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''Utopia'', titled ''Dreamland'' in the UK and US, is a Logie Award winning Australian television comedy series by Working Dog Productions which premiered on ABC1 on 13 August 2014. The eight-part series follows the working lives of a team in the Nation Building Authority, a newly created government organisation. The Authority is responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, from announcement to unveiling. The series explores the collision between bureaucracy and grand ambitions. The second series aired in 2015, beginning with the first episode on 19 August 2015. ==Background== ''Utopia'' is written and produced by three of the founding members of Working Dog Productions: Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner. It is produced by Michael Hirsh, directed by Sitch who also stars as one of the main characters Tony, and casting managed by Jane Kennedy. When casting, Sitch wanted to have actors that possessed a certain acting style, that appeared as if nothing absurd was going on. Sitch described the series as being about "the currency of grand dreams". He described that the idea of the "Nation Building Authority" was to portray it as one of those things that got set up in a bit of a mad rush and that under all the grand dreams there was a white elephant waiting to appear.〔 ''Utopia'' continues on the satirical themes of other Working Dog works such as ''Frontline'' and ''The Hollowmen''. Sitch also noted that the series was more observational than satirical and that it depicted how organisations may or may not function.〔 When creating the show, Gleisner said the production team spoke to people who worked with government authorities and had experienced for themselves the daily unpredictabilities of working in these environments. ==Characters== * Tony (Rob Sitch) is the boss, and is constantly exasperated by his inability to achieve anything other than meetings and studies and reports. * Nat (Celia Pacquola), is Tony's second in charge. As the only other competent person in the office, she is equally as frustrated as Tony. * Scott (Dave Lawson) is a nice guy who doesn't actually do much. * Hugh (Luke McGregor) is Nat's personal assistant, and is constantly reminding her of how difficult it is to do things. * Rhonda (Kitty Flanagan) is the media manager. She forcefully pushes her narrow agenda, often based on some new fad, despite more important priorities. * Jim (Anthony "Lehmo" Lehmann) is the government liaison. He is unceasingly positive about new government projects, while being oblivious to the problems and chaos they cause. * Karsten (Toby Truslove) always has a grand vision and is highly optimistic, and is an ally of Rhonda's. * Katie (Emma-Louise Wilson) is Tony's personal assistant. She constantly tries to be helpful but is somewhat incompetent. * Amy (Michelle Lim Davidson) is the office receptionist, who is always positive and chirpy, but is unable to see the big picture. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Utopia (Australian TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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