History Series / TheChasersWarOnEverything

In 2011, the Chaser team returned with their new show ''The Hamster Wheel'', a (relatively) low-key version of The War with more of a focus on discussion of politics and modern media rather than attention-grabbing stunts like APEC. Following the conclusion of ''The Hamster Wheel'''s first (but not only) season, members of the Chaser have gotten involved in other projects across the ABC - Chas Licciardello is currently an anchor of ''Planet America'', an ABC News 24 program discussing American politics, and most of its members sometimes sit on the panel of ''The Drum'', ABC News 24's news analysis and debate program. In 2013, Craig and Julian went on to co-host ''The Checkout'', a consumer affairs show which went on to become an unexpected hit, netting 1.2 million viewers an episode by the end of its run on the ABC (often beating out [[NetworkTen rival network Ten]] for the timeslot), with Chas on board as Producer and Script Editor.

!!''TheChasersWarOnEverything'' and other works by the Chaser provide examples of:

They planned to return to television in April 2011 to cover [[TheHouseOfWindsor the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William]] - In their own words, it was to be "uninformed and unconstitutional" - but the BBC and the royal family [[SeriousBusiness put a stop to that]] a week before the wedding by amending the licencing terms of the wedding broadcast to prevent usage of the footage in comedy. [[InternetBackdraft No-one was amused.]]

*** Points to the Turkish Consulate for NOT letting them in [[TheTrojanWar (this time that is)]].

* ButtMonkey: Current affairs shows ''Today Tonight'' and ''A Current Affair'' provided a seemingly ceaseless source of {{narm}}ful and [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer incorrect]] material to be satirised; when they dabbled in international stuff, FoxNews was given the same treatment for the same reasons.

The Chaser began as creators of a satirical newspaper, called ''The Chaser'' (not dissimilar to ''TheOnion''). After a slow start, sales skyrocketed when they published then Prime Minister John Howard's phone number. This got the attention of Australian interviewer and TV star Andrew Denton, who got them a spot on the ABC, Australia's government-funded network; the result was ''The Election Chaser'', a short series covering the 2001 federal election and taking the piss out of everyone involved. They then went on to do the news parody show ''CNNNN'' (Chaser Non-stop News Network), mostly mocking {{CNN}} and Australian current affairs. They followed this with more coverages of elections, a stage show, and then their most famous work: ''The Chaser's War on Everything''.[[note]]Rejected names for the show include ''Hey Hey It's The Chaser'', ''The Age of Terror Variety Hour'', ''Thank Allah It's Friday'' and ''The Chaser is Right''.[[/note]]

* FootballHooligans: Parodied with one skit which involved selling balaclavas and (fake) knuckledusters in club colors to [[RugbyLeague Canterbury Bulldogs]] fans.

* ExcuseQuestion: Parodied.
--> 'Who are these shows aimed at? A) Bicycles, B) The Sydney Opera House, or C) Morons.'

The Chaser's stunts have gotten them into trouble a few times, culminating in an incident during the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) being held in Sydney in 2007: despite their expectations that the stunt would go no further than the outer boundary, their fake motorcade [[GoneHorriblyRight entered the Red Security Zone]] (the highest level security zone), despite having 'FAKE' and 'This is obviously a joke' stamped on their "passes", and with a. Chas, Julian, and a number of the crew for the show got arrested. It was this prank alone that started international buzz and later a bidding war for American syndication, eventually won by Creator/{{G4TV}} in late 2008.

It returned to air in 2009, this time with only ten episodes. Only two episodes in, it caused controversy over a sketch about terminally ill children. This also led to questions about whether it has [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark.]] In case you were wondering, it didn't; they even managed to handle their own shame in a funny (but in no way disrespectful to the victims) way. This turned out to be their last season, for several reasons - among them, they were getting too easily recognised by the public and so, couldn't pull fast ones on them. They spent 2010 touring Australia with 'The Age of Terror Variety Hour. They also covered the 2010 Australian election with their mini-series ''Yes We Canberra.'' This was the first time their election coverage was actually ''watched'' by anybody - the previous years it was held a week before the election was held, and the week after it was over.

In 2011, The Chaser team returned with their new show ''The Hamster Wheel'', a (relatively) low-key version of The War with more of a focus on discussion of politics and modern media rather than attention-grabbing stunts like APEC. Following the end of ''The Hamster Wheel'''s 2011-season conclusion, members of The Chaser have gotten involved in other projects across the ABC - Chas Licciardello is currently an anchor of ''Planet America'', an ABC News 24 program discussing American politics, and most of its members sometimes sit on the panel of ''The Drum'', ABC News 24's news analysis and debate program. In 2013, Craig and Julian went on to co-host The Checkout, a consumer affairs show which went on to become an unexpected hit, netting 1.2 million viewers an episode by the end of its run on the ABC (often beating out [[NetworkTen rival network Ten]] for the timeslot), with Chas on board as Producer and Script Editor.

