Those are the Headlines, God I Wish They Weren't (The Day Today (DVD))

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	The Day Today (DVD)
Date:	23/05/04 (302 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original and very funny, Incredibly realistic style, Great performers and techniques

Disadvantages: Won't appeal to everyone, Can get repetitive

In 1994, many viewers of BBC 2?s late night schedule found themselves confused by what appeared to be a twisted news programme covering the day?s events. For some people it was only once they were presented with meaningless statistics and an incomprehensible diagram of ?the currency cat? that they realised they were watching a completely false, but disturbingly realistic parody of popular news and documentary programmes.

Although it only ran for one series of six episodes, the fan base for this programme was astounding; the two video releases were among the biggest BBC comedy sellers of all time, and following an online petition by fans the series was finally released on DVD format with a special edition for the tenth anniversary.


PERVERTIN& #71; THE NEWS


The Day Today takes all the features and stereotypes of British and international news programmes and shows a comprehensive understanding of the concepts and styles. From the over-the-top, intrusive title sequence and theme music to the deliberately blurred and yellowed style of the phony ?American import? news clips, Chris Morris and the team behind Radio 4?s successful ?On the Hour? made a seamless transfer to television.

Main news stories are presented in the traditional manner by Chris Morris behind his domineering desk, while other actors have their own sections of the huge, dark studio, or video link-ups to the show. Each show features information on political issues, sport, finance and special reports on all manner of activities. The humour ranges from bleak scenarios and incompetent characters to nonsensical phrases and ideas being presented in a convincing manner.

Use was made of existing news footage and clips which was twisted into the show?s messages, but it was always
obvious when the footage was created especially for the show; there was no drop in believability, only in the absurdity of the scenario. The show even mocked itself at times by parodying its joke of making peoples? statements apparently corroborate a story. For example, in one episode there is a clip of a man saying ?it makes it very difficult to reverse,? and Morris indicates that four hundred monkeys have been strapped to the man?s car. The self-parody comes when an elaborate scenario is explained, and the video simply features a man generically saying ?yes,? offering no confirmation that the story is genuine.


THE PLAYERS


Despite the efforts made to create a believable style and scenarios, the show?s creators and writers had no qualms over using the same sample of actors in a huge variety of roles, often playing multiple characters in the same report. They are all very funny and capable actors and actresses, using different accents and mannerisms to prevent repetition.

CHRISTOPH& #69;R MORRIS

Morris? Jeremy Paxman persona introduces the different sections of the show, and he also plays a variety of regular and one-off characters in sketches. It?s interesting to note how Morris distances himself from the rest of the cast by only appearing in sketches alone (playing male and female characters himself), although his newsreader talks at length with Peter O?Hanraha?hanrahan, often ridiculing him for ?losing the news? or attempting to get out of bad situations, and he has very strange relationships with the other studio characters; his slightly antagonistic relationship with Alan Partridge ends with him applauding him for his work and giving him an unexpected kiss, his flirtation with Valerie Sinatra is hilariously out of the usual dominating perso
na, and his hatred of Collatallie Sisters is apparent even from the first show: ?get her off my monitor, I don?t want to see her face.? Morris can be seen as the mastermind behind the show, even though it is largely a team effort, and his unique comic style transferred onto the later series Brass Eye and the disturbing Jam.

DOON MACKICHAN

This actress is most famous for her roles in ?Smack the Pony,? and her character range is obvious even here. Most memorably playing the somewhat robotic enigma Collatallie Sisters on the finance desk, she also features in all the ensemble documentaries. She plays a disinterested, annoying receptionist in the documentary ?The Pool? and a murderous war correspondent amongst other roles, also stripping in front of Alan Partridge. You don?t see anything, but he certainly did.

STEVE COOGAN

The most famous face amongst the stars thanks to his later successes ?Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge? and the brilliant intrusive sitcom ?I?m Alan Partridge,? Coogan?s Partridge persona gets its first television appearance here. Alan mans the sports desk and covers a number of events from the Tour de France to the 1994 World Cup and horse-racing, all fairly incompetently and without prior research. Coogan can also be seen playing a surprising variety of roles in the other features, something that would not be so simple nowadays considering his fame as Alan Partridge.

