The Noose (TV series)

The Noose is an Emmy-nominated Singapore comedy television series produced by MediaCorp Channel 5. It is currently in its eighth season.

Although the name of the show plays on the word The News, the literal gallows humor of the program's name is unlikely to be missed by viewers in a country which executes people by hanging, and the use of "neck-cuffs". The third season began airing on June 1, 2010.^[1][2] The fourth season began airing on March 8, 2011.^[3] The fifth season began airing on December 27, 2011 and features topics such as the Mayan Calendar and doomsday and other relevant current issues. A sixth season began airing on April 2, 2013, aligned with the renumbering of MediaCorp news programmes.^[4] Michelle Chong will not return to the cast for the sixth season.^[5] A seventh season began airing on 1 April 2014 (April Fools' Day),^[6] with Chong set to return to the show.

The Noose is a parody of local news programmes such as News 5 Tonight, with fictional news reports and a presentation mimicking that of the actual news bulletin. For example, every episode of News 5 Tonight begins with a CGI clock indicating the time, while every episode of the first two seasons of The Noose would spoof it by displaying the time using something more mundane, such as a plastic clock hanging on a wall or an alarm clock. At the beginning of every episode, there is a candid disclaimer (voiced by Alaric Tay) telling the viewers that the stories are not true, most notably by using the line 'Believing us is like believing that...' (Eg, believing that drinking a certain energy drink (Red Bull) makes you fly). Each episode stars Michelle Chong, Chua En Lai, Alaric Tay and Suhaimi Yusof, with various actors and actresses as newscasters, field reporters and interviewees, often with parodic mannerisms and names.

The show has received recognition both locally and internationally. It earned a nomination at the International Emmy Awards 2011 in the comedy category.^[7] The cast has also been nominated and won awards and commendations at the Asian Television Awards.^[8]

Cast and characters

• Chua En Lai (seasons 1- )
• Michelle Chong (seasons 1-5, 7- )
• Alaric Tay (seasons 1- )
• Suhaimi Yusof (seasons 1- )
• Judee Tan (seasons 1- )
• Siti Khalijah (seasons 7- )
• Gurmit Singh (season 1)

Characters portrayed by Gurmit Singh

Roy Terse

• Name: Roy Terse^[9]
• Age: 48
• Nationality: Singaporean
• Race: Often mistaken as Sikh, but is truly a Eurasian
• Language: English (in various accents)
• Education: S&M University - PhD in Numerology, Master in Home Economics, Bachelor in Singapore Rock Music History
• Career: Child actor in Aksi Mat Yoyo (Age 6 - 10) - he was the orange cat.

Part-time TOTO results announcer for 93.3 Radio (Age 30 - 35)

Anchor for Al Abishgebaboom Network during the "US War against Terrorism" (Age 35 - 45)

• Awards: Best Male Toto results Announcer (2000) - there was only 1 nomination that year
• Role: News Anchor
• Seasons: 1
• Note: Roy Terse is a play on the word Reuters, a British based news service.

Windy Miao

• Name: Windy Miao
• Role: Weather Reporter
• Seasons: 1
• Note: His given name, Windy, is a play on the fact that he talks about the wind and weather. He is also very camp.

Characters portrayed by Michelle Chong

Nancy Goh

• Name: Nancy Goh
• Language: English, (Mother Tongue is not too good)
• Age: 48
• Career: Shareholder
• Role: Interviewee
• Seasons: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
• Note: One of her daughters is currently in Raffles Junior College, previously from Raffles Girls' School, and another is currently studying in a polytechnic. Her son is currently serving BMT in Pulau Tekong. She hates being interviewed by The Noose and tries to drive them away. When she talks, she always looks a little down with her glasses on her nose with eyes looking up. She is often recognised by locals as a parody of the stereotypical "kiasu" Singaporean mother.

