MovieChat Forums > Broken News (2005) Discussion > On the contrary, this show is great.

On the contrary, this show is great.

posted 18 years ago by christian-griffiths
5 replies | jump to latest

I'm in Australia where Broken News is screening for the first time, and I've got to say, this is my kind of show: No big gags, no obvious laughs, just one great, subtle, deadpan, rolling joke that gets funnier and funnier each time you watch it.

I love the thought of all the people who will watch this for five minutes and change the channel in a slightly disgusted state of confusion.

John Morton, the creator of this show, is not to be mocked or criticised; after all, he did give us the undoubtedly brilliant Roy Mallard and his "People Like Us" documentaries, one of the greatest British comedies of all time. I see no reason to judge Broken News as a lesser effort.

I have not seen "The Day Today" but I have heard and read about it. That said, I find these accusations of plagarism to be highly dubious. Comedy evolves over time and while I am sure that there are some superficial similarities between the two shows, the fact that "The Day Today" was made over a decade ago makes it highly unlikely that Broken News is, essentially "the same joke". For all you "Day Today" fans, I will say: Stop living in the past! News programs have long been the target of satire; Broken News adds something fresh and original to the dialogue.

Your metaphor confuses me, yet I'm intrigued by your ramble.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] christian-griffiths 18 years ago

I can find that opinion elsewhere in the forums.

I had observed each of your three "points" on other threads and took them into account before composing my post. I beleive I addressed them, so they do not really bear repeating.

Sigh. I guess I'm just Winston Smith on this issue.

I think the show is brilliant.

Your metaphor confuses me, yet I'm intrigued by your ramble.

[–] farrokh_k 16 years ago

"I had observed each of your three "points" on other threads and took them into account before composing my post. I beleive I addressed them, so they do not really bear repeating"

That's probably the most obnoxious thing I've ever read on these boards.

Instead of sighing and trying to be a smartarse just go and buy/rent The Day Today or watch some clips on youtube.

Trust us, it's brilliant.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] delnegro-IMDb 13 years ago

a) That is your opinion. Star Trek vs. Star Wars and all that...
b) All of those are based on actual news items.
c) I feel sorry for you; if you think that, clearly you didn't understand Broken News.

I have watched both. TDT was great, and so was BN. But they're very different animals. Spend two days watching CNN, Sky News, BBC World, etc., then watch one episode of each show and you'll see that The Day Today is essentially a sketch show based on a news network format, while Broken News is a satire of the cable news world itself.

Saying the two are identical is like saying that "School of Rock" is identical to "This is Spinal Tap", or that the police officer episode from "People Like Us" is the same as the "Police Academy" films.

Both are comedy broadly based on the same subject, but with different targets and styles.