Utopia

A great satire of the inside workings of government public service. It is not in your face obvious humour but rather intelligent sharp witted and subtle. It seems like an updated Australian version of "Yes Minister" The major drawback for the show is the "mocumentary" handycam filming style which can become annoying. But overall a great effort and worth watching.

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.

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.

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.

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