Eating Media Lunch (EML) was a
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
New Zealand
news show hosted by
Jeremy Wells. It aired on
TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to:
Television networks, channels and stations
*Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
*Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station
*, entertainment and music television in Latvia
* ...
from 2003 to 2008. The show was frequently controversial during its run.
Notable episodes
In 2005 it shocked some viewers when it depicted two newsreaders fornicating
(a parody of
Naked News). It frequently caused complaints to the
Broadcasting Standards Authority, ranging from complaints about the show's treatment of New Zealand celebrities to complaints about an episode which showed a
cat in a
microwave oven.
Producer Paul Casserly noted that portrayals of violence against animals were certain to attract complaints, such as the show which claimed to feature famous sheep
Shrek being slaughtered, while the spoof Maori porn movie 'Anal Mana' saw no complaints.
Innovations
The show features a regular animated segment by
Anthony Ellison
Anthony Ellison (born 1966) is a New Zealand cartoonist and animator.
Ellison is of Māori descent, from the Ngāi Tahu, Ngai Tahu iwi.
Ellison has been the political cartoonist for ''The Sunday Star-Times'' since 1988 and was at one stage the ...
titled Media Dog which was available online. Since 2004 the series had included an annual 'awards' show which "honour
the absurd and the unusual as seen on television, radio and newspapers" categories include: "Services to Scaremongering, Worst Moment on Reality TV, The Inappropriate Touching Award and the much coveted
New Zealander of the Year
The New Zealander of the Year Awards, currently known as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, celebrate the achievements of New Zealanders, and were founded in 2010 by Australian Jeffrey John Hopp. Nominations are accepted from the gene ...
trophy."
The 2006 season featured former ''
Close Up'' reporter
Hugh Sundae as well as
Matt Heath and
Chris Stapp from
Back of the Y. According to
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
the 2006 season tackled "racism, reality TV and the country's best-known protesters".
The 2008 season won best comedy at the
Qantas Film and TV Awards
New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...
.
Last season
In 2009 when TVNZ faced $25 million in budget cuts as a result of the
recession and declining advertising revenue, the network made the decision not to commission a 2009 season of Eating Media Lunch.
See also
*''
The Unauthorised History of New Zealand'', satirical series also hosted by Wells
References
External links
*
Video extract from the show{Dead link, date=December 2022 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Report on the Cancellation of EML
2000s New Zealand television series
2003 New Zealand television series debuts
2008 New Zealand television series endings
New Zealand satirical television shows
Television shows filmed in New Zealand
Television shows funded by NZ on Air
TVNZ 2 original programming
News parodies