Viral Prankster Plays Prank, Australian Media Eats It Up.

One of the things that frustrates us about the current media – in all its forms – is that there’s not enough following up. Politicians make crazy claims about their future plans, newspapers print them, and then ten years later someone looks around and goes “oh, they never did build that billion-dollar scheme, did they?”

We’re not expecting the media to put together a running tally of schemes announced that have mysteriously fallen by the wayside – if they did that what would be the point of Utopia, for one thing – but we do kind of think that when a firm date is attached to something when that firm date rolls around the press should go back to see how things are going. So with that in mind, remember this?

DAVID Thorne is best known for his witty email exchanges that go viral worldwide and pop up in Facebook feeds every so often, but the former Adelaide man can now add TV writer to his list of credentials.

Thorne, who grew up in Modbury and now lives in Virginia, US is working on an eight-part TV series for the American cable and satellite network HBO, alongside Arrested Development’s Jim Vallely.

Named after Thorne’s blog, 27b/6 , the comedy show is set in a small advertising/design agency and is pitched as a cross between The Office and Eastbound & Down.

“I signed a few contracts, sat uncomfortably in on a few meetings, and rewrote scripts written by writers they brought in,” Thorne says.

The 40-something has also been working with Australian comedian Chris Lilley on a mockumentary called Cold Feet; America’s Bunny Slopes, due for release around September.

Around September, you say? And yet zero word has been reported on this since then. Seems odd that when HBO can give you an air date six months in advance for the new season of Game of Thrones, the only person talking up Thorne’s work with them is Thorne himself.

We mentioned this earlier this year. We were pretty sceptical even then; now we’re openly derisive. Thorne is a self described “internet prankster” – why didn’t anyone think to contact Lilley about their “working together”? Doesn’t HBO have a phone number?

At least the Sydney Morning Herald has come around to our way of thinking: they’ve taken down their article we linked to where they praised Thorne and reported as fact his upcoming work with Lilley. Though a google search for it did turn up this variant from June featuring one interesting difference from the SMH version:

Cold Feet will air in the US in August and in Australia and Britain in September, followed by a DVD release in October.

How was anyone out there stupid enough to fall for this? Wait, don’t answer that, we’ll be here all day.