Adrianna Wow

• Name: Adrianna, Wow^[9]
• Age: 21 (so she claims)
• Nationality: Singaporean (Asian born but American claims-to-be)
• Race: Chinese but claims to be "pure American Chinese"^[10]
• Language: US-spoken English, US-spoken Hokkien, US-spoken Cantonese, used to know how to speak Mandarin 2 years ago^[10]
• Education: Englewood University, Compton, Los Angeles
• Career: Runway model, Miss Hawaiian Tropics (2005)
• Awards: Best Weather Girl (2001), Best Hairdo (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005), Most Bimbotic Smile of The Year 2006
• Role: News Anchor
• Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
• Note: Was B.B. See's co-anchor. Feminine and overly-sensitive much to the annoyance of B.B. See, she often introduces herself with a pause (or comma) between her name and surname (Adrianna, Wow!). Unike her co-anchor, she speaks with a California accent. She was replaced by Xin Hua Hua for the sixth season. She returned in the seventh season, and rotated with the other two newscasters B.B. See and Xin Huahua. She is an obvious spoof of Channel News Asia's anchor Andrea Chow.

Leticia Bongnino

• Name: Leticia Bongnino
• Career: Domestic Maid
• Language: Filipino-accented English with several Tagalog phrases
• Seasons: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7. 8
• Note: Leticia speaks with a stereotypical Filipino accent.^[9] She often greets the audience as "sir" and "ma'am", and begins each interview by stating her name and occupation. The character has featured on the MediaCorp TV Channel 8 Chinese language show Black Rose (爆料黑玫瑰) and the Channel 5 gameshow We Are Singaporeans, both portrayed by Michelle Chong.

Nida Goodwood

• Name: Nida Goodwood
• Role: News Reporter
• Email: nidwood@thenoose.con (loose@noose.con.job in earlier episodes)
• Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
• Note: She speaks in a very uptight manner, with a slight Received Pronunciation accent. Her name is a play on the phrase "Need a good wood", which suggests sexual innuendo^[11] and also refers to Nina Goodwood, a journalist with the SBC during the 1990s.

Barbarella

• Name: Barbarella (her "last name" changes with each appearance)
• Race Chinese (but her "mother tongue isn't very good")
• Role: Interviewee
• Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
• Note: A vapid SPG (she pronounces it as "aspergers") and President of the Singapore SPGs Club. She speaks with a pseudo-accent (a mixture of Australian and Singlish) and is obsessed with Caucasian men (she uses the Singaporean slang word of Hokkien origin, "ang moh", when referring to them) and Western culture (Especially Australian Culture). She is named after two of her role-models Conan the Barbarian and Cinderella. Her character has featured on two Scoot commercials in Gold Coast.

Lulu

• Name: Lulu
• Nationality: Mainland Chinese
• Race: Chinese
• Language: Putonghua, Mandarin-accented English
• Career: KTV Hostess, Weather Girl, Foreign Talent Assimilator
• Role: Interviewee & Weather Girl
• Seasons: 3, 4, 5, 7
• Notes: Lulu is a KTV hostess who is occasionally a weather girl. She speaks with a distinct Chinese accent. Her catchphrase involves her greeting audiences in Mandarin, but corrected and told to speak English. (你好，我是Lulu。 (turns to director) Speak English, OK, OK.) When first introduced, she was surprised that the show is not in Mandarin. However, through the episodes she becomes more used to the reminder to speak English.

Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu were ambassadors in the new launch of the "Jewel @ Buangkok" condominium advertisement. Lulu needed no reminder for the Mandarin TVC.

