The Chaser
Encyclopedia
The Chaser are an Australia
n satirical
comedian
group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper
, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".
, and Chas Licciardello
who went to Sydney Grammar School
together and produced a small satirical school magazine entitled The Tiger. Later on, Firth and Knight met Craig Reucassel
and Julian Morrow
at the University of Sydney
. Firth, Knight, Reucassel, Morrow, Licciardello, and later Chaser members Chris Taylor
and Andrew Hansen
all went to the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel and Morrow began writing for the University of Sydney student newspaper entitled Honi Soit
. In 1999 the four members began The Chaser and their first newspaper project entitled The Chaser
. The Chaser members are:
Founding contributors to the newspaper include Gregor Stronach
, Johanna Featherstone, Sholto Macpherson, Matt Taylor, David Stewart, and Arion McNicoll. Later contributors include Kara Greiner, Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, and Tim Brunero
. Cartoonists Fiona Katauskas and Andrew Weldon
drew for the newspaper from its early days.
The Chaser and its writers had its first major controversy when their 21 February 2003 edition published Prime Minister
John Howard
’s private home number on its front page with the headline "Howard ignores the people. So call him at home on (02) 9922 6189". The release of the number comes after Howard’s attitude to half a million protesters recently marching for peace. Howard’s number was blocked by the afternoon after receiving many calls in the morning and federal police had been to The Chaser headquarters. The Chaser have stated they received the phone number via an SMS message in 2002.
The Chaser have released five annuals based on The Chaser newspaper:
After six years of publication The Chaser decided that, due to an inability to meet production costs and failing audiences, they would cease publication of the newspaper. The paper, which originally circulated fortnightly, was being released more sporadically and their 91st and final paper was released on 6 February 2005. The Chaser still planned to continue their writing online and to continue to write their annuals.
The Chaser has since released six annuals and a "best of" annual which compiled the best of the five preceding annuals:
Current writers online are Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, Dominic Knight
, Chas Licciardello
, Julian Morrow
, and Craig Reucassel
with additional material provided by Scott Dooley, Lisa Pryor
, David Stewart, Gregor Stronach, and Chris Taylor
.
(ABC) star Andrew Denton
. Denton signed them with ABC and stated "They've got the talent, the work ethic, the fearlessness, the desire". Denton then helped the Chaser to perform their first television program The Election Chaser
, on ABC TV
, which was to be based on the 2001 Australian federal election and in the format of the national tallyroom. Four episodes were broadcast and the show was nominated for the 2002 Logie
for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program". Denton acted as executive producer and script editor for The Election Chaser and would also do so for CNNNN.
The Chaser team have gone on to create other television shows for ABC TV, including the Logie Award
winning CNNNN in 2002-3 and The Chaser Decides in 2004. CNNNN was a satire of not only the popular American news networks CNN
and Fox News, but also incorporated Australian and world current affairs into the programme. The Election Chaser inspired a similar programme covering the 2004 election, The Chaser Decides. The coverage, as with all the Chaser productions, was satirical, but a different view on the way the election was covered by the local media.
The Chaser Decides returned again in 2007 to cover the 24 November election. It purported to be broadcasting from Australian Electoral Commission
's National Tally Room.
In 2004-5, Taylor and Reucassel hosted the Triple J
radio drive programme Today Today
. In 2005 the rest of the team produced Chaser News Alert
(CNA), aired on ABC2
. Episodes of this series were only a few minutes long. Between July 2006 and January 2007 Taylor and Reucassel returned to Triple J to host Bloody Sunday
, filling the This Sporting Life
time slot while Roy & HG were on leave from the station. Chas Licciardello and Knight also did a brief fill in show on Triple M
called Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'
.
, was performed to eight sell-out audiences which performed stand up comedy, sketches, live music, and video satire. The Chaser then took the show on a national tour which was also sold out. Cirque du Chaser gave the team confidence to perform in front of a live audience in their new television show, which would be similar to the stage show. The Chaser filmed a pilot for ABC TV in mid 2005 under the working title Hey, Hey it’s the Chaser.
The first thirteen episodes of the first season were released on DVD on 17 August 2006. The release included commentary by The Chaser and the show's crew and included bonus features and unaired scenes. The second DVD for the first season contained the latter thirteen episodes. It was in the same format of the first DVD and was released on 1 November 2006.
