This just in: The Onion brings its `news' to TV ; Shows poke fun with fake stories

One of the great things about the Onion is that it pushes you tolook twice.

So much that is released by the satirical news organization - inprint and online - can seem like actual daily news for a split-split second, before you realize it's completely fake and absurd. Inthat instant when you've been pranked by the news-font headlines andthe fast-talking anchors, you question what is being handed to youas truth. If the Onion is part of your regular media diet, maybe youeven become a generally less passive recipient of information -less credulous at a time when misinformation and rumors run wild onthe Internet.

The Onion is now extending its brand to TV with two new shows,"Onion SportsDome" on Tuesdays at 10:30 on Comedy Central and "OnionNews Network," which premieres tonight at 10 on IFC. Both shows tryto provoke viewers into laughing at TV news sources by spoofingstraight-up TV news coverage as it is presented on ESPN, CNN, FoxNews, and other cable news channels. And both shows are cleverreminders of just how ridiculous TV news can be, as they exaggerateall the conventions we take for granted. The brash and crowdedgraphics, the robotic and garish anchors, the exploitive stories,the insulting of viewers - they're amped up and all over "OnionSportsDome" and "Onion News Network."

But unlike "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "The ColbertReport," and "Saturday Night Live," these shows are not reportingreal news and then goofing on it. The Onion shows are the fakest offake news TV outlets, interested primarily in laughing at the formthat news coverage takes more than the substance of the news. TheOnion writers aren't bent on being timely so much as reminding usthat those endless storm-watches (on "ONN," they're labeled"Snowlocaust") are scams and that polls (like the one on "ONN" aboutwho would vote for Sarah Palin for president) are malleable. On"SportsDome," the writers goof on those forced "Daily Top 10"features with a list of the 10 best athletes by the name of Stan,including Stanislaus Joyce, James's brother.

And that repetition of the message makes both Onion shows alittle tiresome, to be honest. After a few minutes, they seem to bedriving the same points too hard - that the cliches andinsincerities of sports and hard news are insufferable, that ournews coverage has become commercially motivated, that the fakebanter among newscasters is inane. As snippets online, the Onionbits are perfect. The Onion has been running fake TV news items onits website for a few years now, and they get in and get outquickly. As a longer form show, though, the Onion material gets alittle monotonous, especially without the cheers of a live audienceto add vibrancy. Likewise in the Onion paper, sometimes anythingmore than a headline seems like too much.

The best segment on "ONN" tonight is about Kim Jong-il, whoreportedly agrees to suspend nuclear plans in exchange for astarring role in the new "Batman" movie. All the pundits care aboutis whether or not the leader of North Korea will ruin the "Batman"franchise. Also funny: an interview with a girl who was saved by afirefighter who died in the blaze, during which she is humiliatedfor not being as heroic as the man who saved her. But alas, you maybe too exhausted by the show to appreciate these and other amusingitems when they appear.

Part of the problem on both shows is the fact that the anchorsare obnoxious. The guys on "SportsDome" yell everything fast, while"ONN" features the fatuous, catty Brooke Alvarez (Suzanne Sena),dressed in hot pink. Of course, that's part of the parody, but it'swearing. Maybe it's a testament to the effectiveness of the comicactors. They're all loud and clueless, and eventually you just wantto shut them off.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more onTV, visit www.boston.com/ae/tv/blog.

Television Reviews

ONION NEWS NETWORK

On: IFC

Time: Tonight, 10-10:30

ONION SPORTSDOME

On: Comedy Central

Time: Tuesdays, 10:30-11

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