Played by comedian Glenn Robbins, Russell Coight is an outback man who is the star of the show All Aussie Adventures. All Aussie Adventures is a mockumentary television show that focuses on the adventures of travel.

Who is Russell Coight?

Russell Coight (a show character) is a wildlife expert whose travels across Australia are somewhat disastrous (and hilarious). Russell spun yarns and spread half-truths leading to many accidents as part of the show.

He identifies as a man of the outback and prefers the outback lifestyle to urban living. When he finds tourists stuck in the outback, he calls them ‘city slickers’ before attempting to unsuccessfully assist them. He shuns these city slickers for their perceived affluence and compares them to his own lifestyle in the outback.

Russell’s favourite camping spot in Australia is Kakadu and plans to do this again once his ban is lifted by the Department of Wildlife. He spends his holidays as far from civilisation as he can.

Since Russell grew up in the Australian outback, he always considered himself a man of the land. He has done everything as an all-round outback character. Even though there is a sense of ruggedness to him, he also has an emotional side and likes to express this through his poetry.

While there isn’t much known about Russell, he shares about growing up in Western Australia where his mother and father owned a farm and they used to move a lot.

While Russell never married and considered himself a bachelor, he admits to a few relationships along the way. He even has an ex-wife who he refers to as ‘no longer with us’ but clarifies that she’s still alive.

Apart from the main outback theme of the show, the actor has appeared as his character Russell Coight several times on talk shows.

Russell Coight’s all Aussie adventures

All Aussie Adventures was part of Network Ten from August 2001 until September 2002. In 2004, there was a telemovie called Russell Coight’s Celebrity Challenge where fictional celebrities joined him in Australia’s famous outback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwfdYnSj5Vg

The show was produced by Working Dog Productions. After first hitting the screens in 2001 and following two seasons and a telemovie, the show wrapped before an announcement of its revival was made in 2018 after 16 years.

The first season had 6 episodes, the second season had 7 episodes and the third season also had 7 episodes that aired last in September 2018. Every episode runs for 22 minutes.

Here are some things to know about the series:

• All Aussie Adventures was presented as if the character Russell Coight was an actual person.
• Glenn Robbins, the actor behind the character, was not given credit in the opening scenes – there is a small mention of him at the end where he is thanked for providing directorial assistance to the show.
• Russell Coight was prone to accidents so if something could go wrong, it would.
• He us an outgoing man who is comfortable with the camera and revealing private aspects of his life.
• The audience continues to discover different aspects of the character over the course of the series.
• Russell has a sister named Meredith who has never been seen on the show. She is credited for being a crocodile tamer, stunt coordinator and much more.
• Most of the episodes follow a similar format where Russell greets viewers and explains his latest outback travel adventure, which is often to help someone out. Every introduction ends with the same tagline.

The first series was extremely successful with several viewers tuning in to watch every episode.

Revival of all Aussie adventures on Channel Ten

After over 16 years in the Australian outback and away on other adventures, Russell Coight returned to the country’s screens in 2018 for a 7 episode season that played from August to September 2018.

While the show was away for 16 years, Russell covers this by explaining that he was busy with other projects like his wildlife park in Darwin. He also explains that his other TV ideas like Boot-Scootin and Outback Ninja are successful, but he wanted to reboot the classic show – All Aussie Adventures.

According to Russell, he was needed by Australian television, since no one seems to be doing everything in the Aussie outback like him.

The new series has a focus on camp cooking where Russell will be cooking some interesting dishes in the camp oven, along with providing some tips for camping like remembering to carry water or taking an umbrella during wet season.

The new All Aussie Adventures season is already surrounded by controversy with rumours of him driving over a wombat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7h2SkMr8_E

The show is being directed by Tom Gleisner, who is also one of the writers along with Santo Cilauro and Rob Sitch. The show is being produced by Debra Herman, and Susannah Mott with Michael Hirsh, Rob Stitch, Tom Gleisner and Santo Cilauro serving as the executive producers. Santo Cilauro, Roberta Horslie and Phil Simon are the editors.

Common gags throughout the show

The show follows a series of common gags that can be seen throughout. Here they are:

• Most of the humour in the show is around sight gags. For example, out of control campfires, collapsing tents, rolling away cars and falling down situations.
• Russell suffers from gassiness, especially in the quietest surroundings. For instance, when he is a quiet pool, bubbles rise to the top or when bending over, he ends up passing wind.
• Russell likes to save wildlife and preserve historical sites in the country. But does to his clumsiness, he usually ends up destroying the situation – whether it is related to animals or locations.
• Russell also attempts to joke with his friends during the show but most of them fall flat.
• He attempts to showcase himself as a person with mates around the country, but most of them try to avoid him or hardly know him. Despite this, he portrays a sense of obliviousness to this embarrassment.
• He also claims to be a great bird caller with knowledge of plenty of birdcalls. But most of them sound identical and his gassiness often interrupts his efforts.
• Footage of sceneries is regularly reused in different episodes of the services and often in a humorous manner. For instance, footage of Victoria will be shown when he is visiting the Northern Territory.
• He often seeks advice from guests who seem just as clueless as him. For instance, he talks to an indigenous local about how the outback is full of bananas, which was completely out of season at that particular time.
• Most of the credits always have this line ‘ don’t try this at home’ to deter viewers from trying to follow in Russell’s footsteps. It seems even the producers find him precariously incompetent.
• Russell causes property damage, while injuring himself and others along the way. He also ends up getting a lot of animals killed during his shows.
• Russell has many fails such as trying to open a car door and pulling the whole door off. He also ends up whacking himself multiple times in the groin area, causing many injuries to himself.
• A running gag on the show is when he shakes someone’s hand but the close-up hand shot of the shake is usually always two different hands shaking and not the two in the frame.
• He constantly makes mistakes with his guests. For example, he responded once to a fan letter and invited the fan, Aidan, to join him that week. Though he expected a teenager, the guest turned out to be Aidan Fennessy, famous writer and director who was definitely not a teenager.
• Another running gag throughout the show is how the credits say that no animal was intentionally hurt while filming but he does end up killing something. The DVD usually covered statements like no more than six animals were killed or injured while shooting this show.
• Once an episode, he stops to help people stranded in their cars, but often ends up making the situation far worse than before.
• Russell is an unreliable narrator for his own stories and of Australia’s history often providing the wrong information to viewers.

What does Russell Coight wear on the show?

Russell has a standard getup on most episodes of the show. His outfit features a classic outback look. Some things that Russell wears usually are:

• The Coight Master Hat
• The Coight Master 100% leather belt
• The Coight Master Shirt and Trousers

Some of his other outfits include:

• Printed t-shirts
• Caps

Russell Coight is a popular television character because of his interesting escapades and ability to fall into trouble at all times.