Brass Eye (stylised as brassEYE) is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming.

[citation needed] The series satirised media portrayal of social ills, in particular sensationalism, unsubstantiated establishmentarian theory masquerading as fact, and creation of moral panics, and is a sequel to Morris's earlier spoof news programmes On the Hour (1991–92) and The Day Today (1994).

The series stars Morris's The Day Today colleague Doon Mackichan, along with Gina McKee, Mark Heap, Amelia Bullmore, Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Claire Skinner, John Guerrasio, Hugh Dennis, and Kevin Eldon.

The second episode, "Drugs", has been described by Professor Michael Gossop as illustrative of the ease with which anti-drug hysteria can be evoked in the United Kingdom.

[5] It tackled paedophilia and the moral panic in parts of the British media following the murder of Sarah Payne, focusing on the name-and-shame campaign conducted by the News of the World in its wake.

[7] To illustrate the media's knee-jerk reaction to the subject, various celebrities were duped into presenting fatuous and often ridiculous pieces to camera in the name of a campaign against paedophiles.

At one point, bogus CCTV footage was shown of a paedophile attempting to seduce children by stalking the streets while disguised as a school.

Prior to the launch, an eight-year-old boy had been placed on board the spaceship with Cooke by mistake, with a spokesman saying "this is the one thing we didn't want to happen".

Comedy website Chortle described the film as "a thoughtful, curiously touching time capsule which pays fulsome tribute to, and certainly never cheapens, the spirit of the original show".

[17][18] According to Channel 4, this delay was to ensure that broadcasting standards were met, amid fears that some of the series' pranks might violate the Independent Television Commission's code on hoaxes.

[18] After airing, the programme did indeed attract complaints from MPs David Amess and Sir Graham Bright concerning their appearances on the show involving 'cake', which were held up by the Independent Television Commission.

"[21] Michael Grade, then chief executive of Channel 4, repeatedly intervened to demand edits to episodes of Brass Eye.

[25][26] Tessa Jowell, after watching,[27] asked the Independent Television Commission to change its procedures so it could rule more swiftly on similar programmes.

[29][30][31] Columnist for The Guardian Ros Coward wrote at the end of July 2001: "What's so dishonest about Channel 4's defence of Brass Eye as a satire of media forms is the implication that they (and the liberal left in general) have a better truth than the tabloids.

"[11] A DVD released in 2001 reinstated most of the material cut from the original, although a few items were removed, most notably the subliminal messages directed at Michael Grade and an interview with Graham Bright MP in the "Drugs" episode.