REBECCA FRONT

This regular face of comedy introduces the weird American reports as the pun-cracking Babs Wintergreen, as well as playing the very different character of Valerie Sinatra, the transpor
t correspondent situated a mile above the centre of Britain in a tower. Rebecca Front has appeared in many radio and television series including ?Fist of Fun,? ?Knowing Me, Knowing You? and the recent ?Nighty Night,? and is the undisputed queen of pathetic, submissive characters, but isn?t limited to such roles.

DAVID SCHNEIDER

A funny man with a memorable face, Schneider plays assorted characters, but his appearance means he usually ends up playing wacky or stupid characters. Most prominent as the floating head presenting the weather in increasingly pointless styles, from the huge weather collar to the weather pinball machine, he also regularly features as Brant, a satirical cartoonist whose visual metaphors are devoid of any intelligence, but are very funny. His finest moment is as the incompetent lifeguard who is unable to control a group of young children, and has to sit by the pool ashamed.

PATRICK MARBER

Actor and playwright Patrick Marber competently pulls off the incompetent Peter O?Hanraha?hanrahan, a news reporter who is ridiculed almost every show for his stupid actions or fabrications, and he plays an assortment of characters in the rest of the show. Comedian Stewart Lee introduced a Patrick Marber hatred element to the Lee and Herring show ?Fist of Fun,? motivated by the actor?s part in kicking Lee and Herring off the ?On the Hour? team (and stealing their material) before the show transferred to TV as the Day Today, and his general curmudgeonness. He plays good characters, but will forever be tarnished by his cornish face.


THE DVD


The Day Today is an annoying DVD, but conta
ins a number of extras. The first disc features all six episodes in excellent quality, although they can only be accessed by waiting for the over-elaborate menu screen to reach the desired option before pressing ?select,? although the audio commentaries promised by several websites seem to be missing. It?s very possible that I have failed to locate them, considering I even find it hard to locate the episodes, but this was a little disappointing as it would have offered an incredibly rare opportunity to hear how Chris Morris? mind works.

The special features are very well presented and, for the most part, entertaining. The best feature is the entire pilot episode of the series which is comprised of stories and film that wound up in the series, but is clearly in the experimental stages as far as set and clothing design is concerned. Another great feature is the full-length filmed versions of the documentaries ?The Pool? (from shows 2 and 3) and ?The Office? (from show 6). These twenty minute features are much more enjoyable than the edited ones, and the missing scenes make it easier to understand some of the later events, as well as creating a better atmosphere.

The only dodgy aspect of the special features is the inclusion of what the DVD terms ?Po-Faced Analyses,? a lengthy programme created by the Open University in 1997 to inform budding journalists and newscasters of how a news show is created. There are clips from the Day Today, and interesting discussions over the meaning and effects behind aspects, but the majority is boring and very tedious.


VERDICT


The Day Today has not aged in its appeal or relevance, as the conventions it mocks and parodies are still present today, especially in times of technical malfunctions. The humour stems from a number of different angles
and as such it can be enjoyed by a large number of people, although they may not appreciate it all. Even if they don?t, it?s got Alan Partridge in it.

1997?s ?Brass Eye,? fronted by Morris and retaining some of the same guest actors, was in some ways the second coming of the Day Today, based on more of a documentary format than a regular news show, although its suspicious presence on Channel 4 indicates that Morris has lost some favour with the BBC. The Day Today could appear to be insensitive, prejudiced and unnecessary on occasion, but those who were able to appreciate its quality found that the entire format of news shows was now questionable.

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DVD EASTER EGGS:

If anyone has the DVD, or is planning to buy it, the following link explains how to access some of the special features, all concealed far too well to be stumbled upon by accident: http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=11 312

I won?t explain them in this review in case any readers wish to find them alone (although it would take you several dedicated days).

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