Fair enough, I'm not annoyed by his delivery (yet), and I like the writing and the style with the recurrent type of jokes he uses (analogies, use of pop culture to ridicule certain points, the irony that the writing manages pretty well).
Television Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
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I probably wouldn't find it annoying if some fecker hadn't pointed it out earlier in this thread.
I hope the same happens to you so you have to share my frustrations.
Anyway he's a dick, don't think he wears a watch.
Basically, his delivery is just too 'American' is what I think Cina is saying.
Don't put words in Cina's mouth.
I can't. Your penis takes up all the room.
Exactly!
Ffs
Met Snowden for this week.
Also read that Bill Gates foundation has contributed to a fund that will help small impoverished nations fight legal battles with tobacco companies after his segment on Phillip Morris. If he manages to pull this 215 Section of Patriots act debate, that's more meaningful stuff done in an year by a comedian than Obama
Also read that Bill Gates foundation has contributed to a fund that will help small impoverished nations fight legal battles with tobacco companies after his segment on Phillip Morris. If he manages to pull this 215 Section of Patriots act debate, that's more meaningful stuff done in an year by a comedian than Obama
The show sheds light on some interesting topics but the comedy is weak. The combination of writers who churn out variations on the same three jokes week after week, and a host with a limited repertoire of delivery, is really starting to take its toll. And said jokes are so often digressive rather than organically tied in with the narrative, that I'm not even sure I'd call it satire. Not a patch on The Daily Show, which is disappointing given that it's less shackled by the myopia of day-to-day politics and only has 30 minutes a week to fill.
It's an entirely different type of programme to the Daily Show, the Daily Show is all about mocking things to get a laugh where as Last Week Tonight isn't satire. Oliver isn't as strong a comic as Stewart but he's fantastic at presenting an otherwise dull topic in interesting and engaging ways. It's a funny show but it's primary focus isn't on making you laugh, it's about keeping you engaged long enough to make you think.
Personally I much prefer Last Week tonight because political satire suffers when you're in an incredibly partisan system, both sides already see the other as a figure of fun, Jon Stewart can only add so much to that.
Personally I much prefer Last Week tonight because political satire suffers when you're in an incredibly partisan system, both sides already see the other as a figure of fun, Jon Stewart can only add so much to that.
You might wanna tell that to HBO, John Oliver and anyone else who refers to it as such.
It employs elements of satire as a device, but it certainly isn't (and never has been) it's main focus.
Err, it's not similar to Daily Show, so it's no wonder it's not a patch on the Daily Show. It's a satirical take on the news across the week, it's main purpose is not to make jokes about the week.
Great great show... If Obama got a Nobel Oliver should too.
Granted, it's not a less daily replica of TDS, but both shows are satirical takes on the goings-on in media and politics, so in the grand scheme of things, of course they're similar. (Kayak Fishing with Jim Sammons. Now there's a show not similar to TDS.) As such it's not unnatural for a (semi-)regular watcher of both shows to compare certain aspects of the two, and in my opinion the writing and delivery of LWT falls increasingly short of TDS. Which is a shame 'cause the first handful of episodes seemed very promising (I actually praised the writing earlier in this thread).
Which is fair enough, we all have different tastes in shows. I think the format, the content and the schedule of Last Week Tonight allows more scope for some serious investigative journalism mixed with snarky comedy. I like the program and I'm heartened by the awareness it raised on at least 4 different issues, which led to positive changes.
Managed to make a segment on the IRS fun and interesting. More proof, if needed, that the guy is a genius.
Dunno if I'm alone in this, but I've been a tad disappointed by the last couple of episodes: I thought last weeks main segment on patents wasn't great, not that interesting overall, and the one he decided to do this week, concerning fashion... well, I just feel that criticizing large corporations about using cheap child labor in poor countries is a bit like flogging a dead horse nowadays (which he seemed to recognize by insisting on how this all began over 2 decades ago). Still, it needed a fresh new angle, and he just seemed to be going through the motions, in a way.
The upside is I think the parts outside of the main segment have gotten better this year and the show as a whole is better balanced, but I'm looking forward to a better main segment in one of the next episodes.
The upside is I think the parts outside of the main segment have gotten better this year and the show as a whole is better balanced, but I'm looking forward to a better main segment in one of the next episodes.
Just about to write that post. Last week, the segment was good, but it was far too short. Maybe they couldn't dig up materials for the subject. Although it was a dead horse, I thought Fashion and child labour was good, maybe because I'm from India and the issue hits close to heart.
I realize my post on the child labour segment may sound a bit insensitive, it's not meant as such it's just that it's an issue I'm very aware of, and I'm not convinced Oliver brought anything new or interesting to the whole thing. It was interesting, well done, and the jokes were fun, but I'd say that's the absolute minimum for him.
The patents one you're right, it's almost as if it was backup material they had in case a certain subject was dropped and only to be used in case of emergency. It was ok, but it was done very dispassionately, and I have to admit I don't remember much about it (when I can usually remember quite a bit from his better segments).
Patent troll I thought was well done, with interesting claims about Marshall, Texas. I agree that the Child labor was done with no new insights, but I thought he was pushing towards a 'don't import clothes, make it in the USA instead of sending it to Cambodia', which I think is what US should do. While not banning exports, US should make the option of 'Made in USA' more and more inviting.
I did expect a drop after the coup with Snowden. Another thing I think should be done well is reminding the users about the old issues. Snowden issue should be referenced whenever there's a chance to build up some momentum on the open dialogue. He did a segment last year on Dr. Oz and this weekend had a small and interesting piece on him. Constant reminders to the issues still open would raise more awareness, IMHO
No episode this week?
Yeah. It was on standardised testing.
Ah, didn't find a link this morning, will look again tonight!
Enjoyed this week's much more than the couple of ones before it.
He sures loves to imitate French kids though, doesn't he?
He sures loves to imitate French kids though, doesn't he?
Has it been pointed out that he's a Liverpool fan?
I wanted to avoid that touchy subject, Grinner, thanks. 
The interview with Snowden was absolute brilliance
Second season isn't as good as the first one, but the Tobacco episode I think was better than anything he produce on season one. And I found his short segment on Baltimore was much funnier than the main segment (forgot which one is that, it's really not memorable)
Think this week show was decent.
I've watched the intro + FIFA stuff, the problem is that you know that there's so much John Oliver wants to say about FIFA that he'd need an hour to do it properly. Thought all the intro stuff was very funny also.
Was good stuff.Really good episode this week. The main segment on the bail system in the US was excellent, and the FIFA stuff was great too. Curious to see what they're going to air on Trinidad TV
I like John Oliver even though he loves the dippers
I like how he knows he won't be on air long... One of my fixed points every week, like his show a lot .. Still can't believe he drank that Bud Light lime shit ...
"To be honest, I didn't know that this gonna happen"
That Adidas gold wing was ridiculous, I saw one guy wearing it at the mall the other day, and he rightly looked like a proper wanker
That Adidas gold wing was ridiculous, I saw one guy wearing it at the mall the other day, and he rightly looked like a proper wanker
I like it. An honest take on news that you generally don't find otherwise. fun and informative.
The segment on the transgender community was really good. Thought the show as a whole was very funny this week.
A big fan of him now, he really is funny and he has some great writers.