The Chaser

]

The Chaser has since released three 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"

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. [cite book|publisher=Text Publishing|title=The Chaser Annual 2007: The Other Secret|isbn=978-1-921351-08-2]

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 Corporation (ABC) star Andrew Denton. Denton signed them with the ABC and stated about the Chaser “They've got the talent, the work ethic, the fearlessness, the desire”. Denton then helped the Chaser to perform, on ABC TV, their first television program "The Election Chaser" which was to be based on the 2001 Australian federal election, and in the format of the national tallyroom. The show broadcasted four episodes and was nominated for the 2002 Logie for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program" [cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/02/1017206204709.html|title=Logie nominations for 2002|publisher="The Sydney Morning Herald"|accessdate=2007-11-18|date=2002-04-03] Denton acted as executive producer and script editor for "The Election Chaser" and would also do so for "CNNNN". [cite news|publisher=The West Australian|url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=24&ContentID=25921|title=Chaser the greatest: Denton|date=2007-04-12|accessdate=2008-01-18] cite news|publisher=The Brisbane Times|title=Joke still works for The Chaser|accessdate=2008-01-18|date=2007-03-22|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2007/03/22/1174153220992.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1]

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. In mid-October 2007 it was announced "The Chaser Decides" would air again in 2007 to cover the November 24 election, for two weeks.

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. July 2006 and January 2007 saw Taylor and Reucassel return 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'".

Cirque du Chaser

In March 2005 for the Sydney Big Laugh Comedy Festival The Chaser members, except Firth, wrote and performed with CNNNN collaborator Rebecca De Unamuno a stage production. "Cirque du Chaser", the name a parody of "Cirque du Soleil", was performed to eight sell-out audiences which performed stand up, sketch, live music, and video satire. The Chaser then took the show on a national tour which were 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. [cite web|publisher=The Chaser|url=http://www.chaser.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=64|title=Cirque Du Chaser tour 2005 |accessdate=2008-01-17] [cite news|publisher=The Courier Mail|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22868094-7642,00.html|title=Chaser off the tube for a spell|date=2007-12-04|accessdate=2008-01-16] The Chaser filmed a pilot for ABC TV in mid 2005 under the working title "Hey, Hey it’s the Chaser". cite web|url=http://www.monkeyhouse.tv/bradleyhowardCV.html |title=Bradley J Howard CV|publisher=MonkeyHouse.tv|accessdate=2008-01-01]

The 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". [cite news|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/behind-enemy-lines/2006/02/11/1139542439715.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1|title=Behind enemy lines|last=Molitorisz|first=Sacha|date=2006-02-14|accessdate=2008-01-16] The first season of "The Chaser's War on Everything" premiered on ABC TV on 17 February 2006 at nowrap|9:45 pm. [cite web|publisher="ABC Television"|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200602/programs/LE0502H001D17022006T214500.htm |title=ABC Television: Program summary - The Chaser War on Everything|accessdate=2007-12-01] 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.cite news|first=Rachel|last=Browne|title=ABC pranksters slated for prime time|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/pranksters-slated-for-prime-time/2007/01/27/1169788741631.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=2007-01-28|accessdate=2007-11-14] 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. [cite web|url=http://www.devoteddvd.com.au/shop/product_info.php?products_id=28012&|title=Chaser's War on Everything, The - Vol 1 DVD|accessdate=2007-10-22|publisher=Devoted DVD] [cite web|url=http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=738988|title=ABC Shop - "The Chaser's War on Everything" - Season 1 Vol 1|accessdate=2007-10-22|publisher=ABC] 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. [cite web|url=http://www.devoteddvd.com.au/shop/product_info.php?cPath=1_24&products_id=30667|title=Chaser's War on Everything, The - Vol 2 DVD|accessdate=2007-10-22]

"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 attracts more than a million viewers per episode. [cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21586201-10388,00.html
title=Chaser's war wins ratings|date=2007-04-20|publisher=News Limited|accessdate=2007-04-20]

After the June 20 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 does not conclude before the 2007 Australian Federal Election.Cite news
url = http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,21949641-5009160,00.html
title = Musicals in Chaser's sights
publisher = News Limited
date=2007-06-24
accessdate = 2007-06-26] The second season returned on 5th September 2007.