The Chaser's War on Everything returned for a second season on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 at 9pm, moving from their Friday night timeslot. It regularly attracted more than a million viewers per episode.
After 20 June episode of season two, the Chaser team suspended the series for ten weeks, so the usual production run time of twenty-six episodes per year did not conclude before the 2007 Australian Federal Election. The second season returned on 5 September 2007.
The Chaser then announced that The Chaser's War On Everything was on hold during 2008, with a new (ten episode) series in 2009 which began airing on Wednesday, 27 May 2009. In 2008, the team (without Chris Taylor, but plus writer Dominic Knight) toured Australia with a stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour, produced in conjunction with Laughing Stock.
On 29 July 2009, the final episode of The War was broadcast.
is a comedy series performed by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, and Craig Schuftan, originally premiering on the radio station Triple J on 28 April 2010. This 5-part series satirises the music industry, music journalism and syndicated golden-oldie radio shows. Each episode, the host Captain Blow (Hansen) guides listeners through the making of a classic album from yesteryear, from bands that don’t actually exist. The series was written by Chris Taylor, with music by Andrew Hansen, and was produced by Craig Schuftan. It was released on CD and through the iTunes Store
Australia with bonus tracks. The musicians included Triple J's Lindsay McDougall
(guitar) and Chaser member Dominic Knight
(bass). The CD of the series won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.
The new programme, entitled Yes We Canberra!, was formally announced on 12 July. The ABC said that the series would air weekly during the election campaign, with a further episode after the election. It purports to be an audience warm-up for the ABC's flagship current affairs program Lateline
(which does not actually have a studio audience). After the Election date was announced (21 August), it was revealed that the show will premiere on 28 July. A DVD was released 15 September 2010.
The Chaser - Election Collection containing all the election shows was released 2 December 2010.
, a Chaser special was to be shown based on the Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton featuring live commentary from the team members. However the ABC were advised by the BBC
and APTN
to pull the show from being aired. In response to the decision by the ABC, Julian Morrow from the Chaser said, "For a monarchy to be issuing decrees about how the media should cover them seems quite out of keeping with modern democratic times... but I suppose that's exactly what the monarchy is." APTN is a private enterprise. The BBC is a corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust
.
to air later in the year. The series aims to "examine the contemporary media landscape, where everyone from journalists to political fixers is perpetually at risk of spinning out of control". The show premiered on ABC1 on October 5.
football match between the Canterbury Bulldogs
and the St George Illawarra Dragons
on 14 July 2006 dressed up as a Bulldogs fan and attempting to sell fake knives, knuckledusters and balaclavas for a War on Everything sketch.
In April 2007, a 15 year old boy duped YouTube
into deleting all clips posted from The Chaser's War On Everything by claiming to be a representative of the ABC. They were later reinstated.
At the 2007 Logie Awards
some of the Chaser team were "manhandled" by Crown Casino
security staff on the red carpet before being closely supervised for the rest of the evening.
During Dick Cheney
's visit to Australia in 2007, members of The Chaser team were included on the official list of terrorists, anarchists, and protesters deemed to pose a threat to the US Vice-President.
The Chaser team gained notoriety and considerable media attention over "The Eulogy Song", written by Chris Taylor and performed by Andrew Hansen on the 17 October 2007 episode of The Chaser's War On Everything. The song satirised the media's posthumous praise of deceased celebrities, regardless of their behaviour in life, and mentioned among others John Lennon
, Peter Brock
, Stan Zemanek
, Princess Diana, Steve Irwin
, Donald Bradman
, and Kerry Packer
. The song attracted comment from both the media and politicians including Kevin Rudd
and John Howard
, the latter of whom used reference to the song in remarks during a sketch later aired on the programme.
, near the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush
was staying. They were subsequently detained, taken to Surry Hills Police Station for questioning and charged with "entering a restricted area without special justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007. Licciardello, Morrow and the nine other production members were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. If found guilty, they were liable to serve a maximum 6 months imprisonment, or a maximum 2 years imprisonment if they also had possession or control of a prohibited item with no special justification. The Chaser team issued a statement on 6 September that they had been given permission by police officers to enter the restricted area. Under section 37(2)(b) of the legislation a person has special justification to be in an area if "the person is required, authorised or permitted to be in the area by the Commissioner or a police officer". Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned until 5 December 2007 at the request of ABC
lawyers. The charges were dropped near the end of April 2008.
