REVIEW: Newstopia
October 14, 2007
News parodies have been around for many years. From the majestic efforts of Morris and Iannucci in the 90s with The Day Today in Britain, to the internationally iconic The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in America, there have been many shows which have thrown their hat into the proverbial ring of “taking the mickey out of news”. Now, a new Australian show has joined the flock.
Why do we care? Three main reasons: it’s new; unlike most news spoofs it comments on stories from all around the world, including Britain; and it’s hosted by one of most brilliant but underrated comedians in Australia. Did we mention that it’s very funny as well? No? Well, it’s also very funny.
Newstopia is a mixed bag of a show. Loosely based on half hour news bulletins, the show is advertised as “putting a satirical skew on the news and examining how Australia sees itself on the world stage”, and this certainly is true. However, while on one hand it informs and ridicules and openly mocks the whole world, on the other it’s seriously deadpan, with no audience or laughter track to guide you through the set-pieces which litter the show. Shaun Micallef (who some people might remember from Paramount Comedy’s The Micallef Programme a few years ago) hosts the show as lead anchor, and is our guide on this 30 minute rollercoaster of quips, puns and sketches, all the while looking at the stories in the news.
In a way, this show is the freaky crossbreed of the Daily Show and The Day Today. If the Daily Show was deadpan and made to look more believable as a news programme, or if the Day Today had covered actual news stories, this would be the result.
Newstopia is a show that, as time goes by, will develop and become stronger.
The few little problems in the first episode will hopefully be ironed out during the next few weeks, and with the show being filmed the day before transmission, its topical nature should allow it to be one of the sharpest shows on TV. Pity it’s only available in Australia really…
Newstopia is on every Wednesday night at 10pm on SBS in Australia until . You can visit the Newstopia website here, and read about what you are missing out on.
