MetaFilter posts tagged with Australia and satire

Not with a bang but with a televised political satire

sdodd — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:07:41 -0800

"We don't vote for them, we don't even know their names and we're not quite sure what they do. But they wield enormous influence. They are the power behind the power. They are The Hollowmen." You can watch the Australian Broadcasting Company's new political satire The Hollowmen [warning: sound] on the web. Or you can find it via Bittorrent. (Or if you live down under I suppose you could watch it on ABC 1 Wednesdays at 9pm or ABC 2 Thursdays at 8:30pm.) It's worth a look because it may be the funniest new satire on any English-language network. "I tell you, they become prime minister and they start thinking they can do what they want." The Hollowmen follows the Australian Prime Minister's fictional Central Policy Unit, charged with crafting the PM's public policy whilst battling the civil service and the press. Sound familiar? Episode two of the first series could be a "Yes, Minister" episode almost unchanged. But there's a lot less swearing than "The Thick of It." The Working Dog Productions show was picked up for a second 6-episode "series" (AKA "season") before the first episode even aired. Having settled into second place in its time slot, I suspect we'll be seeing more of it in the future. Thanks to this show I now know the national capital of Australia and the definition of "ANZAC."

The Little Aussie Bleeder

not_on_display — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:21:48 -0800

Garry McDonald, aka Norman Gunston, aka the "little aussie bleeder," may be well known out Australia way. For most Americans, however, Norman G remains far, far down under the radar. But he's the forefather of the UK's Ali G; he's Canadian Nard wu ar thee Human Servi ette's nerdier dad; he's America's Laz lo To th (US) with a combover and a microphone; he's Jiminy Glick's Jack Sprat. Perhaps you saw Norman long ago in a segment on USA Network's Night Flight variety show. [bonus: many many youtubes of Night Flight segments, courtesy of this awesome website.] But I bet you didn't know he released a KIckaSS single (among others), jammed with Frank Zappa, and was at the right place and time to upstage a piece of Australian History. Not bad for someone whom Keith Moon dumped his drink on and called a "great pooftah." Norman Gunston got his start on The Aunty Jack Show, whose theme song promised that if you didn't watch the show, the giant Aunty Jack, a transvestite boxing biker, would rip your bloody arms off. You Aussies out there who already know Garry McDonald can amuse yourselves with a quiz. _YOUTUBERY ZONE_ Norman Gunston Celebrity Interviews - Sally Struthers - Mick Jagger - Boy George - Muhammad Ali - Ray Charles - Tim Allen - Paul & Linda McCartney - Olivia Newton-John - Robin and Maurice Gibb - KISS ("Which one is the construction worker?") - A very confused Dionne Warwick (with Quincy Jones) at the Oscars - Cheech & Chong And Norman gets Lost in London. [Nardwuar thee Human Serviette previously on MetaFilter]

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road

arto — Tue, 26 Aug 2003 00:21:35 -0800

Hippie Atrocities and Beautiful Freaks -- Oz Magazine was, for a ten year run during the Sixties and Seventies, Australia's, and later England's, premier underground satire 'zine. Featuring contributions from (among others) Lenny Bruce and Germain Greere, and subject to two obscenity trials--one in Australia and another, more famous one following the editors' exile to England--it evolved, in its English incarnation, a wicked, witty and of course, thouroughly psychedelic design aesthetic. There are galleries of cover art here and here, and a Shockwave adaptation of the infamous School Kids issue here. [warning: some images NSFW.]

I'll rip yer bloody arms off...

chrisgregory — Thu, 30 Jan 2003 05:02:13 -0800

The greatest TV show you will probably never see: Aunty Jack, a ten-foot tall, boxing-glove wearing, motor-cycling, moustached cross-dresser, was the star of The Aunty Jack Show, which ran for thirteen episodes in 1972-73 on the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV network (and was the first show broadcast on Australian TV in colour). Many of the original episodes have been lost (but records of them exist). Re-release on video or DVD of the remaining episodes is tangled up in copyright issues. The 1974 album Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong was re-released on CD, and still seems to be available. It includes such classics as 'Fish Milkshakes' and 'Teenage Butcher' and the song 'Farewell Aunty Jack', which was a number 1 hit in Australia. Some samples can be found here. There were spinoffs from Aunty Jack, most notably the Norman Gunston Show, with Norman playing the prototypical terrrible interviewer and inspiring the much later Ali G, Dennis Pennis and many others. I was two years old when the series aired: Aunty Jack's threat at the end of each episode, that: 'If you don't watch next week, I'll rip your bloody arm off!' meant that I never, ever, missed it.

skylar — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 09:54:59 -0800

The Chaser - satirical magazine from Australia. Warning: may be offensive to some, specifically with regard to the WTC tragedy. This is posted in response to the link below talking about how the Onion has ceased satire for the time being. I think the anti-Bush and Adam Sandler gags have merit, some others are quite tasteless. What do you think?