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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

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  • 11-05-2014 2:29pm
    #1
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,961 ✭✭✭✭


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GLuuqrNqxQ


    Anybody watching this, and if so, what's it like so far? I don't get Sky Atlantic, so I'm watching bits on YouTube. Covering the death penalty on a comedy news show took some doing ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kye2oX-b39E

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #2
    Hande hoche!
    Registered Users Posts: 7,462 ✭✭✭Hande hoche!


    Find it very hit and miss. Occasionally it's funny but largely dross. Pity as Duncan was one of my favourites on Community.


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    #3
    meoklmrk91
    Registered Users Posts: 4,085 ✭✭✭meoklmrk91


    I have been watching it, I really enjoy it, I think John Oliver is really likeable, covers interesting stories and it can be utterly hilarious. I particularly like the fact that they seem committed to covering stories worldwide as opposed to just the US ala The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

    For me the absolute highpoints would be Johns rant about Net Nutrality, I saw it on reddit the following morning after it aired and have been watching since.

    And of course Right Said Fred's I'm too Sexy(Bashar al Assad version).


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    #4
    EyeSight
    Registered Users Posts: 1,180 ✭✭✭EyeSight


    Must say I'm surprised how good it has been. I like John Oliver so I am glad he's doing well. Maybe he will take Colberts slot once he takes Lettermans place?
    Highlights: Net neutrality, the segments on other countries leaders and his GM rant


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    #5
    meoklmrk91
    Registered Users Posts: 4,085 ✭✭✭meoklmrk91


    EyeSight wrote: »
    Must say I'm surprised how good it has been. I like John Oliver so I am glad he's doing well. Maybe he will take Colberts slot once he takes Lettermans place?
    Highlights: Net neutrality, the segments on other countries leaders and his GM rant

    Doubtful, I think he's much better off staying with HBO anyways. Apparently once John Oliver settles into the roll they want to talk about taking it to an hour long show.


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    #6
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,720 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    He did well when he stood in for John Stewart so it doesn't surprise me he's doing well here. I wasn't aware that Sky Atlantic showed this so happy days.


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    #7
    drugstore cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,105 ✭✭✭drugstore cowboy


    Really enjoying it so far, he's a funny guy!


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    #8
    bur
    Registered Users Posts: 1,689 ✭✭✭bur


    This is up there with Brass Eye, as some of the most informative and funny satire I've ever seen.

    If only someone in Ireland could produce something like it. Not like there isn't enough material to work with.


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    #9
    philthrill69
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 665 ✭✭✭philthrill69


    Outstanding show.


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    #10
    wp_rathead
    Registered Users Posts: 10,067 ✭✭✭✭wp_rathead


    This is gold



    #JEFFWECAN


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    #11
    briany
    Registered Users Posts: 13,553 ✭✭✭✭briany


    I wonder is Tonight with John Oliver coming under much pressure from the institutions and entities it attacks? I know it's not as if a lot of the things he sheds light on are exactly top secret, but he's got a popular platform that's well presented and a lot of the items go viral. Plus things like Big Tobacco and the American pharmaceutical industry have a fair amount of stroke and money. HBO's a good platform to do his stuff on as they don't have ad breaks and therefore aren't beholden to the advertisers, or at least the same kind of advertisers (product placement in shows?) as other networks may be, so that helps, but I wonder what their strategy is if someone guns for them. Probably do an item on it at least. :pac:


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    #12
    wp_rathead
    Registered Users Posts: 10,067 ✭✭✭✭wp_rathead


    Philip Morris respond to LWT
    "While we recognize the tobacco industry is an easy target for comedians, we take seriously the responsibility that comes with selling a product that is an adult choice and is harmful to health," the statement further read.

    "We support and comply with thousands of regulations worldwide - including advertising restrictions, penalties for selling tobacco products to minors, and substantial health warnings on packaging. We're investing billions into developing and scientifically assessing a portfolio of products that have the potential to be less harmful and that are satisfying so smokers will switch to them. And, like any other company with a responsibility to its business partners, shareholders and employees, we ask only that laws protecting investments, including trademarks, be equally applied to us."


