Rob Sitch in Utopia comes to grips with decluttering the office ... of giant novelty cheques.Credit:ABC
"A collector's item then!"exclaims the ever-eager security officer and handyman Brian (Jamie Robertson),having located in a storeroom promotional props for tunnels,roads and bridges that were never built. It's the gulf between the utopian idealism of the title and the mundane realities of the everyday world where the show lives.
One part workplace comedy,Utopia evolves around the handful of mismatched characters whose paths cross at the modern offices of the fictional NBA. Like the employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company inThe Office,the laughs and mirth emanate from the interactions and misunderstandings that the workplace throws up.
Kitty Flanagan is public relations manager,Rhonda,in Utopia.Credit:ABC
The jeopardy comes in many forms,from over-reliant yet unpredictable technology – faulty swipe cards and computer upgrades are to this what Kramer's explorations of Jerry's fridge were toSeinfeld – to the clashes of ego between,say,the diligent boss of the NBA,Tony (Rob Sitch) and"government liaison guy"(er,whatever that is) Jim (Anthony Lehmann). Some,such as the terrifying public relations maven Rhonda (Kitty Flanagan) or the results-driven HR manager Beverley (Rebecca Massey),are the equivalent of solo stand-up acts in their own right.
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Yet somewhere along the way,Utopia took another prisoner,its satiric observations of the workings of the NBA and the brown-nosing politicians who walk its corridors becoming a shorthand for much of what is wrong with the modern world.
This elevation from disposable entertainment to cultural"moment"is something only a handful of comedies attain;thinkYes,Minister,The Thick of It or even a previous show from the creators ofUtopia,the biting and prescient newsroom satireFrontline.