Clips from ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' are extremely abundant on Website/YouTube. The ABC has a policy of allowing its content to be freely available, and so is more than happy to leave them be. In addition, the Chaser has [[http://www.youtube.com/user/chaserhq a YouTube channel]], which in addition to exclusive content contains clips of a majority of the content of ''The Hamster Wheel''

* ClusterFBomb: The end of the fourth ''Yes We Canberra'' episode has this. In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV-inAzEleE song]].

In 2011, The Chaser team returned with their new show ''The Hamster Wheel'', a (relatively) low-key version of The War with more of a focus on discussion of politics and modern media rather than attention-grabbing stunts like APEC. Following the end of ''The Hamster Wheel'''s 2011-season conclusion, members of The Chaser have gotten involved in other projects across the ABC - Chas Licciardello is currently an anchor of ''Planet America'', an ABC News 24 program discussing American politics, and most of its members sometimes sit on the panel of ''The Drum'', ABC News 24's news analysis and debate program.

-->--'''Julian Morrow'''

The Chaser's stunts have gotten them into trouble a few times, culminating in an incident during the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) being held in Sydney in 2007: despite their expectations that the stunt would go no further than the outer boundary, their fake motorcade [[GoneHorriblyRight entered the Red Security Zone]] (the highest level security zone), despite having 'FAKE' and 'This is obviously a joke' stamped on their "passes", and with a. Chas, Julian, and a number of the crew for the show got arrested. It was this prank alone that started international buzz and later a bidding war for American syndication, eventually won by {{G4}} in late 2008.

!!'''''TheChasersWarOnEverything'' and other works by the Chaser provide examples of:'''

----

* '''''RefugeInAudacity'''''

** And [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking admitted to enjoying]] ''{{Norbit}}''.

* DeadBabyComedy

*** The 9th of November?[[hottip:*:from an Australian perspective, [[DontExplainTheJoke this is what the date "9/11" looks and sounds like to those unfamiliar with the day itself]], though Americans don't have that excuse]]

-->-'''Julian Morrow'''

''The Chaser's War on Everything'' was an Australian half-hour comedy show produced and broadcast by TheABC (the Australian one) and hosted by funny-men Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, Chas Licciardello, Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow, collectively referred to as The Chaser.[[hottip:*:Members of the team not usually mentioned are Dominic Knight (who prefers to remain behind the scene as a writer) and Charles Firth (who went solo in 2007).]] The show has aired in many countries across the world, from Israel to the UK, Poland to South Korea.

The Chaser began as creators of a satirical newspaper, called ''The Chaser'' (not dissimilar to ''TheOnion''). After a slow start, sales skyrocketed when they published then Prime Minister John Howard's phone number. This got the attention of Australian interviewer and TV star Andrew Denton, who got them a spot on the ABC, Australia's government-funded network; the result was ''The Election Chaser'', a short series covering the 2001 federal election and taking the piss out of everyone involved. They then went on to do the news parody show ''CNNNN'' (Chaser Non-stop News Network), mostly mocking {{CNN}} and Australian current affairs. They followed this with more coverages of elections, a stage show, and then their most famous work: ''The Chaser's War on Everything''.[[hottip:*:Rejected names for the show include ''Hey Hey It's The Chaser'', ''The Age of Terror Variety Hour'', ''Thank Allah It's Friday'' and ''The Chaser is Right''.]]

Clips from ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' are extremely abundant on YouTube. The ABC has a policy of allowing its content to be freely available, and so is more than happy to leave them be. In addition, the Chaser has [[http://www.youtube.com/user/chaserhq a YouTube channel]], which in addition to exclusive content contains clips of a majority of the content of ''The Hamster Wheel''

* CuteKitten: Politics. ''With Cats.''
** Somewhat sadly, that's actually probably the best way to teach people about politics now.

* FanDisservice: All too often. Chas and Andrew once smeared manure all over each other. In the middle of Federation Square. While wearing BDSM outfits.

** Taken further in the election specials in 2007, where Andrew and Chris played voiceover people.

* SpookyPhotographs

** Also, a "What Have We Learned From History?" segment which involved the Chasers entering a Polish nightclub dressed as [[{{Lederhosen}} stereotypical Germans]], then dressed as [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht/Waffen-SS troopers]], and then Andrew Hansen entered while dressed as '''Hitler himself'''. Complete with swastika armband. He got in. [[hottip:*:The DVDCommentary notes that he was asked to remove the armband, but it got cut from the actual footage.]]

* WittyBanter

<<|AustralianTelevisionShows|>>

* KarmicDeath: Chris in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. "Fittingly, he died of cancer." Clearly God's reaction to "Make A Realistic Wish" was the same as pretty much [[DudeNotFunny everyone else's.]]