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    #13
    FloatingVoter
    Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭FloatingVoter


    Big Tobacco is threatening to sue us now.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/tobacco-giant-issues-legal-threat-over-plain-packaging-1.2106300

    I'm guessing our glorious leaders haven't seen the show (as they can't work d'interweb yet) and will need to seek legal advice costing many millions of taxpayers cash.


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    #14
    Thrill
    Registered Users Posts: 5,485 ✭✭✭Thrill


    Renewed for another 2 seasons.
    Silencing any chatter of a possible John Oliver return to Comedy Central to take over The Daily Show, HBO has renewed his weekly HBO program for two more seasons.

    Each season will consist of 35 shows, with Season 3 running in 2016, to be followed by season four in 2017.


    http://deadline.com/2015/02/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-renewed-season-2-3-hbo-1201375223/


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    #15
    FloatingVoter
    Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭FloatingVoter


    According to John Meagher in today's Indo..."John Oliver is one of Australia's leading satirists".
    It'd be nice if TV corespondents actually watched a little TV every now and again.


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    #16
    human 19
    Registered Users Posts: 838 ✭✭✭human 19


    This guy , from England, is actually starting to influence policy in th U.S. The main reason seems to be that he doesnt just use current issues and brush them aside with a couple of jokes and then move on...he spends up to 20 minutes on 1 issue showing its ludicrous nature up in a very humerous way which entertains and informs. You really should follow him on FB or YT. Guaranteed weekly entertainment......(along with Bil Maher; follow that dude also)

    http://www.dailydot.com/politics/john-oliver-washington-internet-testimony-bill/


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    #17
    wp_rathead
    Registered Users Posts: 10,067 ✭✭✭✭wp_rathead


    Ireland got a mention at the end of this weeks Episode following us bringing in the Plain Packaging laws on Cigerettes


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    #18
    evilivor
    Registered Users Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭evilivor


    Hande hoche! wrote: »
    Find it very hit and miss. Occasionally it's funny but largely dross. Pity as Duncan was one of my favourites on Community.

    I'd have to agree. I don't think he's as funny as he or the writers think.

    Some nice ideas - and they did some topics like Student Debt really well - but overall needs more work.


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    #19
    FloatingVoter
    Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭FloatingVoter


    Not surprisingly, Ireland's little drug experiment last week gets a mention. Dev would be proud.


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    #20
    wp_rathead
    Registered Users Posts: 10,067 ✭✭✭✭wp_rathead


    I would probably buy March Sadness 2015 I gotta say :pac:


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    #21
    Raspberry Fileds
    Closed Accounts Posts: 294 ✭✭Raspberry Fileds


    I've listened to the Bugle - the "satirical podcast" which Oliver co-hosts - for a few years now, so am quite familiar with him and would probably consider myself a fan of his. I enjoy LWT and admire its ambition but I think it's limited.

    Does this format sound familiar?: the topic is introduced with a news clip or interview extract; the audience gasps and Oliver says something like, "Yeah, that's right"; he spends the next thirty seconds or more giving detail, perhaps without any joke; with the preamble over, what follows is a series of attempts to portray some aspect of the topic as being ludicrous, after each of which he draws an analogy - "That's like me saying to my dog..." Obviously there is more variety than that, but I think it's a worryingly accurate summary.

    The humour excessively relies on the analogy gag and, as a result, is often separate from the story - "Let me explain this terrible thing; now let me tell you a joke that uses it for scaffolding." The satirical comedy of Chris Morris, on the other hand, is woven with the subject.

    It portrays itself as an investigative show, but it largely relies on existing investigations and/or campaigners.

    I'm conscious that satire doesn't really do nuance; it would be entirely neutered were it expected to. But considering the show presents itself as taking a certain topic and then comprehensively explaining it to the viewer, it ought to be more factually dependable, and I get the impression that some examples are set up to seem preposterous when in reality there may be an understandable reason why something dysfunctional is the way it is.

