Marcus Isn't Stephen 05 March 2007

Why don’t we in the UK, have our own version of the American satirical television series The Colbert Report?

In the 1960s, Peter Cook, John Cleese, Alan Bennett, David Frost, and Dudley Moore were in part responsible for a satire renaissance in UK with the television programme That Was The Week That Was. Since then, “biting” satire is almost non-existent and now we have little more than a minor tug.

The closest we have these days is ‘Have I Got News For You’, although the BBC lawyers get rather overzealous with the cuts, leaving the show a bit of a lame duck. ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ have more of a bite to it, but they tend to pick of musicians who are either too rich or too high to give a toss what Simon Amstell says about them.

Meanwhile over in America The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report, have developed a reputation as some of the sharpest political commentary shows on American television.

The Colbert Report is a fine example of “ooh, you can’t say that”, that has mostly gone from UK screens. For example, on the day of the death of Rosa Parks, presenter Stephen Colbert described her as “overrated”, after which the audience howled with shock. I am amazed they got away with this, and although the section was obviously an attack on racism and complacency, and not on Parks, it still would never have been broadcast on a UK program.

This is a nation of laws, when we start honouring outlaws aren’t we all in the back of America’s bus. So tonight let me be the first, the Rosa Parks if you will, of saying to those malcontent’s out there that *the best way to change the system is to wait until it changes.

Referring to Adolph Hitler’s 99% approval rating in German in 1936, the Bush’s extremely low rating, he therefor proclaimed that:

President Bush is just proving once and for all, that he’s the President least like Hitler. (The Unfurher). Let’s compare Bush to another President, not on the approval scale, but on the Hitler scale. (More accurate than the Mussolini Meter) Now, with an approval rating of 99% on the Hitler scale, Hitler himself scores one full Hitler. John F. Kennedy had an approval rating of 63%, pretty good, for a Nazi. He scores two-thirds of a Hitler. In these recent polls, President Bush barely scores one-third of a Hitler, you don’t get any more less Hitler than that. (Great slogan for Mid-Term elections) And folks, it takes courage to be this little like Hitler.

The problem is I can’t even see the shows live, I have to rely on highlights from Norman Jenson’s excellent onegoodmove.org, you can buy them as a series-pass on iTunes, but only in the US! Gargg!

The closest we have to a Daily Show / Colbert Report is The Late Edition, presented by comedian Marcus Brigstocke and broadcast on BBC Four. Now Marcus is an extremely funny comedian, the only problem is that The Late Edition is rubbish. The jokes are weak, sketches are weaker, and it sadly only highlights that we in the UK are yet to match the Americans in this game.

Not Tonight With John Sergeant only managed to limp through one episode, so I am looking for satire, good satire- The News Quiz is getting a better after a brief lull, (Sandi Toksvig on suburb form), but where else can I get my satire fill? Any thoughts?