The day after the APEC stunt, police questioned Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor and Dominic Knight and a film crew from the Chaser after they were involved in a second stunt in central Sydney. The three were released by police after being briefly questioned for carrying around black cardboard boxes dressed up as limousines.
children's ward of a hospital, which centered around a spokesman (Taylor) portraying himself along with a doctor (Hansen), from the fictional 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' (a spoof
of the real Make-a-Wish Foundation
). The premise of the skit was that if the terminally ill children are only going to live for a few more months before passing away, it is not worth spending money on lavish gifts for them. The one minute long sketch featured Taylor giving one girl a pencil case
instead of a trip to Disneyland
. Then along the same lines, Hansen gave another girl a stick instead of a meeting with Zac Efron
. The skit concluded with Taylor stating "Why go to any trouble, when they're only gonna die anyway". A similar skit had already been performed in sketch titled "A Reasonable Request Foundation" aired on comedy show The Mansion on Foxtel the previous year.
The reaction to the sketch from media commentators was mostly negative. Then-Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
stated that The Chaser team "should hang their heads in shame". He went on to say that "I didn't see that but it's been described to me...I actually don't mind The Chaser taking the mickey out of me or any other politician, at any time and any place....But having a go at kids with a terminal illness is really beyond the pale, absolutely beyond the pale." That morning, the Chaser team along with the ABC managing director, Mark Scott
, apologised for airing the skit, with Scott stating that "We have unreservedly apologised for airing that skit,...It's very clear today from the reaction that it's caused considerable offence and distress, particularly to parents of children that are seriously ill....I've spoken to Julian Morrow from The Chaser and my understanding is that certainly wasn't the intention of the script, but that's the consequences of it." The ABC will now change their procedures for reviewing episode content which gets broadcast. Scott continued, "We're going to look at those processes ... I mean we all know that The Chaser push the edges and it's a tightrope that we walk, and I suppose there are many, many skits that they've put to air that have offended someone along the way - that's part of the nature of the satirical and black comedy that they do." The skit has also been cut from any further television airings. The ABC announced on Friday that The Chaser's War on Everything will be suspended for 2 weeks. This was relayed via a message by The Chaser on their website, who stated that whilst they disagree with the decision to suspend the show, they apologise for making the skit, acknowledging that it went too far.
ABC's Managing Director announced on 2009-06-10 that the ABC's Head of Comedy, Amanda Duthie, had been removed from her position after a review of the process which led to the skit being broadcast. He was quoted as saying, "The segment should not have been broadcast. We recognise that it caused unnecessary and unreasonable hurt and offence to our viewers and the broader community and we have apologised for this," adding, "This was an error of judgement."
Ms Duthie will continue to be responsible for Arts and Entertainment programs.
In their first episode after being suspended, the Chaser team acknowledged they had made a mistake broadcasting the skit. Later on in the show, they recreated the skit, but instead of targeting sick kids, Kevin Rudd's anger-management issues is parodied. In the same episode Taylor is shown to be attacked by two boxers in another sketch for being "the guy from the Make a Wish sketch". In the closing credits of the show's finale, Taylor is said to have "died of cancer."
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
comedian
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper
The Chaser (newspaper)
The Chaser was a newspaper, published in Australia by political satire group The Chaser from 1999 to 2005.The newspaper, first published on 9 May 1999, was The Chaser team's most famous enterprise. Among other things, they have published Australian Prime Minister John Howard's private, unlisted...
, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".
The Chaser
The Chaser's earliest foundations were Charles Firth, Dominic KnightDominic Knight
Dominic Sebastian Knight is an Australian comedy writer, best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy group The Chaser, as well as being an independent writer and former blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald...
, and Chas Licciardello
Chas Licciardello
Chas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
who went to Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
together and produced a small satirical school magazine entitled The Tiger. Later on, Firth and Knight met Craig Reucassel
Craig Reucassel
Craig Bruce Reucassel is a television and radio comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
and Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. Firth, Knight, Reucassel, Morrow, Licciardello, and later Chaser members Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
and Andrew Hansen
Andrew Hansen
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
all went to the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel and Morrow began writing for the University of Sydney student newspaper entitled Honi Soit
Honi Soit
Honi Soit is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney, first published in 1929 and produced by an elected editorial team as part of the activities of the Students' Representative Council...
