By Simon de Bruyn
An online battle of words has broken out between At The Movies host David Stratton and ABC presenter Myles Barlow, with the pair exchanging heated words over Barlow’s new program set to air on ABC2 in October.
In an online review, Stratton called the new program, Review with Myles Barlow, “excruciatingly tedious drivel” and a “pointless exercise in banality and self indulgence” and gave the show a zero star rating.
Yesterday Barlow fired back at Stratton, saying that “understanding complexity [has] never been his strong point”. His response also included an attached video, with some surprising footage.
Both videos are actually part of a clever viral marketing campaign by ABC publicity, to promote its new six-part satirical program Review with Myles Barlow, in which its (fictional) host reviews real life experiences such as being a drug-mule, committing murder and living on the streets.
Last week journalists received promotional discs for the new show, each accompanied by provocative messages featuring reviews for ‘experiences’ such as “heroin” and “paying for sex”.
The dark comedy takes aim at review-type programs. The publicity notes for the show says “while other critics waste time with trivial matters such as film, food or art, one man dares to review all facets of life.”
As INSIDEFILM reported in January, Review with Myles Barlow is the creation of Sydney based production company Starchild Productions – which earlier this year was nominated for a Grammy for a world music DVD it had produced.