Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver's show is one in which he intersperses current events with comedy. And to keep your audience laughing while looking at such events today is quite a feat. I've only been familiar with Oliver and his show since March of 2016, so I didn't know about the kerfuffle raised when he was not picked to host The Daily Show after Jon Stewart left. However, I think things turned out for the best because John in a weekly show where he gets to go deeper on issues is probably more useful and funnier than John only getting a monologue and a few one liners in on a nightly show.

John rarely has guests of any kind, so he has to be imaginative in his main segment or he risks getting preachy, which usually just consists of John talking to the audience with clips to illustrate the point he is making.

Oliver always maintains a sense of humor even when he is discussing some of the more heinous institutions of American life such as the concept of medical debt and medical debt collections. He doesn't sport a condescending smile but rather a "isn't it ridiculous that we do things this way" smile. He is quite unpretentious, describing himself as a "rat faced Brit" and his show as "a petting zoo with a desk".

Since I only started watching the show since 2016, John has been blessed with having Donald J. Trump as an unfortunate wealth of comic material. So far in the 15-18 months I have been watching the show, John has highlighted some really oddball third party presidential candidates in 2016, and in the most recent season he transformed his desk into a French Bistro to explain to the French people in their own tongue - while smoking! - why they should not vote for far right wing candidate Marine Le Pen, given a new train set to a local news show in Scranton - John is somewhat obsessed with local US news programs, and traveled to Pennsylvania to buy five wax figures of presidents from a presidential wax museum that was closing, one of them being Warren G. Harding. He then proceeded to show a trailer of a movie entitled "Harding" that could be made if one had access to a wax figure of the president, which his show did. It was actually the only trailer I've seen in the past two years that made me want to buy a movie ticket - and the film doesn't even exist!

Highly recommended if you want to see some horrifying things about American political and economic trends that you will definitely not see on the 24 hour news cycle, and get some creative laughs to somewhat counteract that horror. Highly recommended.

The insane level of awesome energy John Oliver feeds the viewer can almost be felt! John cuts through the bullshit and touches on real news.

There's something about this show that I really genuinely like (and I'm an Australian). Perhaps it's the way most of us would like to already live in a world that does good and makes fun of the stupid and absurd, a bit like Japan perhaps!? Well John Oliver has us covered. Each week a much needed hit of vitality and rejuvenation gets subtly unveiled, then straight up sucker punched to us.

The views on issues are sublime, as though John has been on our planet in a future time of peace, then come back to help lube us all through the hole we're already headed for, the peace hole. The energy and views on the show are just like a pick me up to make us go a tiny bit faster.

I've just watched episode 3 and that episode alone sums up the type of people, media and just the general positive peaceful way I'd like to see humanity head.

10/10 for the sole fact we need to take a look at ourselves in a mirror and thankfully John Oliver's right there, holding up the mirror for us! If you enjoyed Chasers War On Everything, Newsroom, Real Time with Bill Maher or a slew of other 'younger trend news~ish' shows, I'd say this is well worth a look!

Especially because most of those reviews, conveniently mostly post-2016, will say things like 'He used to be balanced but now it's leftist/woke/agenda-driven. I've watched every episode of this show and it's ALWAYS been left-leaning. Social justice, pro-healthcare, anti-gun... That's what the US needs to hear specifically because the US is none of those things at the moment. Don't pretend that people like John Oliver used to represent everyone equally and then suddenly went Left. That's like suggesting that Tucker Carlson used to be more Centre and then suddenly, out of nowhere, he's become Right, when he's always been Right.

In saying that, I love that he provokes conversation and forces audiences to think beyond just the acceptable alternatives. Rather than increase funding in this, why not scrap it entirely and go with that instead? Sure, some will watch it and think, "Nup, that's going too far" or "That's so un-American" or even "He's pandering to this group or that ideal", but sometimes Americans need to hear those extreme views, especially when their own leaders are happy to implement even more extreme measures (like locking up kids because of their skin colour, building a wall much like the Berlin Wall, and labelling all Mexicans as "rapists and murders...and some, I assume, are good people").

I, for one, love that John is willing to push his views so far that it'll piss many people off, because, if nothing else, it starts a conversation. Since the US has seen absolutely no major social, political or financial reform in the last 50 years, the country needs to be shoved out of its racist, elitist apathy and shaken vigorously until actual change becomes part of the conversation.

Loved John Oliver on Community and love him on this show. He's intelligent and sarcastic, and somehow manages to make topics that are completely horrific (e.g., the U.S. government's actions) not thoroughly depressing. I love how he will make fun of ANY political party; so many shows just spend their time panning Republicans, losing half the country as a result. Oliver must be a libertarian, because he very fairly simply makes fun of anyone who is doing something stupid, regardless of political affiliation. This is something that cannot be said of the unbearable John Stewart, or SNL, for example, but can be said of the awesome Lewis Black as well.

I also like his way of poking fun at the U.S. - it's not condescending or rude, it's just good humored teasing. The segment in which he shows the globe with countries marked as Not the U.S. is priceless.

Oliver's topics are well chosen, and his take on them is unique. I greatly hope HBO will continue this show as it's the best comedy late night hosted whatever genre you call this currently on TV.

No great offense meant to U.S TV, but most of its shows with hosts trying to make some fun of the recent affairs, politicians and all that jazz are usually crappy and saved by the "bring a funny and/or weird celebrity" bell. Of course, "The Colbert Report" and a few bits of the "Daily Show" are exceptions, but overall one must admit that even these don't really dwell too long in deep waters (meaning grave issues of major concern) like "Last Week Tonight" does.

A couple of examples of serious satire from the first episodes are the death penalty, the hypocritical stance of politicians towards people like the Sultan of Brunei or even the fun'n'serious interview of the ex-chief of the NSA. The fact alone that such significant and highly debatable subjects are discussed is a huge win for the show. The end result airing on HBO, comes as no surprise to me. Their only commitment I have seen so far show-wise, is quality and creativity, two traits this show seems to possess.

I am taken in by the first three episodes and honestly believe that this show has the potential to stimulate the brain and instigate belly-aching laughs at the same time. Hopefully, the creators will not take steps back, when possible pressure to "lighten" their material may arise - if and when a lot of people start watching the show.

{Quick note to those who may feel offended by the approach John Oliver has on the ignorance of some people from the States, when it comes to the rest of the world: If you know your way around a world map and have an idea of what is happening elsewhere in this vast place called Earth, lay back and enjoy the sarcasm. If you can't do that, take the bitter pill.}