''The Chaser's War on Everything'' was an Australian half-hour comedy show produced and broadcast by TheABC (the Australian one) and hosted by funny-men Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, Chas Licciardello, Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow, collectively referred to as The Chaser.[[hottip:*:Members of the team not usually mentioned are Dominic Knight (who prefers to remain behind the scene as a writer) and Charles Firth (who went solo in 2007).]]

->''"I just can’t wait to get my hands on the ABC credit card again. When it comes to dodgy uses of other people’s money, [[AustralianPolitics Craig]] [[{{Scandalgate}} Thomson]]’s got nothing on The Chaser team."''
-->'''Julian Morrow''', on the 2011 return of The Chaser

In 2011, The Chaser team returned with their new show ''The Hamster Wheel'', a (relatively) low-key version of The War with more of a focus on discussion of politics and modern media rather than attention-grabbing stunts like APEC.

''The Chaser's War on Everything'' was a half-hour comedy show produced and broadcast by TheABC (the Australian one) and hosted by funny-men Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, Chas Licciardello, Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow, collectively referred to as The Chaser.[[hottip:*:Members of the team not usually mentioned are Dominic Knight (who prefers to remain behind the scene as a writer) and Charles Firth (who went solo in 2007).]]

The Chaser began as creators of a newspaper, called ''The Chaser'' (not dissimilar to ''TheOnion''). After a slow start, sales skyrocketed when they published then Prime Minister John Howard's phone number. They later achieved attention from Australian interviewer and TV star Andrew Denton, who got them a spot on ABC, Australia's government-funded network. They then successfully took the piss out of everybody in ''The Election Chaser'', covering the 2001 election. They then went on to do the news parody show ''CNNNN'' (Chaser Non-stop News Network), mostly mocking {{CNN}} and Australian current affairs. They followed this with more coverages of elections, a stage show, and then the show of this trope: ''The Chaser's War on Everything''. (Rejected names include ''Hey Hey It's The Chaser'', ''The Age of Terror Variety Hour'', ''Thank Allah It's Friday'' and ''The Chaser is Right''.)

The show was more relaxed than ''CNNNN'', extensively used parody and satire, and they didn't pull any punches either. Channel 7 and Channel 9, both the 'big' commercial stations in Australia, were frequently poked fun at, particularly with regards to their current affairs reporting. They also mock the ABC, which doesn't seem to mind them poking fun at or criticising material produced or transmitted by them. (This is probably because the ABC is entirely government-funded, so there are no sponsors to offend.)

The Chaser's stunts have gotten them into trouble a few times, culminating in an incident during the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) being held in Sydney in 2007, their fake motorcade entered the Red Security Zone (the highest level security zone), despite having 'FAKE' and 'This is obviously a joke' stamped on their "passports". Chas, Julian, and a number of the crew for the show got arrested. It was this prank alone that started international buzz and later a bidding war for American syndication, eventually won by {{G4}} in late 2008.

Clips from ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' are extremely abundant on YouTube. The ABC has a policy of allowing its content to be freely available, and so is more than happy to leave them be.

(For the Korean film, see ''Film/TheChaser'')

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Parodied with their Citizen's Infringement Notices
* AxCrazy: Chas borders on this at times

* CandidCameraPrank: ''lots'' of these in the show.

* ChannelHop: Averted, despite many requests from commercial efforts. Yet we all know the Chaser could not be as good as it is if it was on a commerical network. Also parodied in the series itself.

* CuteKitten: Politics. ''With Cats.''
** Somewhat sadly, that's actually probably the best way to teach people about politics now.

** And [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking admitted enjoying]] {{Norbit}}.

* FootballHooligans: One skit involved selling balaclavas and (fake) knuckledusters in club colors to [[RugbyLeague Canterbury Bulldogs]] fans.

* MoodWhiplash: Averted and parodied

* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: The Middle East TV segment carried the disclaimer "All translations independently verified by the ABC" to let people know it wasn't a GagSub.

* OscarBait: One fake movie trailer with this title featured everything you expect to see in one of these movies.

** Taken further in the election specials in 2007. Andrew and Chris played voiceover people.
* '''RefugeInAudacity'''
* ReligionIsMagic: Parodied with faith healers who push people over to make them better and The Secret to get what you want.

*** The 9th of November?

* ShowWithinAShow, these included:

* TakeThat: Between [[IdiotBall A Current Affair]], [[{{Narm}} 60 Minutes]] and especially [[ButtMonkey Today]] [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer Tonight]], The Chaser team [[CluelessAesop copped a lot of flak]], their [[HilarityEnsues responses]] of course were satirical and better received by audiences compared to their {{Narm}} powered critics attempts to discredit them, which verged on StrawmanHasAPoint in some cases.

*** Points to the Turkish Consulate for NOT letting them in [[TheTrojanWar (this time that is)]]

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Series 3 ended with a parody.