Utopia (2014)

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General		Extras
Category	Satire	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2014
Running Time	213
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	?
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Rob Sitch Santo Cilauro Tom Gleisner Rob Sitch
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The team from such TV shows and movies as The Late Show, The Castle, The Panel, The Hollowmen and more include people such as Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy. They have collaborated again to bring us the hilarious satire on Government Infrastructure programs and Government departments in general, Utopia. This time the focus is on a semi-government organisation the Nation Building Authority, led by CEO Tony (Rob Sitch). They have been given a mandate to plan and deliver major infrastructure projects for the future of Australia and Tony for one is committed to delivering. Unfortunately, he is surrounded by political interference, incompetence, corruption and a myriad of other problems which mean that getting anything past the planning stage is nearly impossible. Within his team there is only one other person who seems to have the competence and desire to get things done, Nat (Celia Pacquola) who tries to help Tony achieve something. They are however, significantly outnumbered by those getting in the way of actual achievements, such as Jim (Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann) who is the political liaison getting the instructions and requests from their political masters or marketing head, Rhonda (Kitty Flanagan) who just wants enough achieved to be able to make an announcement, actual outcomes are irrelevant. Other team members with varying degrees of competence include Scott (Dave Lawson), Hugh, Nat's offsider (Luke McGregor), Tony's 'challenged' PA, Katie (Emma-Louise Wilson) and kooky receptionist, Amy (Michelle Lim Davidson).

    The style here is very much like The Hollowmen, with a documentary/fly on the wall feel to proceedings. The acting is pretty much spot on, with Rob Sitch, Lehmo and Kitty Flanagan probably being the highlights. The set contains all 8 episodes over 2 DVDs from the first season, with a second planned. There are some great running jokes such as the name of the authority and the logo plus some great one-liners and sight gags.

    A funny satire of Australian government bureaucracy. Highly recommended.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio for this show. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp.

    The colour was good although faces were a little pale at times.

    There were no noticeable artefacts other than some minor motion blur.

    There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

    This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 and an audio descriptive track in the same technical format.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to hear and understand throughout.

    The music is incidental except for the theme tune.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included music.

    This show is only available locally at this point.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall