A scene from the new reality TV show 'Utopia'. Photo / YouTube
Is that a fake moustache? Are those a pair of joke 3D glasses from the $2 shop? Who is this artsy hipster dad dude? That Thompson twin lookalike is cartoonist Dan Piraro, and he's already apologised for his surprise host spot.
Host of 'Utopia' Dan Piraro. Photo / YouTube
In a blog post entitled, My Life Just Got Very WEIRD!, he wrote: "I'm at home in my sweatpants working on my cartoon career like I've been doing for the past 30 years and a friend asks me if I'd like to do some voiceover work for a TV show ... A few weeks later I'm on national TV, posing for publicity shots, and going on press junkets. I didn't even have an agent or a headshot when this started. People who've been working for this kind of break in showbiz for years must hate me, and I can't blame them. To them, I can only say I'm sorry." Yep.
Not since the heady days of Baywatch's opening number - all together now: "Forever and always / I'm always here " - has there been a television theme tune this ridiculously banal.
A scene from the new reality TV show 'Utopia'. Photo / YouTube
Some session act from Wisconsin just got the gig of their lifetime with this chorus: "Will we stand together, 'gether, 'gether / Or fall apart, 'part, 'part / This is Utooooopia / Let's make a brand new start." Just remember, people got paid to write, record and sing that pap.
Rob in a scene from 'Utopia'. Photo / YouTube
Utopia's cast list looks like a Survivor-style selection of stereotypes: the peace-loving hippy, the hillbilly, the animal-loving vegan, the brainy lawyer, the brawny builder, the minister, the doctor and the chef. But this is America - of course there's a gun guy. Meet Rob, the show's resident black clad gun-toting freedom speaker. "Don't get in my space, and guess what? I won't get in yours," he says, jabbing his finger at the camera for effect. This sequence is overlaid with some nice slow-mo footage of him brandishing an automatic weapon. You just know he's got it stashed in his rucksack for special occasions. Like killing chickens for dinner.
Dedeker in a scene from 'Utopia'. Photo / YouTube
Belly dancer Dedeker Winston is polyamorous, so she's got a few goodbyes to say. Before she can enter the compound, she has to say goodbye to her boyfriend. And her other boyfriend. And her girlfriend, who she kisses and hugs forever while her boyfriends stare at their feet awkwardly. That will be an interesting conversation on the car ride home.
Amanda in a scene from 'Utopia'. Photo / YouTube
As Amanda walks up the stairs into the compound, she starts crying and splutters: "It's like a fairytale ... hopefully it lasts." It will. For about a day. Then the vegetarian is going to get upset because the hillbilly killed a chicken, the gun guy will go nuts when the hippy places a daisy chain over his head , and everyone will get naked and smear themselves in mud pies. Probably.
Watch the first five minutes of Utopia below:
* A New Zealand screening date or network hasn't yet been announced for Utopia.
- nzherald.co.nz
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.