Jesters have taken up a lucrative offer to do their own live stage version of The Jesters. The boys all find there's a whole new list of things to argue & fight about when you've only got one take in front of a huge, live, paying audience. Julia offers to broadcast one of the Jesters' stage shows as part of her desperate scramble to find content for the network's brand new digital channel "Yeah!". Zak receives another visit from Agent Smith, this time asking Zak to start a conspiracy that could help the US Government. And Michael is being sued for defamation for a sketch he performed about a politician. Meanwhile, Dave is delighted to be back playing Wally Nongan in the feature film Gum Tree, now being directed by Baz Luhrmann. But Dave is not so delighted when he finds the new draft of the script involves him in a rather explicit sex scene.

Nostalgia and possible huge ratings are in the air with "The Dave Davies Show Reunion". After 20 years, the original gang are getting together for a one-off live special featuring all Dave's beloved comedy characters from yester-year (except for his old Indian character, Rammadamma-big-dong.) Behind the scenes, it's just like old times, which is not a good thing with old wounds opening up between the old team. To make matters worse, Dave insists on reprising his camp flight attendant character, despite protests from a gay rights activist. Meanwhile, Zak is asked to be the cover boy for gay magazine "The Advocate", to the astonishment of Steve who thinks that if anyone is naturally attractive to gay men, it's him. Steve decides to do whatever it takes to become a gay pin-up and stop Zak from becoming a gay icon. And Michael's new serious girlfriend is causing her own set of troubles for The Jesters; quickly becoming nicknamed Yoko.

With Tony absent on a Monty Python musical tour, The Jesters bring in an old Uni friend to be the temporary fill-in Jester. When the 5th Jester turns out to be incredibly funny, charming and talented, Steve finds himself in the irritating new and threatening position of being everyone's second favourite Jester. And unbeknown to the Jesters, Dave has started submitting freelance material under a false name - but will Steve use it in the show? Meanwhile, Dave has scored a coup for his chat show "Remembering"; George Clooney has agreed to appear. However, Dave soon learns that it's not a lot of fun dealing with the advance people for a major star and the restrictions they place upon the interview - let alone having the star-struck Julia, Kat and Di all behaving like giggling schoolgirls as they try to meet Mr Clooney. Michael starts writing a newspaper opinion column which proves to be a lot harder than he thought - even with Zak's help. And Steve is not enjoying his first outside Jesters venture - hosting a comedy blooper clip show called Boob Tube.

The Fallout. The Jesters become national pariahs when they air a sketch called "Kids Make Anything Cute" which involves a seven-year-old child dressed as Hitler giving a very cute Nuremburg rally speech to a group of other children dressed as Nazis. The sketch becomes a national and then international lightening rod for moral outrage. Everyone's head is on the chopping block. Who authorised the sketch? How did it get that far? Should The Jesters be cancelled? These are all questions the talkback callers and even the Prime Minister are now asking and that Julia has to scramble to invent answers for. As this unfolds, Dave is asked to do a guest appearance on the TV documentary, Australian Story. Barry Otto is the subject and Dave is to be filmed having lunch with him, but Barry has another agenda. Meanwhile, Tony's cousin, a schoolgirl, spends the week doing work experience with The Jesters, asking questions that make them all slightly uncomfortable.

Di goes into damage control when an unauthorized biography of Dave includes a rumor of a bizarre sex act involving a gum boot. And Steve thinks his own fling with a famous actress is great publicity until her 'sex ratings' are leaked.