Episode Review: John Oliver Gives Us the 411 on 911
John Oliver’s latest main topic was the 9-1-1 emergency system we use throughout the United States to summon help. For most of us (I hope) the response to any emergency calls we might have to make has been satisfactory. I know it has in my case, but I am but one out of over three hundred million. It may have been better journalism if Oliver had pointed out that, very often, the 9-1-1 system does what it should. But then, if John Oliver were just another “talking head,” his show probably would not be a hit on HBO, or even on HBO at all, for that matter. You know, even if he did make more of an effort to consider more sides to a given story, he still would be lumped in with the “liberal media,’ whose bias is so patently obvious to our conservative friends. That being the case, he may as well give them something to gripe about.
This is not to say there was no substance to Oliver’s report on the 9-1-1 system nationwide. No doubt, the lapses and the difficulties he brought to light do exist. The most shameful facet about the places where the system has not worked well is not so much underfunding, but failure to spend the funds allocated to something as trivial as police, fire and medical emergency response. You will want to catch this episode of his show to see the whole thing in detail. As you might expect, it was well and cleverly presented, with another comical skit at the end. And, you know, it’s not as if you have to journey to the Himalayas and climb Mt. Everest to get a look at it.
Oliver’s shorter segments were also well done, which is not always the case. Sometimes they are worthy of the respect we traditionally show warm-up acts throughout the world, but, this time, they were highly OK.
In one short segment, he took on Mr. Trump again, as they all do, not because he and his fellow comics are obsessed, but because Mr. Trump is generous to a fault (the key word here being “fault”) with comedic material. This time it was about the John Miller flap. In case you have been occupied with more important pursuits the past few weeks (no sarcasm meant here, but, if you insist, fill your own in here:________________________), somebody dug up some tape from the previous century in which he assumed the identity of Mr. Trump’s “publicist,” John Miller, and bragged about The Great Man’s exploits, among them, cheating on then-fiancée Marla Maples. You see, now that’s the way you nail down the evangelical vote. What made this into a major flap was that, a bit after the calls, businessman Trump admitted it was all a prank he himself had staged. Flash forward to the present and candidate Trump wonders, who’s this John Miller fellow? Oliver closed the segment by making a very interesting and sensible offer that should satisfy all of Mr. Trump’s true believers.
Oliver’s next short segment was on Maine Governor Paul LePage. Not only is he a Republican in a largely blue region of the country, he reeks of tea. While the Maniacs—that is to say, the good people of Maine—have been known to send a moderate Republican to Washington, now and then, you have to wonder, what were they thinking? That is exactly how John Oliver framed the segment, which I will let you peep at, below. That said, you should not confine yourself to a mere peep (even if Peeps are truly a boon to mankind). You should treat yourself to the whole show.
Last Week Tonight, HBO, May 15, 2016
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Thomas Cleveland Lane
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