Full Frontal Episode Review: Samantha Bee Excoriates Television Media

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Full Frontal Episode Review: Samantha Bee Cheerfully Bites the Hand

The reference in the title of this article, as I am sure most of you know, is to the ungrateful dog that bites the hand of his feeder. How does that apply in this instance? Well, Samantha Bee owes her success and her material comfort to the media, first as a notable contributor to Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, then as the host in her own right of Full Frontal. All that said, she thoroughly excoriates, not just the media, but the television portion of it, from whence she derives her good fortune. This is not to say that so many in that enterprise do not richly deserve the ridicule to which this segment of Full Frontal has held them up to. And for what reason, you who have not yet seen the show may ask? For their role in first completely missing the ball about Donald Trump’s ascendancy, then lending him a generous helping hand with massive free publicity. Ms. Bee also holds the Republicans up to a good measure of scorn for the way they have kowtowed to the unexpected nominee, but the TV news media gets the worst of it, and rightly so.

After all, the Republicans, undoubtedly against their will, have had this choice thrust upon them, and, if they are not to simply concede the election to their nemesis, Hillary Clinton, they have to at least go through the motions of upholding the eleventh commandment, as handed down by their recent deity, St. Ronald: Thou shalt not speak ill of any Republican. The news media, on the other hand, were under no such constraints, but willingly acted the part of the fool in service of the knave. It is noteworthy that Samantha Bee puts almost all the focus on these entities, rather than the nominee himself. I suppose she figured out that Trump will be Trump and we should no longer be surprised at his antics, even as we may become very discouraged about those who have enabled him. If you don’t have time for the show, you can catch this segment in the link below.

The next segment of last night’s show dealt with a matter more serious and less conducive to laughter than the buffoon-designate of the Republican Party. This segment was about sexual assault in the military and it contained a few surprises.

We have known for a long time that sexual assault and harassment has gone on in the military for a very long time. One of the surprises is that, frequently, the victims are men. What many of us also know (or knew, but may have forgotten) is that there has been a bill struggling through Congress that would disqualify unit commanders from investigating sexual assault complaints, but instead have them investigated by qualified members of the Judge Advocate General—i.e., military lawyers. The second surprise is where these Congressional roadblocks are and are not coming from. Forget the spoiler, find a way to see this episode of Full Frontal. Suffice it to say that the segment ends with Ms. Bee making a very startling offer to Congress if they will just pass the bill.

The final segment offers us an amusing interview by the host of Gary Johnson, this year’s Libertarian Party candidate for the presidency. The thing about the Libertarians is that they have so many planks in their permanent platform that either major party and its followers can hate, that they never have much of a chance in any given election. Truth to tell here, Mr. Johnson does not really have a chance in this one, but, where you have a situation where both major party nominees have majority-hatred ratings, he stands out as a person of interest. Ms. Bee’s interview is not at all vicious, probably for that very reason, but she does make him put his party’s views on record, which, to his credit, Gary Johnson is happy to do.

All in all, a highly not-bad show.

 

Full Frontal, TBS, June 6,2016

 

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Thomas Cleveland Lane

Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.