Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Freight Trains

December 12, 2023 4:00 PM - Season 10, Episode 20

This week... a BBC anchorperson is caught flipping a bird to the camera for a brief moment as her broadcast begins. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announces that the security camera footage of the House from Jan 6 he plans on releasing will have faces blurred to help protect them from prosecution for trying to overthrow the US Government. And Now: Everyone on CBS Mornings Wants To Fuck Meteorologist Jim Cantore. The main story is on freight trains, which were massively deregulated in the 80s so they could compete with trucking, but now it seems only a matter of time until another accident occurs like the one that happened earlier this year in East Palestine, Ohio. As John Oliver puts it, "Industry + Deregulation - Government Oversight = Episode of Last Week Tonight. And guess what guys: here we are." And it concludes with a new adventure on the island of Sodor, narrated by Matt Barry: fun! And the giant explosion it ends with is fun too. On Youtube (28 minutes)

F.37: "Sitcomus Rex," NORMAN LEAR

(P.S. roughly half the time I try to type "Norman Lear," I end up entering "Normal Lear." I nearly did it again just now. I mention this mostly to commemorate possibly the last time it will happen.)

posted by JHarris (7 comments total)

IDK, I kinda like the US dub
posted by pwnguin at 9:53 PM on December 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

i was cry-laughing when I realised they had Matt Berry on this! It was beautiful.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 11:53 PM on December 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

I'm glad you put that Mike Johnson bit in italics because it's worth pausing for a second to realise just how fucked up his actions really are. The man who's third in line to the Presidency just boasted on national TV that he's deliberately concealing potential evidence of insurrection against the very country he supposedly serves. Boasted about it! In a saner era that would be straight up obstruction of justice and the automatic end of his political career, no?
posted by Paul Slade at 12:00 AM on December 13, 2023 [9 favorites]

The Sad Tale of Henry is great, I think it's a highlight of LWT's whole run. They really put the work in on the production, Matt Barry's narration is perfect, and the audience is surprisingly invested in the story!
posted by JHarris at 2:08 PM on December 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

Sounds like it's time for Infrastructure Week.
posted by Marticus at 3:06 PM on December 13, 2023

The LWT production team are SO good at finding exactly the right skilled collaborators for their various bits.

The huge puppet Puteketeke (and John's Puteketeke costume) were fabulous - and now this, the absolutely perfect Thomas the Tank Engine recreation.

Don't miss the closing credits, which include little snippets of making-of footage.
posted by simonw at 9:42 PM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

I remember watching that episode of Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid back in the day, so LWT's production of The Sad Tale of Henry was a total trip. Loved it. I wish I could find a clip that isn't geolocked so I could share it with my brother who was obsessed with Thomas the train.

Edit: I found one!
posted by eekernohan at 11:50 AM on December 14, 2023 [3 favorites]