. In 1999 the four members began The Chaser and their first newspaper project entitled The Chaser
The Chaser (newspaper)
The Chaser was a newspaper, published in Australia by political satire group The Chaser from 1999 to 2005.The newspaper, first published on 9 May 1999, was The Chaser team's most famous enterprise. Among other things, they have published Australian Prime Minister John Howard's private, unlisted...
. The Chaser members are:
- Charles Firth. Firth decided in 1999 that the founding members should produce a newspaper, in an attempt not to "grow up". Firth was the main person who got the project underway and was at the helm of the newspaper until its collapse in 2005. Firth appeared in The Chaser's television and radio productions until 2004. In 2005, Firth moved to the United States so his wife could finish her PhD. Firth, however, became The Chaser's American correspondent for the 2006 series of The Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
and wrote a book titled American Hoax. Firth did some final stunts in America for the 2007 series in late 2006 and early 2007, before returning to Australia and going solo. Firth then began his own satirical newspaper The Manic Times in 2007, which collapsed soon after and now exists online.
- Dominic KnightDominic KnightDominic Sebastian Knight is an Australian comedy writer, best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy group The Chaser, as well as being an independent writer and former blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald...
was one of the founding members of the team. He appeared and starred in the 2001 series of The Election Chaser and the 2005 mini series Chaser News AlertChaser News AlertChaser News Alert was an Australian satirical news program which ran in the form of ten 4-minute episodes produced by satire group The Chaser. It aired on ABC2 from 22 September 2005 to 24 November and was also available via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's broadband...
. He also performed in the stage shows. He normally writes and does not perform for The Chaser's television shows.
- Julian MorrowJulian MorrowJulian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
. He became the executive producer of the television series after Andrew DentonAndrew DentonAndrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique...
left the role in 2004.
- Craig ReucasselCraig ReucasselCraig Bruce Reucassel is a television and radio comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
was a founding member of the team.
- Chas LicciardelloChas LicciardelloChas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, who had attended Sydney Grammar School with Firth and Knight, started to work on The Chaser newspaper in 1999, but did not take any credit for his work. However when the newspaper started to go well, he was happy to put his name to his work. Licciardello refers to himself as a writer and not a performer, which is why he does the ‘edgier’ stunts in the television series. He states that he is not very talented and therefore does “lots of dodgy material”.
- Chris TaylorChris Taylor (comedian)Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
had gone to the University of Sydney but never personally knew the four founding members. He moved to Melbourne under a cadetship with the ABC doing journalism. Taylor approached The Chaser, based in Sydney, and asked if they took contributions and The Chaser accepted them. Taylor spent two years emailing his articles to The Chaser, and then quit his job to do a television series based on the 2001 Australian federal election with The Chaser and became a member of The Chaser. Taylor was the anchor with Reucassel in their television productions CNNNN, The Chaser Decides and The Chaser’s War on Everything and worked as the script editor for the television shows.
- Andrew HansenAndrew HansenAndrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
worked with some of The Chaser members at the University of Sydney while studying literature and history, performing in their early revues. Hansen started working with the online Chaser website in 2000 writing columns for his shITe section, which looked at the worst of the internet. After two years, he was considered for a part in the Chaser’s 2002 television series, for the content on shITe. After The Election Chaser in 2001, The Chaser decided they needed a performer in the team. Hansen then joined in the group in 2002.
The Chaser newspaper
The newspaper, first published in 1999, was The Chaser team's first enterprise. The Chaser only had a limited fan base, with the average sales numbers per issue well under 30,000. When their newspaper was shown as a lead story in all major Australian news broadcasts, not only was the headline widely spread, the concept and the popularity of the newspaper leapt dramatically.Founding contributors to the newspaper include Gregor Stronach
Gregor Stronach
Gregor Stronach is an Australian writer, satirist and comedian. He is best known for his work as a founding member of The Chaser.Stronach's work with The Chaser has moved with the group from the original newspaper in 1999 through a brief stint on Sydney's MMM Radio to the current status of online...
, Johanna Featherstone, Sholto Macpherson, Matt Taylor, David Stewart, and Arion McNicoll. Later contributors include Kara Greiner, Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, and Tim Brunero
Tim Brunero
Tim Brunero is known to the Australian television-viewing public as the runner-up of Big Brother Australia 2005.On the back of his short-lived notoriety, Brunero visited East Timor in November 2005 for APHEDA, also known as Union Aid Abroad...
