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The smartest, funniest, most talked about show on Australian television returns to ABC1 this Wednesday night at 9pm for its third season after 17 months off air.
Catch up on season two, from all the way back in 2007 here.
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Its almost too exhausting to have to defend, but after the Chaser filmed a sketch involving Today Tonight host Anna Coren at Seven’s studios in Sydney.. “there was a bit of a Mexican stand-off with cameras for about an hour and all these Today Tonight executives went berserk and ran off to the Supreme Court” explained executive producer of the Chaser Julian Morrow.
Long story short Channel Seven have obtained an injunction to prevent the footage being aired on tonights episode of The Chaser’s War on Everything. Today Tonight led with this story tonight (first video) in a piece running for 16 minutes (topping an earlier Chaser story they did for 11 minutes). The story is basically one long interaction between Chas and TT reporter Bryan Seymour where he tries to be as offended as possible by the whole thing, while Chas waits to hear from the ABC’s lawyers and continues to point out the enormous irony of the whole situation.
Whatever comes out of this, the fact is that Today Tonight masquerades as a serious news program while doing nothing more then chipping away at our society and culture with the garbage its broadcasts five nights a week. Its understandable then that a show like Today Tonight, the complete antithesis of the Chaser would be so upset by the success of this amazing satire, that so publicly tears apart the role and significance of tabloid television on a weekly basis.
For more on my admiration of this show check out The Simpson’s War on Everything, or download entire episodes right here.
Update: Read the official response from The Chaser and ABC here.
Update 2: Read the interim injuction granted by the NSW Supreme Court here.
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Not surprisingly, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip reignited an interest in Saturday Night Live for me. Sure Studio 60 over romanticised the importance of late night comedy, and its place as a cultural institution, but I still wouldn’t change an episode.
Comedy and satire are important (as I went on about here), and although SNL isn’t perfect, its still pretty good. Locally however, while The Chaser may not have the long history that SNL does, it has been having the actual, tangible impact on Australian culture that Studio 60 claimed its show-within-a-show was having.
This week SNL was hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who pokes fun at himself in this ‘digital short’, the second video is from an earlier ‘digital short’ this season where Andy Samberg serenades Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Update: Last night was the 3rd highest rating show on the ABC since 1991.
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Tonight could very well be the biggest night The Chaser’s War has seen, as the story behind the prank that made international news last week during APEC is explained.
This video is a promo showing the coverage the prank received on CNN. Hear what Chas had to say about the criticism today on 2UE in the audio below;
Download tonights episode from official vodcast here, or download it off me here.
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If you haven’t heard already, The Chaser got themselves in a bit of trouble a few days ago, when they made there way through two security checkpoints and got within a block of where the US President was staying, all the while with Chas Licciardello dressed as Osama bin Laden.
You can read all about it here, but the point of this post is to show the coverage it got internationally, on BBC World, and on its journalistic polar opposite.. Fox News.
Update: Chris Taylor talks about the incident on Triple J (thanks Jaymo).
[mp3]http://beohm.com/radio/christaylor-chaserAPEC.mp3[/mp3]
Update: The Chaser have released some footage, watch it after the jump..
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The Chaser’s War on Everything returns tomorrow night to the ABC. With 13 episodes left in the season, and a Federal election due sometime during the filming, it should make for a very interesting end of season two. That is, unless Howard holds off calling the election just to avoid getting Chaser’d (although I doubt that would stop them).
Subscribe to the Chaser’s official vodcast here, or download them off me here.
Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues music video gets the Taylor/Hansen treatment in the above promo. Watch the original Dylan video after the jump…
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The Chaser was again lambasted on Today Tonight last Friday over a stunt they did about mobile billboards. It was the lead story on that nights edition, filed by reporter Bryan “funny in a sad way” Seymour, and stirred this moving response from Anna Coren.. “it really is a negative war on everything”.
And last night Chris and Andrew appeared on The Nation to talk about their new musical Dead Caesar among other things.
Update: Check out the Chaser’s lastest run in with Today Tonight here.
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This weeks lesson: Stories about The Chaser
Today Tonight had their say earlier this evening about their encounter with The Chaser. Now, of course, its The Chaser’s turn with the latest ‘What have we learnt from current affairs this week?’.
They take a look at the humour current affairs show use, Anna’s snide at those “who think their funny” and of course “double crossing” TT reporter James Thomas (who is apparently quite a good guy, just in the wrong job). With the inclusion of a lot more Peter Meakin references than made it into the Today Tonight piece.
If you missed tonights show, its repeated on ABC2 a few times, or you can just download it here.
Update: Check out the Chaser’s lastest run in with Today Tonight here.
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Update: Watch the Today Tonight story in full here.
Update 2: Watch the The Chaser story in full here.
First it was A Current Affair with their puff piece about The Chaser’s War on Everything. Now, it looks like Today Tonight are about to get nasty. The video is a teaser for tomorrow nights story exposing what Anna Coren calls The Chaser’s “fake street cred”.
Today Tonight asked The Chaser if they could shoot a story by coming along with them for a stunt. However, when everything didn’t go how the TT reporter James Thomas hoped for, it would appear they’ve decided to take this angle for the story.
I will post the story in full here after it airs tomorrow night, along with what The Chaser have to say about it on their show too.
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Jennifer Byrne talking porn with Richard E Grant and the gang from The First Tuesday Book Club. I’m all for the analysis of popular culture, and mainstream texts, I guess I just thought television would be ahead in line to pornography.
This is the kind of Chaser stuff I love, and while I doubt we’ll be seeing this show on the ABC anytime soon, I think any accessible critical discussion about media or culture, be it literature, television or porn, is a good thing.
Download the whole episode from the official vodcast or just get it off me.