The Chaser recently announced [ [http://www.chaser.com.au/content/view/3471/72/ The Chaser - The Chaser's Age Of Terror Variety Hour ] ] that "The Chaser's War On Everything" will be on hold for the first half of 2008, and are still in negotiations with the ABC over future television productions. Instead, the team (minus Chris Taylor, but plus writer Dominic Knight) will tour with a new stage show, "The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour". This stage show will be produced in conjunction with Laughing Stock and will tour across Australia.

Public reactions

Due to the youth appeal of The Chaser, the team are often dubbed "The Chaser boys." This is misleading, as most of the Chaser team were near or past thirty when the term came into popular use.In July 2006, Licciardello faced charges of "offensive conduct" from the New South Wales Police Force, after turning up at a rugby league 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. [cite news | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bulldogs-prank-not-funny-police/2006/07/15/1152637906452.html | title = Bulldogs prank not funny | publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-07-15 | accessdate = 2006-07-27 ] [cite news | title = Chaser Canterbury joke gets no laughs | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/15/1152637916434.html | author = O'Dwyer, Erin and Dasey, Daniel | publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-07-16 | accessdate = 2006-07-27 ]

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. [cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/boy-dupes-youtube-to-delete-videos/2007/04/13/1175971361981.html|title=Boy dupes YouTube to delete videos|date=2007-04-14|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=2007-05-03] 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 [cite web | url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21697810-10229,00.html | title=Chased, checked, chastened | publisher=The Australian | date=May 9 2007] .

During Dick Cheney's visit to Australia in 2007, The Chaser team were included on the official list of terrorists, anarchists and protesters deemed to pose a threat to the US Vice-President. [cite news | url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21283413-2,00.html | title=Chaser team on Cheney danger list | date=February 25 2007 | publisher=News Limited | accessdate=2007-04-05]

The Chaser team gained notoriety and considerable media attention over "The Eulogy Song", written by Chris Taylor and performed by Andrew Hansen on the October 17, 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 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. [cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22612694-5005368,00.html|title=PM lashes Chaser crew when ambushed on morning walk|publisher=PerthNow|accessdate=2007-10-21|]

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. [cite news | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/chaser-duo-held-over-apec-stunt/2007/09/06/1188783379922.html | title = Chaser duo held over APEC stunt | publisher = The Age | date = 2007-09-06 | accessdate = 2007-09-06] 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 in Bin Laden costume near the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush was staying. [ cite news | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/06/2025910.htm | title = Police question Chaser duo over APEC stunt | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 2007-09-06 | accessdate = 2007-09-06] 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". [cite web | url=http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZjdXN0b21zY3JpcHRzLnBvbGljZS5uc3cuZ292LmF1JTJGbmV3cyUyRmRldGFpbHNfbWVkaWEucGhwJTNGTWVkaWFJRCUzRDEwMzI0JmFsbD0x | title=11 people arrested in Sydney's CBD, continuing to assist with inquiries | publisher=NSW Police | date=September 6 2007] [cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/06/2026372.htm | title=11 charged over Chaser APEC stunt | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation News | date=September 6 2007] Licciardello, Morrow and the nine other production members were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. [cite web | url=http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/recent_media_unit_information?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZjdXN0b21zY3JpcHRzLnBvbGljZS5uc3cuZ292LmF1JTJGbmV3cyUyRmRldGFpbHNfbWVkaWEucGhwJTNGTWVkaWFJRCUzRDEwMzI1JmFsbD0x | title=11 people charged following TV stunt in APEC restricted zone | publisher=NSW Police | date=September 6 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. [cite web | url=http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fullhtml/inforce/act+14+2007+FIRST+0+N? | title=APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007 No 14] The Chaser team issued a statement on September 6 that they had been given permission by police officers to enter the restricted area. [cite web | url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=256135 | title=Police waved us through: Chaser | publisher=ninemsn | date=September 7 2007] 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. [cite web | url = http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,22527100-10229,00.html | title = Chaser APEC court hearing adjourned | publisher = "News.com.au" | date = 2007-10-04 | accessdate = 2007-10-04] 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 [cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/07/2027186.htm | title=Police question Chasers over second APEC stunt | publisher=ABC News | date=September 7 2007] . The three were released by police after being briefly questioned for carrying around black cardboard boxes dressed up as limousines.

References

External links

* [http://www.chaser.com.au "The Chaser official website"]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/chaser/war/ "The Chaser's War on Everything"]