. Cartoonists Fiona Katauskas and Andrew Weldon
Andrew Weldon
Andrew Weldon is a Melbourne-based cartoonist. His cartoons have appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, The Big Issue, Tango, The New Yorker, The Spectator, Private Eye, and on greeting cards. He has written and illustrated children's books including The Kid With The...
drew for the newspaper from its early days.
The Chaser and its writers had its first major controversy when their 21 February 2003 edition published Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
’s private home number on its front page with the headline "Howard ignores the people. So call him at home on (02) 9922 6189". The release of the number comes after Howard’s attitude to half a million protesters recently marching for peace. Howard’s number was blocked by the afternoon after receiving many calls in the morning and federal police had been to The Chaser headquarters. The Chaser have stated they received the phone number via an SMS message in 2002.
The Chaser have released five annuals based on The Chaser newspaper:
- The Chaser Annual 2000: The Little-Read Book
- The Chaser Annual 2001: Bradman, The Cremated Years
- The Chaser Annual 2002: The War on Error
- Embedded with The Chaser: Annual 2003
- The Chaser Annual 2004: Intelligence Failures
After six years of publication The Chaser decided that, due to an inability to meet production costs and failing audiences, they would cease publication of the newspaper. The paper, which originally circulated fortnightly, was being released more sporadically and their 91st and final paper was released on 6 February 2005. The Chaser still planned to continue their writing online and to continue to write their annuals.
The Chaser has since released six annuals and a "best of" annual which compiled the best of the five preceding annuals:
- The Chaser Annual 2005: By Dan Brown
- 50 Golden Years of The Chaser - 1955-2005
- The Chaser Annual 2006: Burqa's Backyard
- The Chaser Annual 2007: The Other Secret
- The Chaser Annual 2008: The Little Rudd Book
- The Chaser Annual 2009: The Email Eunuch
- The Chaser Annual 2010: Eat Pray Vomit
Current writers online are Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, Dominic Knight
Dominic Knight
Dominic Sebastian Knight is an Australian comedy writer, best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy group The Chaser, as well as being an independent writer and former blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald...
, Chas Licciardello
Chas Licciardello
Chas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
, and Craig Reucassel
Craig Reucassel
Craig Bruce Reucassel is a television and radio comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
with additional material provided by Scott Dooley, Lisa Pryor
Lisa Pryor
Lisa Pryor is an Australian journalist and author. Born in Sydney in 1978, she was educated at Ravenswood, where she achieved a TER score of 100, and the University of Sydney, where she graduated in arts and law. She is a journalist and columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald, where she has also...
, David Stewart, Gregor Stronach, and Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
.
The Chaser on television and radio
After two years of their satirical newspaper, which also included various radio roles, The Chaser had attracted the attention of Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) star Andrew Denton
Andrew Denton
Andrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique...
. Denton signed them with ABC and stated "They've got the talent, the work ethic, the fearlessness, the desire". Denton then helped the Chaser to perform their first television program The Election Chaser
The Chaser Decides
The Chaser Decides is a Logie Award-winning Australian political satire based comedy program produced by The Chaser. The show provides commentary on Australian federal elections and has been broadcast in 2001, 2004 and 2007 on ABC TV...
, on ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
, which was to be based on the 2001 Australian federal election and in the format of the national tallyroom. Four episodes were broadcast and the show was nominated for the 2002 Logie
Logie Awards of 2002
The 44th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 28 April 2002 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Wendy Harmer from the Sydney radio station 2Day FM was the Master of Ceremonies.The ratings of the 2002 logie awards averaged around 1,865,000 and ranked at #5...
for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program". Denton acted as executive producer and script editor for The Election Chaser and would also do so for CNNNN.
The Chaser team have gone on to create other television shows for ABC TV, including the Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
winning CNNNN in 2002-3 and The Chaser Decides in 2004. CNNNN was a satire of not only the popular American news networks CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and Fox News, but also incorporated Australian and world current affairs into the programme. The Election Chaser inspired a similar programme covering the 2004 election, The Chaser Decides. The coverage, as with all the Chaser productions, was satirical, but a different view on the way the election was covered by the local media.
