The Curmudgeon

YOU'LL COME FOR THE CURSES. YOU'LL STAY FOR THE MUDGEONRY.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

News 2020

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One of the Middle East's most popular game shows could be cancelled because of creative differences between creative and production teams, according to the Democratic Republic of Baghdad's news outlet, United Sovereign Agencies.

The game show, which is produced with American expertise under the Oil for Culture programme, is watched by thousands inside the Democratic Republic and is thought to be picked up secretly by many of the millions living outside Baghdad who are awaiting liberation from the insurgents and foreign fighters who oppress them.

The show's presenters, floor managers and technical staff, who are mostly natives learning the basics of show-business from American advisers, claim they are owed months' worth of back salary and that the money being spent on the show could be better used elsewhere.

Many insurgent groups have condemned the Democratic Republic's media as decadent, materialistic and pro-American, and the US government says that watching game shows is a capital offence in areas controlled by the militants. There is little reliable information about areas controlled by US-backed independent forces, but it is thought that watching game shows is optional in many of them, with the death penalty used only as a last resort.

"There's no doubt that the TV shows put out by Free Baghdad Information are incredibly popular in the area," said creative adviser Colonel Ramford B Tucker yesterday. "The game shows are especially appreciated because the prizes sometimes include free food or holidays in quieter parts of the world."

Some shows offered holidays in western countries as prizes, but this practice fell out of favour when a number of winning contestants refused to return home after their visas expired. Several prizewinners are believed to be still at large in the United States, where the government has declared them potential terroristic elements.

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