Characters portrayed by Chua En Lai

Jacques Ooi

• Name: Jacques Ooi^[9]
• Age: 46 (looks very young, because apparently he's a good friend of plastic surgeon Woffles Wu)
• Nationality: Singaporean on weekdays, Malaysian on weekends (dual citizenship)^[10]
• Race: Pan-Asian (as he wants us to quote and unquote)^[10]
• Language: Hainanese, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, and other dialects of various provinces in China.
• Education: MTUC University - Majored (but failed) in "Ass-tronomy" (astronomy)
• Career: PR Manager of Rochor Canal Network, Hand Model for Crimewatch Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7
• Awards: Best Parrot Trainer Award (2001)
• Role: Field Reporter
• Email: jooi@thenoose.con
• Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Note: Jacques pronounces his name as "Jack-ass"^[2][12] and has a habit of wearing a very short tie. The only time he pronounced his name as "Jacques" is when he spoke in French during a report on taxi drivers.

B. B. See

• Name: See Beh Biang
• Role: News Anchor
• Seasons: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
• Note: B.B.See's name refers to BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and speaks with a received pronunciation accent (better known as BBC English). He is a caricature and composite of BBC Newsreaders and reporters such as Peter Donaldson, David Frost, Mike Neville and regional ITV Presenters such as Andrew Gardner . His real name See Beh Biang is taken from local Hokkien slang; see beh means "very" and biang connotes dismay at something. The initials BBC are also an abbreviation for British Born Chinese.

Esmond Wan Mo Peh

• Name: Esmond Wan Mo Peh
• Role: Minister at Large, Ministry Without A Portfolio
• Seasons: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Note: The name is a play on the phrase "Want More Pay", a dig at the reported high salaries of Singapore politicians.^[13] Wan's dress style is a parody of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was originally known as just Wan Mo Peh, but after the announced salary adjustments in 2012 to ministerial pay, he was just referred to and known as Esmond Wan. Wan originally spoke Standard Singapore English, but began to speak in basilectal Singaporean English in later episodes, as a dig at politicians who speak "half-past-six" English.

Kim Johnny Un

• Name: Kim Johnny Un
• Role: Son of the North Korean leader
• Seasons: 4
• Note: He is a parody of Kim Jong Un and is commonly known only as "Johnny". During interviews, he speaks in hip hop slang, likely a parody of Korean hip hop.

Pornsak Sukhumvit

• Name: Pornsak Sukhumvit
• Role: Thai correspondent, pole-dancing instructor
• Seasons: 5, 6, 7, 8
• Note: He is not to be confused with Pornsak Prajakwit, a MediaCorp artiste. It is implied that he is a kathoey due to his effeminate mannerisms. There is a running gag where he tries to recite Bangkok's full ceremonial name, but stops and simply calls the city Bangkok (with the exception of his debut appearance in which he did announce its full name). His character has featured on two Scoot commercials for its Gold Coast route and on the Channel 5 game show We Are Singaporeans. He also appeared in the Mediacorp sitcom Spouse for House as a pole-dancing instructor.

Channel 5 held a talent search programme, Are You Noose Enough, for a cameo in The Noose 6. Pornsak explained the eligibity requirements, and cameos featured include Alaric Tay, Darin Law, Chris Brownie and Diablo Tay. A Noose report featuring the Are You Noose Enough contestants as the main cast, was also shown in the final episode.

Characters of Alaric Tay

Andre Chichak

• Name: Andre Chichak^[9]
• Age: 17 (he's so good at his job that you can't tell he's an intern)
• Nationality: East Timorese
• Race: TBC (To be confirmed)
• Language: English, Indonesian, Malay, Mandarin
• Education: Farquhar Polytechnic majoring in "Stage Choreography for Integrated Resort Cabarets"
• Career: Never had one
• Awards: Best Story Telling Award (consecutively from Pr 1 to Pr 8 Mono) in Pulau Ubin Primary School
• Role: Field Reporter
• Email: acdc@thenoose.con (acdc@noose.con.job in earlier episodes)
• Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Note: Chichak speaks with a nasal sound. His surname refers to the Malay name ("cicak", pronounced chee-chak) for a common house gecko.