The Chaser Decides returned again in 2007 to cover the 24 November election. It purported to be broadcasting from Australian Electoral Commission
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission, or the AEC, is the federal government agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections and referendums. State and local government elections are overseen by the Electoral Commission in each state and territory.The Australian Electoral Commission...
's National Tally Room.
In 2004-5, Taylor and Reucassel hosted the Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
radio drive programme Today Today
Today Today
Today Today was a drivetime radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J, broadcast between 3:00pm and 5:30pm weekdays during 2004 and 2005. The title is a parody of the Australian current affairs program Today Tonight on Channel Seven....
. In 2005 the rest of the team produced Chaser News Alert
Chaser News Alert
Chaser News Alert was an Australian satirical news program which ran in the form of ten 4-minute episodes produced by satire group The Chaser. It aired on ABC2 from 22 September 2005 to 24 November and was also available via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's broadband...
(CNA), aired on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
. Episodes of this series were only a few minutes long. Between July 2006 and January 2007 Taylor and Reucassel returned to Triple J to host Bloody Sunday
Today Today
Today Today was a drivetime radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J, broadcast between 3:00pm and 5:30pm weekdays during 2004 and 2005. The title is a parody of the Australian current affairs program Today Tonight on Channel Seven....
, filling the This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life is a 1963 British film based on a novel of the same name by David Storey which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. It tells the story of a rugby league footballer, Frank Machin, in Wakefield, a mining area of Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting...
time slot while Roy & HG were on leave from the station. Chas Licciardello and Knight also did a brief fill in show on Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
called Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'
Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'
Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser was a summer drive-time radio program broadcast on the Triple M network. The program was hosted by Chas Licciardello and Dominic Knight from the Australian satirical comedy group The Chaser...
.
Cirque du Chaser
In March 2005, The Chaser members, with the exception of Firth but with CNNNN collaborator Rebecca De Unamuno, wrote and performed a stage production for the Sydney Big Laugh Comedy Festival. Cirque du Chaser, the name a parody of Cirque du SoleilCirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
, was performed to eight sell-out audiences which performed stand up comedy, sketches, live music, and video satire. The Chaser then took the show on a national tour which was also sold out. Cirque du Chaser gave the team confidence to perform in front of a live audience in their new television show, which would be similar to the stage show. The Chaser filmed a pilot for ABC TV in mid 2005 under the working title Hey, Hey it’s the Chaser.
The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser team signed a contract with the ABC to produce 27 half-hour episodes for 2006, which would be based on news reviews, studio monologues and confrontations with politicians, celebrities, and business leaders. The project would be performed in front of a live audience compared with their previous news format television productions and was named The Chaser's War on Everything. The first season of The Chaser's War on Everything premiered on ABC TV on 17 February 2006 at . The series aired late on Friday evenings where it developed a cult following, getting an average national audience of between 591,000 and 821,000 viewers each episode. The last episode of the 2006 season was broadcast on 8 September 2006.The first thirteen episodes of the first season were released on DVD on 17 August 2006. The release included commentary by The Chaser and the show's crew and included bonus features and unaired scenes. The second DVD for the first season contained the latter thirteen episodes. It was in the same format of the first DVD and was released on 1 November 2006.
The Chaser's War on Everything returned for a second season on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 at 9pm, moving from their Friday night timeslot. It regularly attracted more than a million viewers per episode.
After 20 June episode of season two, the Chaser team suspended the series for ten weeks, so the usual production run time of twenty-six episodes per year did not conclude before the 2007 Australian Federal Election. The second season returned on 5 September 2007.
The Chaser then announced that The Chaser's War On Everything was on hold during 2008, with a new (ten episode) series in 2009 which began airing on Wednesday, 27 May 2009. In 2008, the team (without Chris Taylor, but plus writer Dominic Knight) toured Australia with a stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour, produced in conjunction with Laughing Stock.
On 29 July 2009, the final episode of The War was broadcast.
The Blow Parade
The Blow ParadeThe Blow Parade
The Blow Parade is a scripted radio program made and voiced by Australian comedians Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen, and radio producer Craig Schuftan....
is a comedy series performed by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, and Craig Schuftan, originally premiering on the radio station Triple J on 28 April 2010. This 5-part series satirises the music industry, music journalism and syndicated golden-oldie radio shows. Each episode, the host Captain Blow (Hansen) guides listeners through the making of a classic album from yesteryear, from bands that don’t actually exist. The series was written by Chris Taylor, with music by Andrew Hansen, and was produced by Craig Schuftan. It was released on CD and through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
Australia with bonus tracks. The musicians included Triple J's Lindsay McDougall
Lindsay McDougall
Lindsay "The Doctor" McDougall is an Australian radio presenter for national youth network Triple J and guitarist in Australian punk rock band Frenzal Rhomb.- Frenzal Rhomb :...
