Chris Rossi

Hi all!

Just a quick post about Shaun Micallef’s new series “Newstopia”, which starts on SBS at 10pm on Wednesday.
There’s a great article about it here at The Age:
Micallef rewrites headlines with comedy Newstopia

Some of my favorite quotes:
“It’s strange to have a segment consisting entirely of American newsreaders mentioning our name,” says Shaun Micallef, anchor of upcoming comedy news program Newstopia, on SBS. “With Port Arthur there was almost this sense that we’ve made it; that we’re up there with any number of mass shootings across the world.”

This is pretty spot on, if something big happens they’ll not only cover the incident, but also the press coverage of the incident!

This perverse pride is not the only quirk of our TV news. There’s our tendency to laud disaster victims as heroes even before they’ve demonstrated courage. (“All you have to do is survive,” Micallef says). World news is crammed into a 90-second overview. And how many other countries devote half their bulletins to sport?

Isn’t it amazing how only 10 minutes of newsworthy events happen on the weekend around the entire world? And then at 6:10pm we have to hear about how some football player stubbed his toe and might miss a few games. Or 5 minutes of discussion about some guy’s groin…

It’s not a foul mouth or rampant political bias that polarises viewers. Few actually take umbrage to his jokes. It’s just that a lot a people – if letters to the editor are anything to go by – simply don’t get him. Every new foray prompts another flood of correspondence, all echoing the same refrain: what’s so funny about this guy? To which an equally large number respond: everything. (Micallef seems to inspire a rusted-on loyalty that other comedians only dream of.)Why? Well, his absurdist, Python-esque flourishes are a world away from the f-words and Frankston jokes of most Australian comics. He doesn’t even do stand-up. As producer Gary Reilly once put it, he’s a “come-to-me” comedian.

This is probably the best part of the article. He’s a genius, but his sense of humor is way out of what most people comprehend. You either get it or you don’t. Who else would start their brand new variety show by walking onto the stage, and then taking a look back at the series so far? (Youtube link)
Or who else would call their show “The Micallef Program”, then rename it to “The Micallef Programme” when people complain about the incorrect spelling of the show, then deliberately rename it “The Micallef Pogram” just to annoy those same people…
Who else would invite Tim Rogers on their show to promote his new CD, only to accuse him of plagiarism! (Youtube link)

I hope the country gives Newstopia the chance it deserves, we need more intellectual comedy in this country!