    All that said, I enjoy it and would probably be disappointed were it cancelled.


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    #22
    serfboard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭serfboard


    Raspberry Fileds wrote: »
    Does this format sound familiar?: the topic is introduced with a news clip or interview extract; the audience gasps and Oliver says something like, "Yeah, that's right"; he spends the next thirty seconds or more giving detail, perhaps without any joke; with the preamble over, what follows is a series of attempts to portray some aspect of the topic as being ludicrous, after each of which he draws an analogy - "That's like me saying to my dog..." Obviously there is more variety than that, but I think it's a worryingly accurate summary.
    Spot on - and I agree with the rest of your comments as well. I'd also add one of my own in that I think it could pack more of a punch if he didn't feel the need to end every review with a joke, which may be completely unrelated to the topic. Loses the message a bit, for me.

    Having said that, I do like the show and think it exposes people to current affairs and into how politics is working on both a macro and micro level. It makes people aware of things they ought to be aware of but might otherwise not be - the pharmaceutical industry and doctors, or the payday loans industry being two that come to mind.

    JO said in an interview that having a weekly review format (rather than the pressure of a Daily Show), gives more time to put current events into context and they can give more background into why things are happening.

    Bringing things to light in this way is what made Jon Stewart one of the most trusted men in America. And, given what happened to Brian Williams lately ("the trustworthiness of one of America’s best-known and most revered TV journalists has been damaged") one would think that the reputation of these satirists will only be enhanced.


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    #23
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,720 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    He did a pretty excellent piece on the NCAA this week.

    I like the show and glad HBO show it as I don't think it would last long on a channel funded by commercials.


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    #24
    everlast75
    Registered Users Posts: 19,060 ✭✭✭✭everlast75


    is it available on one of Sky's channels, or would I have to use a VPN online?


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    #25
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,720 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    Sky Atlantic show it on Mondays I think. It should also be available on demand or through Sky Go.


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    #26
    Lovely Bloke
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,748 ✭✭✭✭Lovely Bloke


    lertsnim wrote: »
    I don't think it would last long on a channel funded by commercials.

    Do you think HBO is not funded by commercial interests?

    Seriously, how naive are you?


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    #27
    serfboard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭serfboard


    Baldy Conscience wrote: »
    Do you think HBO is not funded by commercial interests?

    Seriously, how naive are you?
    In fairness, the poster said:
    lertsnim wrote: »
    I don't think it would last long on a channel funded by commercials.
    i.e. advertising. They wouldn't be able to pull the p1ss out of (or even report/inform on) products that spent large amounts of money on advertising on the channel. (If you want to see how this works, check out the shenanigans involving The Daily Telegraph and HSBC.) But since HBO is subscription-only, this doesn't apply.


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    #28
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,720 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    Baldy Conscience wrote: »
    Do you think HBO is not funded by commercial interests?

    Seriously, how naive are you?

    Try reading my post correctly before you get all uppity on your high horse :rolleyes:

    Do you really think I didn't know that there is commercial interests in it? Time Warner owns it after all. Who's being naive now?


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    #29
    Lovely Bloke
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,748 ✭✭✭✭Lovely Bloke


    They still have commercial interests paying them to advertise their products within shows - it's not as in your face, but it's there.

    Anyone who thinks they aren't just as beholden to these advertisers as other networks are to theirs is seriously missing a trick.


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    #30
    serfboard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭serfboard


    Baldy Conscience wrote: »
    They still have commercial interests paying them to advertise their products within shows
    I'm not saying you're wrong, but do you have any evidence to back up that assertion? And do you have specific evidence to back it up in relation to this particular show? (i.e. I can imagine that there might be product placement within dramas, but is it happening on this show as well, and how do you know that?)


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    #31
    briany
    Registered Users Posts: 13,553 ✭✭✭✭briany


    Question about the show - Every week they hit a nerve, but has it inspired much action on the topics it covers or does it all amount to a weekly Kony 2012?


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