Utopia

Welcome to the Nation Building Authority, an Australian government organisation set up to plan and oversee major infrastructure projects. While the staff are capable and enthusiastic, in true government fashion, red tape, politics and inefficiency will always have the last laugh.

Great series, parodying the inefficiency of government departments. "Parody" might not be the right word - "mirroring" would be more accurate. Shows well how the best intentions of staff always take a back seat to political machinations, unnecessary red tape and the usual government inefficiency.

Quite funny in the way it explores these themes though sometimes so accurate it is more sad than funny.

Utopia/Dreamland's fast paced jokes-within-jokes are all equally well written and fit in without the pretension or awkwardness of a "made-for-intellectuals-witty-banter" type program. In retrospect, after watching a clip or episode I realize how well put together and incredibly thought out and ...."planned" the comedy is.

The dialogue and characters somehow embody the ridiculous types of comments, initiatives and people we all encounter in daily life. Those characters then somehow solidify the vague, annoying and counterproductive things we see in work and life into succinct dialogue that almost feels like the satisfying feeling one gets when you finally remember that word that was on the tip of your tongue.

A viewer could start at any episode as if it were a pilot and still find the laughs and totally follow the premise - because even though as many commenters have noted, the media market is quite saturated with The Office like mockumentary series's, I think Dreamland/Utopia is still worth whatever risk a viewer or a studio takes in starting "just another "The Office" government office faux-comedy". It's contemporary, relatable to people who work in conceivably any industry. The subject matter is a perfect blend of creative professions, business, government, and even students working on a group project.

In shorter words, yeah, you've seen shows that pioneered the genre of the workplace comedy, but that takes nothing away from the quietly hilarious and engineered show.

An easy to watch, cringe inducing comedy from Working Dog. Anyone who has ever worked for the public service, or for a major organisation for that matter, will feel right at home with this series. It is in some instances almost difficult to watch - it is that spot on. Some of the jokes fall flat in the first season, but it picks up towards the end and is on fire in the second. A commentator above has suggested it is a poor hybrid of The Thick of It and The Office. I think that's a misunderstanding of the show; it certainly has elements of both, but it stand on its own as well thought out and delivered. The series is obviously directed at an Australian audience, but I imagine the that the trials and tribulations of these poor public servants would resonate across borders.

It is surprising that the Australian government allowed the Working Dog team to film in a department headquarters for so long and obtain such candid reactions from their staff. The small group of employees are responsible for developing nationally significant infrastructure (a.k.a. "nation-building"). Clearly, most government departments work the same way as this department reminded me so much of the one in which I used to work. Logical decisions are constantly over-ridden by politics. Long-term planning is defeated by short-term political imperatives. Media advisers outrank experts in the field. The main purpose of the department is smothered by peripheral workplace issues such as occupational health and safety, IT upgrades and social events. The second series is a great improvement on the first. Perhaps the employees were a little nervous in front of cameras for the first time but, in the second series, their true characters are much better defined. All these people would make excellent actors if they ever wanted to give up working for the public service. Kitty Flanagan would certainly make a great stand-up comedian. Some of the projects proposed are very exciting. I am looking forward to the unveiling of the solar-powered train. Also, now that Stage 2 has been "launched", I can't wait for Stage 3, hoping then to have some idea what it is! This is among the best pieces of writing that Australian television has produced.

What a beaut series. The grotesque day to day idiocy of office life set against the biggest stuff we dare to dream or connive. A wincing joy to watch. Thanks