The Onion has seen the future. And it doesn't look good. Actually, strike that. It looks very good. The video that is. Where our society is headed, however, looks a tad bleak.
Today "The Onion News Network" rolled out its most ambitious project yet, titled "Future: News from the Year 2137." Given its length and surprisingly impressive special effects, it's only available for purchase on iTunes (not to worry, their regular content is still available free of charge on their website).
The bottom line is that, like pretty much everything The Onion does, it's funny. But what separates this from your standard "Onion News Network" fare are the visuals and special effects - the little touches that help create the post-apocalyptic world in which it's set. What I'm getting at is...it looks gooood.
Anchors (or "news givers") and pundits zoom in on holograms to discuss the topics affecting the world (like what will happen with the state called "Gay Texas"). They analyze the leadership of the President, who of course is adorned with machine guns and face tattoos. He's reminiscent of the Terry Crews character in "Idiocracy," which ironically, despite being a feature-length film doesn't have nearly the production value of this. That's not a comment on the Mike Judge movie as much as it is a reflection on the visuals of ONN's "Future Channel."
As far as the content goes, not only does it foresee the demise of our society, but comments on the increasing ridiculousness of cable news. F-bombs are tossed around in completely unnecessary, and of course funny, situations and anchors end conversations with an "I love you." (Actually, the future doesn't sound so bad.) With updates on the last remaining Israeli and Palestinian and "all the latest on the end of the world" being reported while jokes fly all over the screen, there's so much to watch, you're best bet is to watch it a few times to catch all the gags.
Here's the trailer for Future: News from the Year 2137: