Newstopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
Newstopia | |
---|---|
Newstopia Intertitle |
|
Format | Satirical |
Created by | Shaun Micallef |
Starring | Shaun Micallef Kat Stewart Ben Anderson Nicholas Bell Peter Houghton Julie Eckersley |
Country of origin | Australia |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 20 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes per episode including commercials |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | SBS TV |
Original run | 10 October 2007[1] – Present |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Micallef Tonight (2003) |
External links | |
IMDb profile |
Newstopia is an Australian half-hour satirical comedy programme hosted by Shaun Micallef. The first series premiered at 10:00 pm on SBS TV on 10 October 2007 and concluded on 12 December 2007. A second season began on 27 February 2008[2] and concluded on 30 April 2008. The show was developed by Micallef, Gary McCaffrie, Michael Ward and Jason Stephens, with McCaffrie and Ward working as writers on the program.
The show's contributors include Matt Cameron, Doug MacLeod, Dave O'Neil, Tony Moclair and Richard Marsland.[3]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Format
The show is presented in the style of a news bulletin, with Shaun Micallef acting as anchor. The program begins with a statement by Micallef about history and/or news and their relation to the show. The rest of the program features segments detailing often factual events, but told from a humorous or satirical angle.
The program also has several false advertisements placed throughout the real ad breaks, dressed up to appear as genuine SBS ads, for example Inspektor Herring (a parody of Inspector Rex). Due to the fact that these ads are actually part of Newstopia, SBS always broadcast them with the SBS watermark in the bottom right corner. Genuine ads do not show the watermark.
The show also features subliminal parodies of Australian politicians and a vampire-like character, where still images are flashed on screen for a fraction of a second - long enough to be noticed, but not long enough to for the viewer to have a concrete idea of what they'd seen.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Regular cast
- Shaun Micallef
- Ben Anderson
- Nicholas Bell
- Julie Eckersley
- Peter Houghton
- Kat Stewart
[edit] Special guests
- Ed Kavalee
- Roz Hammond
- Les Murray
- Bob Franklin
- Daina Reid
- Lee Lin Chin
- Francis Greenslade
- Barry Jones
- Tony Martin
- Anton Enus
- Chris Taylor
- Andrew Hansen
[edit] Internet streaming
Following the conclusion of each episode's initial broadcast, the Newstopia website features a web stream of the current week's episode. This is only available for 7 days, and only to Australian residents, after which it is taken down and replaced by the latest broadcast. International visitors are blocked by an IP blocker. A guestbook is also available for commenting on the newest episode.