TV

A Fond Look Back At ‘What The…?’, The Wonderfully Weird ‘Rove’ Segment Dedicated To Dumb Shit

'What The...?' was the purest source of joy, and I need it back right NOW.

by Michelle Rennex  8 February 2021
What The? Rove

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When Rove Live premiered in 2000, it really was the first time Australia had a legit late-night talkshow.

Rove McManus somehow actually regularly had A-list celebrities on his couch, and even had some of the world’s best artists performing on his tiny stage. I’m serious. Do y’all remember when Rove had THE Destiny’s Child singing ‘Nasty Girl’ for him in 2002?? THE Beyoncé in the flesh?!?

But really, the joy of Rove Live was just how Aussie the whole thing was. It was laid-back, swearing was allowed, and international guests seemed super comfortable during their interviews. Hell, Sam Worthington literally rocked up to Rove’s last show in a t-shirt and thongs, while holding a plastic bag full of raw sausages. Iconic.

Beyond bagging himself some great guests, Rove was quite interactive, full of originality and actually very entertaining. Really, who else had the power to get a bunch of random houses in Kirribilli to start flickering their lights live on air?

Plus, with comedy sprinkled throughout the live show, it was rarely ever boring — especially with the couch full of Aussie icons, who were regulars on the show.

I mean, how can anyone forget Hamish Blake and Andy Lee’s iconic segments where they did the dumbest shit for our entertainment like only eating free food for a week, or going to 42 back-to-back parties in one single weekend? But while Hamish and Andy were easily one of the best parts of Rove Live, it’s hard to look by Rove’s very own weird and wonderful segment, ‘What The…?’

In the early 2000s, What The…? was the peak of comedy. What The…? was the purest source of joy as it was essentially just a segment dedicated to Rove showing off all the weird, dumb shit sent to him by people watching at home.

But as a child, What The…? was genuinely the funniest thing I had ever encountered — and it makes sense why. With internet culture not being as big as it is today, where else were kids expected to find their laughs in the 2000s? Exactly. Through What The…? and What The…? alone.

Looking back at clips today, it admittedly was a wildly stupid segment, but sometimes we just needed a dumb laugh in life. I mean, sure. A slice of white bread that has a naturally formed smile in the centre of it isn’t that funny, but at the same time it kinda is?

Nor is a real estate typo claiming a house comes with a “built-in Rove” instead of a “built-in robe”, but seeing Rove’s act out the scenario was a hoot for seven-year-old me. Plus, the different ways Rove always managed to say “What The…?” was automatically hilarious for 2000s standards.

If you really think about it, What The…? was just the live TV version of those shitty sub-Reddits, where people just post the random “funny” pics they find. So technically, Rove Live was way ahead of the times.

Seriously, if the segment was still kicking about in 2015, I’m certain there would’ve been a good few BuzzFeed posts using Rove’s What The…? screenshots titled ’17 Of The Most Unfortunate Spelling Mistakes That Will Make You Laugh Instantly’.

Plus, because having your submission featured on What The…? was the collective life goal for a lot of us in 2005, I’m certain that Rove McManus wouldn’t be short of submissions if he brought the segment back. Hell, all it takes is one look at Aussie meme account Brown Cardigan’s Instagram feed to know that Australia is in dire need of What The…? to make a return. So please, Mr McManus. Give the people what they need!