the view
The Age
Thursday June 4, 2009
A BLIMP flying over the Vatican; a mannequin of the Governor-General being hurled over the Melbourne Club walls; an incendiary message broadcast at a Cronulla Sharks game. Gags about the Prime Minister's hairdryer, the Opposition Leader's wealth, private-school fund-raising and the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, those naughty boys from The Chaser are back, and while their return might make Aunty's legal team nervous, their ratings would be making many at the ABC happy.After a break from TV in 2008, The Chaser's War on Everything returned last week to help lift the ABC to its best ratings of the year. It attracted 1.54million viewers nationally (No.8) and its presence in the midweek light-entertainment line-up appreciably boosted the network's prime-time performance. Spicks and Specks, regularly a Wednesday-night winner, drew 1.59million viewers (No.6), making it the ABC's highest-rating show since September 2007.Three seasons on, there's a familiarity about The Chaser. Julian and Craig try to gatecrash institutions; Chas dresses up and provokes people; Chris sings, dances and provides acerbic commentary; Andrew composes scathing songs and invents hairstyles.There's an inevitable patchiness with sketch comedy. Some skits work (Billy Connolly touring Iraq), others don't (walking on the beach with Jesus). But it's a pleasure to have The Chaser back. Armed with irreverence, they bring an unpredictability to prime time, taking political pot-shots and pressing on with their sometimes ill-conceived and sometimes spot-on pranks.
© 2009 The Age
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