Last Week Tonight Episode Review: Like Bullwinkle, John Oliver Takes on Boris and Notever

review

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Right up front, I apologize for stretching so far for the above bad title pun, but, you know, the flesh is weak. By Notever, of course, I mean the current Republican Party nominee. At least let’s hope he’s not ever…you know.

The Boris is former London mayor and present British foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whose resemblance to Donald Trump goes beyond the physical. To this day, I am not 100% sure what to think about the whole Brexit situation, as far as whether or not it will be a good thing. My inclination was to think it would not, but then a very intelligent older British lady I know told me she was for the Brexit, not so much for economic reasons as for immigration control. Anyway, good thing or bad, the appointment of Johnson as foreign secretary, of all things, struck John Oliver as inappropriate. I’m not so sure it is. If you have news like this to deliver to your former associates, you may as well get someone who is “on message,” rather than someone who is going to apologize for it all. Notwithstanding my mild disagreement with the premise, it was (no surprise here) presented in a very witty manner.

One last word before we move on to the next segment, though. All the news reports I got about the Brexit vote said that a majority of the electorate wanted to stay in the EU and that most of that majority were young people. Most of the anti-EU crowd were older. Obviously, what happened was that most of the old folks voted, while your younger crowd was not up to crossing the multiple Himalayan-type mountain ranges and fording all those dangerous rapids they needed to fight on their way to the polls. Or so it would seem. Let us draw a lesson here. Whether you think Clinton or Trump is the Spawn of Satan, that Spawn may be holding court in the Oval Office if you do not get out there and vote.

The second segment of the most recent Last Week Tonight was another throwaway, as now seems to be the new norm for this show, but it was at least a little more entertaining than the previous three ones had been. If and when you check out this show (as you should if you have not already seen it), you will at least not feel that two minutes of your valuable time has been grossly violated.

The third and main segment, as we might well expect, was about the recent Republican Convention. If you are too impatient to wait for one of HBO’s many rebroadcasts of the show, you can use the link provided below. In lieu of the short pageant that Oliver often stages after his monologue on a given subject, he treated us to a short film on the subject of campaign music and the violation thereof. Certainly worth a look and a listen.

As to the main body of his segment, you might ask yourself, did Mr. Oliver hold this cherished instrument of democracy up to ridicule, just as you might also ask yourself, does the Pope practice Catholicism? It will be interesting to see what he has to say about the upcoming DNC. What with their newly-disgraced party chairperson insisting on gaveling the meeting to order, they are not exactly off to a flying start. Stay tuned…

 

Last Week Tonight,HBO, July 24, 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.