(guitar) and Chaser member Dominic Knight
Dominic Knight
Dominic Sebastian Knight is an Australian comedy writer, best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy group The Chaser, as well as being an independent writer and former blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald...
(bass). The CD of the series won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.
Yes We Canberra!
The ABC confirmed reports in July 2010 that The Chaser would return with a new series covering the Australian federal election.The new programme, entitled Yes We Canberra!, was formally announced on 12 July. The ABC said that the series would air weekly during the election campaign, with a further episode after the election. It purports to be an audience warm-up for the ABC's flagship current affairs program Lateline
Lateline
Lateline is an Australian television news and current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, airing weeknights at on ABC1. The program has developed a reputation for head-to-head debates on current issues and political interviews. Lateline is followed by its sister...
(which does not actually have a studio audience). After the Election date was announced (21 August), it was revealed that the show will premiere on 28 July. A DVD was released 15 September 2010.
The Chaser - Election Collection containing all the election shows was released 2 December 2010.
The Chaser's Royal Wedding Commentary
Originally set to air on 29 April 2011 on ABC2ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
, a Chaser special was to be shown based on the Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton featuring live commentary from the team members. However the ABC were advised by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and APTN
Associated Press Television News
Associated Press Television News, abbreviated as either AP Television News or APTN, is a global video news agency.-About:AP Television News is the video division of the Associated Press. It provides many of the world's broadcasters with a round-the-clock continuous feed of news, sports,...
to pull the show from being aired. In response to the decision by the ABC, Julian Morrow from the Chaser said, "For a monarchy to be issuing decrees about how the media should cover them seems quite out of keeping with modern democratic times... but I suppose that's exactly what the monarchy is." APTN is a private enterprise. The BBC is a corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
.
The Hamster Wheel
In August 2011 the ABC confirmed a new 8-episode series called The Hamster WheelThe Hamster Wheel
The Hamster Wheel is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It is presented by The Chaser team.-Production:...
to air later in the year. The series aims to "examine the contemporary media landscape, where everyone from journalists to political fixers is perpetually at risk of spinning out of control". The show premiered on ABC1 on October 5.
Public reactions
In July 2006, Licciardello faced charges of "offensive conduct" from the New South Wales Police Force, after turning up at a rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
football match between the Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
and the St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
on 14 July 2006 dressed up as a Bulldogs fan and attempting to sell fake knives, knuckledusters and balaclavas for a War on Everything sketch.
In April 2007, a 15 year old boy duped YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
into deleting all clips posted from The Chaser's War On Everything by claiming to be a representative of the ABC. They were later reinstated.
At the 2007 Logie Awards
Logie Awards of 2007
The 49th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 6 May 2007 at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne and televised on the Nine Network. The three key presenters were Adam Hills, Dave Hughes and Fifi Box...
some of the Chaser team were "manhandled" by Crown Casino
Crown Casino
Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited....
security staff on the red carpet before being closely supervised for the rest of the evening.
During Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
's visit to Australia in 2007, members of The Chaser team were included on the official list of terrorists, anarchists, and protesters deemed to pose a threat to the US Vice-President.
The Chaser team gained notoriety and considerable media attention over "The Eulogy Song", written by Chris Taylor and performed by Andrew Hansen on the 17 October 2007 episode of The Chaser's War On Everything. The song satirised the media's posthumous praise of deceased celebrities, regardless of their behaviour in life, and mentioned among others John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
, Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek was an Australian radio broadcaster who presented a popular night time show on 2UE Sydney and which was networked across parts of Australia via Southern Cross....
, Princess Diana, Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
, Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, and Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
. The song attracted comment from both the media and politicians including Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
and John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, the latter of whom used reference to the song in remarks during a sketch later aired on the programme.
