By Alec Launtanen
Theme Editor
Popular satirical newspaper The Onion has made a foray into the television market with “Onion SportsDome” and “The Onion News Network.” Though the television carry-overs shine in selected segments, the shows as a whole fail to deliver the constant humor and nonsensical amusement the newspaper provides.
Just like the print publication, “The Onion” television shows attempt to find and create humor in nonsensical versions of everyday situations.
The transfer from print to TV, however, lacks in the brief, abbreviated humor that the newspaper delivers. Much of The Onion’s humor involves singular headlines that can evoke laughs in themselves, but this spontaineity is not present in “SportsDome” and “News Network.”
“The SportsDome” and “News Network” are The Onion’s first attempt at the TV market following the release of the widely-criti cized “Onion” film “SportsDome” premiered Jan. 11 on Comedy Central and “News Network” premiered on Jan. 21 on IFC.
Both shows attempt to imitate the inane reporting style of the newspaper with satirical stories on real athletes and fake news reports presented in a straight deadpan style. These shows were developed to be parodies of regular news programs and “SportsCenter,” respectively, and “News Network” and SportsDome” adapt to their influences in different ways.
Although paralleling the style of “The Daily Show,” which satirizes actual news and world events, “News Network” gives audiences little connection to reality. “Sportsdome,” however, relies heavily on poking fun at real-world athletes.
While “SportsDome’s” exact parody of ESPN works well, setting up “News Network” as a carbon-copy of an actual news program doesn’t.
The reason why “The Daily Show” and the “Colbert Report” succeed is because Stewart and Colbert make the programs their own, a skill that “Network News” has yet to acquire. “SportsDome” is able to get away with its parody technique though because it is the first show of its kind.
The two series both lack a live audience, which sets them back considerably. From late-night comedy to other parody shows, live audiences help to keep the shows funny.
But when there is a disconnect like what is seen in “SportsDome” and “News Network,” the pressure to produce a quality program and not just a collection of one-liners is absent.
The shows are not without their strong points, however. The Onion has had short news-parody clips on its website for some time now, and expanding these to fill a half-hour program and episodes in a season gives further opportunity for character development and plot development.
Together, “SportsDome” and “News Network” transplant the Onion into a television-friendly format. However, without a live audience to supplement awkwardly unfunny moments, jokes too often fall flat. While the shows have their moments, they both lack a lot of humor as network programs.
“SportsDome” is on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on Comedy Central and “News Network” is on Fridays at 10 p.m. on IFC.
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