Posted on December 10, 2018
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver uses a different approach and segments to stand out among other news satire shows.
Great Minds, People Who Think Good:
In the first installment, Oliver interviews brilliant physicist, Stephen Hawking. During this interview, Hawking called Oliver an idiot after implying that his mechanical voice might be that of an intelligent robot trying to take over. In another segment, Oliver made chimp sounds with famous primatologist, Jane Goodall.
The King and I Comparison:
In 2014, Oliver called Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn a buffoon, after video leaked of the prince celebrating his poodle's birthday. According to the Thai Constitution, this puts Oliver in violation of the law for "undermining the royal institution" and opens him to up to 7 years in prison if tried and convicted. Oliver joked that he would be postponing any upcoming trips to Thailand.
Hilarious Original Show Clips and Animations:
To balance the hard hitting news, Oliver comes up with hilarious skits to help deliver his message. Oliver sang a song with Muppet-like puppets to bring to light the broken American prison system. He dressed up live animals to portray the Supreme Court with Anthony Scalia being portrayed by a look-alike bulldog.
Some worth noting: When he heard that Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad was a fan of one hit wonder pop band Right Said Fred, he flew them in to sing a cover of "I'm Too Sexy," with revamped disparaging lyrics against the dictator.
