In the grander scheme of things, when it comes to comedy, there's nothing like the old "Why can't you see him, he's standing right there!" trope.

From Jimmy Stewart and his giant rabbit pal Harvey through Ghost all the way to Ghost Town, it's the comedic gift that keeps on giving - even if it doesn't always give us all that much.

It's typically a cinematic thing, though, so when I sat down to watch Spirited, W's latest original series - which starts on the W channel tomorrow at 7:30pm, tagged with my now favourite Australian promotional phrase, "from the makers of Love My Way" - I was keen to see just how television would handle the "ghost friend" (or, in this case, ghost special friend) angle.

Here's the trailer:




In other words: lovelorn Suzy (Claudia Karvan) is visited by, er, a visitation in the form of dead punk rocker Henry (Matt King). Rodger Corser is onboard in typically bemused fashion as Suzy's recent ex-husband, Steve.

(I'm also very excited that Heartbreak High graduate Thasneem Roc plays the Darling kids' primary school teacher, Viola.)

Certainly in the context of Australian television dramedy, nabbing The Saints' Stranded as your theme-song sure beats Motorace's Death Defy.

But if there's one thing that's harder to get right than supernatural romantic comedy, it's punk.

Traditionally the realm of screaming caricature and eye-wateringly awful cliche, punk and new wave are tough nuts to crack.

Which is why, degenerate Sgt Pepper outfit notwithstanding (see below, WTF?), it's such a relief to have Matt King (Peep Show, Bronson) - a living, breathing, actual Brit! - as the ghostly lead singer of fictional punk band The Nerve.


"Don't you have any safety pins? Is there a Vivienne Westwood shop around here? I look like Andy Gibb!"

And, unlike the other recent arrival to our screens, Offspring, Spirited delivers its arguably wacky premise more or less deadpan. In one particularly nice scene, Henry wakes up at the foot of the bed of an elderly couple, who then go about their morning minutiae completely oblivious.

Karvan is terrific as the tightly wound Suzy, who struggles to decide if Henry is, in fact, a ghost, or if he's just been dreamed up by her subconscious as a stress reaction to her relationship breakdown.

But if the (OMG EXTREMELY CUTE) cat down the hallway can see Henry, why can't everybody else?

It's a format that will no doubt provide plenty of fodder in future episodes. My only worry is how they will deal with the no doubt inevitable deepening of feeling between Suzy and, well, a figment of her (or someone's) imagination.

Most supernatural comedies go down the drain faster than ectoplasmic residue once the screwball is put on hold for some sort of genuine romance (case in point: Ghost, the pottery wheel, and "Ditto"), so it will be interesting to see where Spirited takes it.

Until the ghost sex happens, I'm sticking with Spirited the way fungus stuck to Johnny Rotten's teeth.