Double Take slammed for “After School You Die” sketch
Updated: "Satire draws attention to serious matters through humour," says producer after criticism over a bullying sketch.
- Published by David Knox
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Seven’s Double Take sketch comedy has come under fire following a sketch last night on schoolyard bullying.
The sketch was presented as an advertisement for a fictional private school ‘St. Fillimore’s.’
A presenter, or possibly principal, boasted the school had “the best bullies money can buy.”
Whilst various scenes showed kids pulling pranks on one another, one scene depicted a laptop screen with the message “After School You Die” being sent between students.
“With every one of our bullies supplied with their own broadband account, cyber-bullying is no longer just a dream but an appalling everyday reality,” the presenter added.
“Here at St Fillimore’s our school bullies have gone on to successful careers as CEOs, professional football players and chief parking inspectors.
“While our victims have mostly gone on to top themselves.”
The sketch comes hot on the heels of 60 Minutes being forced to withhold a story on teenage suicide following concern over deaths in the wider community. Nine says the report has the co-operation of family members involved in the story.
Psychologist Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg said Double Take should issue a public apology.
“These people have obviously been to the Chaser’s War on Everything school of comedy,” he said. “I think Australians are getting sick and tired of comedians making jokes about things that are really not funny.”
The Chaser recently apologised for its “Make a Realistic Wish” sketch and saw the ABC suspend the show for two episodes whilst stripping an ABC executive of key duties.
UPDATED: David McDonald, Double Take creator and EP responded this afternoon saying, “As it happens, this particular sketch was written and filmed very early in the production schedule.
“It was not produced and aired in reaction to recent events, but written to highlight the serious nature of bullying.”
“Satire draws attention to serious matters through humour. On Double Take, social issues are often discussed, not to make light of them but draw attention to them. If the consequence of a particular sketch is community discussion then this can be a positive thing.”
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Source: news.com.au
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52 Responses
I have to agree,
I find this show, Double Take is a Chaser rip-off. That kind of lat night comedy ought to be taken down permanently and never be rerun again. I think comedy entertainment is really on thin ice, this year we had more like angry mobs rather than smiling faces.
I really miss some of the old style sketch comedy like, Full Frontal where the scriptwriting and the characters were something we can truly remember like the Brownish Bomber, Milo Kerrigan by comedy legend, Shaun Micallef. Now days these comedies are just trying to insult people with disgraceful crud like, Comedy Inc, The Mansion and this recent show, Double Take.
The parodies and the sketches on that show is really disgraceful, A Muslim exposing her breast, Swearing bank robbers adjusting a time bomb, selling landmines and asbestos as furniture just to stop children running in the house, and this ad about a school that allows bulling? That kind of programming ought to be viewed to the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
The Music Video parodies are not to be seen too, like the Gabriella Cilmi video, I notice there was even a drummer who looked more “Black Faced” than a real black man. They have an objection to the Jackson 5 tribute on Hey Hey Reunion, so why not an objection to that Double Take music video. Weird Al Yankovic can do a better parody than that, and treats them respectively.
The Chaser may have done some comedy that have gone too far like the Make a Realistic Wish sketch, but they honestly apologised, I have many doubts that the people behind Double Take will do their apology.
Seriously, I find Comedy could be on thin ice, especially here in Australia.
I personally found the skit in bad taste, especially with all the school childern committing suicide over this issue.
The chaser skit was a reaction to Make A Wish axing the number of wishes they would be filling due to children asking to go to disney land etc and it costing so much, and it was reported that unless children were able to ask for more realistic wishes then the number of wishes they could fill would be cut.
hence chasers ‘make a realistic wish’
theyve done worst skits.
with cnnnn with ‘fungry’? and the children dying?
anywho, i turned it off when this double take skit came on and i think thats what people need to do. if you find something insulting, turn it off. or complain. or both 😛