Recap: Mad As Hell, May 25th 2012

After much anticipation, it was the first episode of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell! This week’s episode was also available in mono.

Shaun began explaining how he wasn’t going to be as mad as the opening titles suggest, more of a conduit for what makes us mad. He doesn’t take sides – even his desk has no sides; if he could have it teetering on a fence as a metaphor, he would.

But what fucking got him mad this week is Craig Thomson. As reported, Mr Thompson put Julia Gillard against the wall – literally. And the question was posed – can prostitutes be classified as a “health service”? Julia Gillard couldn’t be drawn on it, but Mark Knight tried.

Shaun asked if opinons can be formed on the basis of what we see. Police shooting bullets into a car is certainly not a very good look, and neither is Au Sung Sui Ki missing the first day of the Burmese parliament – but she’s used to working from home.

Is Peter Slipper a vampire? Ventura Grosby thinks we need to wait for the evidence – if we see him turning into a bat, then he probably is.

Julia Gillard talks to us like we’re retarded, reports Atlanta Monkley. And maybe we are, but the leadership speculation hasn’t ended, and Kevin Rudd keeps bringing up the name of Kevin Rudd. Atlanta interviews two staffers in the Julia and Kevin camps, who disagree on who is saying what. Is that what they’re saying?

After some out of context vox pops, Carrington Mews, private detective, reported on the movements of Christopher Pyne the night he met with the man who alleges Peter Slipper sexually harassed him. Carrington wouldn’t speculate on what happened, but did speculate on what others would speculate.

Perception – Julia Gillard is put around children to make he look more friendly, just like Wayne Swann walking to the treasury makes him look like he knows about the economy.

Paramore Quilt spoke to Cecily Crumb about how politicians are positioned at press conferences. Tony Abbott was put in front of Anzac biscuits to counteract Julia Gillard being at lone pine. Cecily most loved her ‘Tony Takes The Cake’ idea when he was seen cutting a cake.

As Shaun summises, never trust anything on television.

During the break, we were ‘sold’ on the idea of the Carbon Tax package and a new political satire called Back Benched!

Shaun received a few thankyous – ACA and Today Tonight were very similar, and Andrew Bolt sent some unfashionable shoes. Kerry O’Brien’s ghost appeared to also wish good luck.

Shaun tried to interview one of 6 parliamentary members of the Queensland ALP, but after introducing all of the ministries he was shadow minister of, there was no time for the interview.

Clive Palmer wants to build a replica Titanic  – Shaun thinks he would make a great treasurer, he certainly know how to look after money.

How much does a Grecian urn?  Not much at the moment, but if they want to pull out of the Euro, they better get themselves a non minority government. Is it a conspiracy that Greece’s problems began after the release of Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos?

Bethany Dogmueler is housing a refugee and gets $300 a week. He’s from Sudan, which is great as her first child was born a stationwagon.  She plans to adopt him and marry him later in order to keep getting government bonuses.

Before running out of time, Shaun got a massage and paid with a blank cabcharge, and reflected on the float of Facebook – worth more than the value of shares wiped from the Australian stock market in total. Yin and Yang.