APEC arrest
Morrow and Licciardello were arrested by NSW Police on 6 September 2007 outside the InterContinental Hotel after driving a fake motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breaching an APEC security zone. The Chaser crew entered a secure area by masquerading as the motorcade of the Canadian delegation to APEC. They were arrested by police after Licciardello emerged from the car dressed as Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, near the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was staying. They were subsequently detained, taken to Surry Hills Police Station for questioning and charged with "entering a restricted area without special justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007. Licciardello, Morrow and the nine other production members were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. If found guilty, they were liable to serve a maximum 6 months imprisonment, or a maximum 2 years imprisonment if they also had possession or control of a prohibited item with no special justification. The Chaser team issued a statement on 6 September that they had been given permission by police officers to enter the restricted area. Under section 37(2)(b) of the legislation a person has special justification to be in an area if "the person is required, authorised or permitted to be in the area by the Commissioner or a police officer". Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned until 5 December 2007 at the request of ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
lawyers. The charges were dropped near the end of April 2008.
The day after the APEC stunt, police questioned Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor and Dominic Knight and a film crew from the Chaser after they were involved in a second stunt in central Sydney. The three were released by police after being briefly questioned for carrying around black cardboard boxes dressed up as limousines.
The 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' skit
On 3 June 2009 episode, Taylor and Hansen were involved in a skit which was set in a terminally illTerminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
children's ward of a hospital, which centered around a spokesman (Taylor) portraying himself along with a doctor (Hansen), from the fictional 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' (a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the real Make-a-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
). The premise of the skit was that if the terminally ill children are only going to live for a few more months before passing away, it is not worth spending money on lavish gifts for them. The one minute long sketch featured Taylor giving one girl a pencil case
Pencil case
A pencil case or pencil box is a container used to carry pencils. A pencil case can also contain a variety of other stationery such as a pencil sharpener, pens, erasers, a stapler, and a calculator....
instead of a trip to Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
. Then along the same lines, Hansen gave another girl a stick instead of a meeting with Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
. The skit concluded with Taylor stating "Why go to any trouble, when they're only gonna die anyway". A similar skit had already been performed in sketch titled "A Reasonable Request Foundation" aired on comedy show The Mansion on Foxtel the previous year.
The reaction to the sketch from media commentators was mostly negative. Then-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
stated that The Chaser team "should hang their heads in shame". He went on to say that "I didn't see that but it's been described to me...I actually don't mind The Chaser taking the mickey out of me or any other politician, at any time and any place....But having a go at kids with a terminal illness is really beyond the pale, absolutely beyond the pale." That morning, the Chaser team along with the ABC managing director, Mark Scott
Mark Scott (businessman)
Mark Walter Scott AO is the current Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He took up his position in July 2006, having previously been the Editorial Director at John Fairfax, responsible for the editorial content of the group's major newspapers including The Sydney Morning...
, apologised for airing the skit, with Scott stating that "We have unreservedly apologised for airing that skit,...It's very clear today from the reaction that it's caused considerable offence and distress, particularly to parents of children that are seriously ill....I've spoken to Julian Morrow from The Chaser and my understanding is that certainly wasn't the intention of the script, but that's the consequences of it." The ABC will now change their procedures for reviewing episode content which gets broadcast. Scott continued, "We're going to look at those processes ... I mean we all know that The Chaser push the edges and it's a tightrope that we walk, and I suppose there are many, many skits that they've put to air that have offended someone along the way - that's part of the nature of the satirical and black comedy that they do." The skit has also been cut from any further television airings. The ABC announced on Friday that The Chaser's War on Everything will be suspended for 2 weeks. This was relayed via a message by The Chaser on their website, who stated that whilst they disagree with the decision to suspend the show, they apologise for making the skit, acknowledging that it went too far.
ABC's Managing Director announced on 2009-06-10 that the ABC's Head of Comedy, Amanda Duthie, had been removed from her position after a review of the process which led to the skit being broadcast. He was quoted as saying, "The segment should not have been broadcast. We recognise that it caused unnecessary and unreasonable hurt and offence to our viewers and the broader community and we have apologised for this," adding, "This was an error of judgement."
Ms Duthie will continue to be responsible for Arts and Entertainment programs.
In their first episode after being suspended, the Chaser team acknowledged they had made a mistake broadcasting the skit. Later on in the show, they recreated the skit, but instead of targeting sick kids, Kevin Rudd's anger-management issues is parodied. In the same episode Taylor is shown to be attacked by two boxers in another sketch for being "the guy from the Make a Wish sketch". In the closing credits of the show's finale, Taylor is said to have "died of cancer."