The Chaser's war on ABC ratings

Aunty is no doubt very proud of herself. Not only was the ABC Howard's choice of platform to announce that if he gets re-elected for the fourth time he'll be retiring (??!) but the proud sponsor of the Chaser boys whose show last night was apparently the most-viewed over all TV networks.

While some of the stunts (such as attempting to load furniture on to a public bus) were weak as usual, the APEC stunt was incredible! If you didn't see the Chaser show last night, you can download it or watch online from the website. The funniest thing was the way Julian Morrow, dressed carefully in formal attire, was the only guy the police were eager to arrest, while Chas Licciardello, dressed as Osama, was of no interest at all and just had to trot along behind Julian in the hope of getting some attention!

What impressed me most though are how the responses to that self-praising ABC news item seem to indicate one way in which Australian society is actually functional, even if the same can't be said for our security expertise.

Here are some of the responses:

The Chaser stunt was a perfectly poised political stunt carried off immaculately. ... Its time both levels of government saw this US created war on terror for what it is - a complete joke. -- Chris

The Chaser proved that $160 million was spent on crowd control and not security against terrorism. What did they catch? Some blokes in fancy dress and one nutter with a dart and iron bar. -- Bob Erwin

Possibly one of the funniest things I have seen on television. I hope anyone who disapproved of the stunt last week, saw last nights episode. I don't think its possible to not laugh at the incompetence of the APEC security. Even the cops involved found it funny. -- Old Gregg

Tut-tutters

Sure it did show the security up for what it was: a joke but what if security personnel had responded with violence thinking they were under threat, what if someone had started shooting and people were injured. ...there is time and a place for that sort of well intentioned joke and an APEC summit is not it. Its like yelling 'bomb' on a plane. -- JOhnC

Of course if the Secret Service or Police were allowed to issue shoot-to-kill orders to the snipers, the whole stunt would've had a rather different outcome. ...we should be thankful we didn't have trigger-happy people in charge as in some other countries. -- Norton

Responses to tut-tutters (which really made me happy that people are using their brains!)

I find this line of argument truly absurd. You (and the chief of NSW police) are asserting that highly trained snipers would "shoot first, ask questions later"; there was not a single attempt to stop the team by police, and certainly no instance of them not following directions. They were directed through, and then co-operated completely when finally bailed up. -- Geoff

Not to mention the fact that they expected to be stopped at the first check-point and should never have reached an area where snipers could shoot at them. To say they were putting anyone in danger is ridiculous. -- Jenny

Of course, the Chaser guys don't appear to give a toss about the people they hurt in the process of their pranks so it's certainly fair criticism to say this:

With all the money and hype with security it all still comes down to how our human brains work, we see want we are accustomed to seeing and respond accordingly, the Chaser team use our human (if you like) weakness to great advantage and great amusement. -- J Dunn

Chas Licciardello image courtesty of ABC.
Categorised as: media, society
Technorati Tags: ABC, satire, APEC, Chaser's War on Everything, Australian politics, security breach, Julian Morrow, Chas Licciardello, The Chaser, Australian Broadcasting Corporation