Shadow Minister - I doubt whether too many of the 'blue rinse set' would stay up to watch Chaser nor could I imagine it being their preferred genre of TV program.

The sketch was as you say - not funny. The subject was completely unsuitable for lampooning. I've not lost a child to terminal illness but have been around long enough to see it happen to people within my circle of friendship and acquaintance. I did not complain but was disgusted by the complete lack of intelligence, thought or professionalism that went into making this episode.

Perhaps for the next series they could round in on Aboriginal child abuse or victims of violent crime or mental illness perhaps? Then again maybe not .....

The Chaser people should stick mainly to taking well aimed swipes at politicians, political situations and correctness. They generally do that with considerable wit, cleverness and OTT antics all of which have earned them a fan base of people like myself who enjoy satire and black humour. It's a shame to have had such a lapse of judgement by the authors of the show.

Many people who passionately defend freedom of speech assume that freedom has only one trajectory - and that is to keep pushing the boundaries of expression.

But there is another side to freedom of speech - and that is the freedom to express your outrage at something you deem to be offensive or at a behaviour/attitude that you feel could be detrimental to certain members of society or to society as a whole if allowed to continue unchallenged and unremarked.

What is important is that in a healthy democracy, these two opposing forces play against one other to create a system of balances and checks. It doesn't matter all that much who 'wins' these controversies - they mostly end in stalemate anyway and rarely ever require a third-party intervention. The important thing is that we live in a society that can accommodate both sides.

The popularity of the Chaser and it's tendency to highlight absurdity seems to have attracted a bunch of snotty sticky-beaks that obviously do not enjoy edgy comedy, nor appreciate free speech.
I cringe, occasionally I laugh, but I thank them for having a go and keeping alive the dream of a "free country".
I wonder why Mikey Robbins on GNW does not receive as much bagging? Just as "offensive" I would have thought but I guess he hasn't government and police look silly lately.

I think that the Chaser live in a tougher world for comedy than the one they left two years ago - the self serving "bad" politicians such as Bush & Howard have been replaced by Rudd and Obama, the greedy financiers have had their cumuppance, and I'm optimistic in thinking that the slowdown might lead to a kinder, more environmentally friendly and less materialistic world.

Good Chaser style comedy depended on a deserved victim. Their increasing rarity means that we have had some shows where the humour has been predictable and strained, the often big budget stunts have flopped, and the victims not necessarily deserved.

The Chaser guys are smart and I'm betting that their satire will evolve with these challenges. BTW, the Billy Connolly impression was absolutely brilliant!

optimist92169 - 'BTW, the Billy Connolly impression was absolutely brilliant!'

Wasn't it though? Ditto the Holocaust meets My Left Foot at the Oscars and Edmund Capon's totally deadpan take on the gambling dogs art series. By the time the Make a Realistic Wish sketch came on, my sides were already splitting and the sudden plunge into such tragic subject matter just hit me like a dead fish.

However, I agree that the boys are a resilient and intelligent bunch - arguably the best comedy group Australia has produced. I look forward to their 'Make a Realistic Sketch Foundation' sketch.