He is the ambassador for Secrets of the Fallen Pagoda: Treasures from Famen Temple and the Tang Court at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Nicholas Le Fong

• Name: Nicholas Le Fong
• Role: Taxi driver, interviewee
• Seasons: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
• Note: Nicholas is originally from Hong Kong. His catchphrase is "Stupiak", an amalgamation of "stupid" and "piak" (a slapping sound).

Kim Chiong Hil

• Name: Kim Chiong Hil
• Role: North Korean leader
• Seasons: 3, 4
• Note: He is a parody of Kim Jong Il and speaks with the same nasal voice as Andre Chichak but with a Korean accent.

Xin Hua Hua

• Role: News Co-anchor
• Seasons: 6, 7, 8
• Notes: Replaces Adrianna Wow as co-anchor. Poached from Chinese news network CCTV according to B.B. See (amidst carrying the name of another Chinese news agency, Xinhua). He is narcissistic, and always starts the episode with the cheesy line, "Hey Ladies,..."

Richard Wang

• Role: Cameraman ("Cheap Foreign Talent")
• Seasons: 5, 6
• Notes: His protest on working conditions in season 6 is a satirical take on the Chinese construction worker crane protest in early 2013.

Kevin Kang Ah Roo

• Role: Tour Guide
• Seasons: 6
• Notes: He had a recurring segment in season 6 where he introduced the viewers to tourist attractions in Australia, in conjunction with budget carrier Scoot which sponsored the season. His name is also a play on the word Kangaroo.

Characters portrayed by Suhaimi Yusof

Jojo Joget

• Name: Jojo Joget^[14]
• Role: Field Reporter
• Email: joget@thenoose.con (jogetlaid@noose.con.job and jojojo@thenoose.con in earlier episodes)
• Seasons: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
• Note: His name is a play on the joget dance and he mimicks it when signing off his reports.

Henderson Pooper

• Name: Henderson Pooper
• Role: War Reporter
• Seasons: 6
• Note: Henderson is a war correspondent and police beat reporter for The Noose. He is asthmatic, with attacks usually coinciding with sudden shelling of bullets and bombs.

His name is a play on CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Characters portrayed by Judee Tan

Kim Bong Cha

• Name: Kim Bong Cha
• Role: North Korean correspondent
• Seasons: 4
• Note: Kim Bong Cha secretly has a crush on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's son and heir apparent, Kim Jong Un. Her stiff mannerisms and accent are a parody of North Korean news anchors and reporters, such as Ri Chun-hee.

See Yan Yan

• Name: See Yan Yan
• Role: Intern Field Reporter
• Notes: See Yan Yan's name is a pun of CNN (Cable News Network). She is not to be confused with Yeo Yann Yann, a Malaysian actor. Yan Yan speaks in a faux, posh accent, and is somewhat flirtatious.

Rose Pork

• Name: Rose Pork Char Siew (Pok Cha-Siu)
• Role: Hong Kong Correspondent
• Notes: Rose Pork is a pun of Roast Pork. Rose speaks Hong Kong English and Cantonese. She often compares Singapore to Hong Kong, envying Singapore's culture and cleanliness while calling Hong Kong a cramped city. She supports Pro-British Colonialism in Hong Kong.

Personalities Spoofed

• Sudah Anandas (Subhas Anandan)
• Sam Tamales (Mas Selamat)
• MC Kena Hammer (MC Hammer)
• Lady Yahya (Lady Gaga)
• Ling Pan Pan (Pan Lingling)
• Reese Low (Ris Low)
• Adrian Pong (Adrian Pang)
• Harry Gan (David Gan)
• Violenz Oon (Violet Oon)
• Tom Cook (Tim Cook)
• Samosa Lee (Amos Yee)

Awards

See also

• The Day Today
• Brass Eye
• On The Hour

References

External links

• Official Site on XinMSN
• Official Site on MediaCorp website
• Official Site (Season 2)
• Official Site (Season 1)