547 posts tagged with comedy.
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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: School Segregation Season 3, Ep 28
Week of 10/30:
- Regrettably, more on the 2016 Election, putting aside a story on Pirate Party making progress in Iceland, among others, to make room for it. OH WELL:
- The FBI finds a few Clinton emails in an investigation into oh god I can't believe I'm typing this Anthony Weiner, yes HIM again, Carlos Danger himself. Worth watching just for the footage of Biden reacting to the words "Anthony Weiner."
- And Now: The Stream-Of-Consciousness Musings of WCBS-2 Meteorologist John Elliott
- Main story: School segregation, and its surprising continued prevalence, not in the South, but in New York state. YouTube (18m)
- How Is This Still A Thing: Voting On Tuesday (It turns out to have started because, in the 1800s, people were expected to be spending Monday travelling to the polling place to vote.) YouTube (4m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Opioids Season 3, Ep 27
Week of 10/23:
- The final debate of the election, and some highlights of awful Trump statements made during it, particularly his promise to keep us "in suspense" as to whether he'd accept a loss or not. Clinton and Trump were also both present at the Al Smith dinner in New York, where Trump spoke, and bombed. Henry Kissinger's reaction to Trump's speech: "Dis is not good." At the end, in order to allow Trump to save face should he lose the election, Oliver makes a bet with Trump on-air: he will bet Trump that he wins the elction, with the stakes being Oliver's Emmy award statuette.
- And Now: You'll Never Guess What Christ Matthews' Favorite Movie Is
- Main story: The rise of addictive opioid prescription pain killers (Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet), resulting in over 30,000 overdose deaths a year, and actively promoted, predictably, by the pharmaceutical industry. YouTube (19m)
- People Who Somehow Got Elected: US Representative from Wisconsin's 6th District Glenn Grothman.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Third Party Candidates Season 3, Ep 26
Week of 10/16:
- Donald Trump has had quite the week as multiple women come forward with news of unwanted contact. Trump continues to rotate wildly, lashing out at both Clinton's campaign and his own. But dangerously he also loudly proclaims at rallys, "The election is rigged!"
- And Now: The Most Patient Man on Television (Steve Scully): 2016 Election Edition
- The issues with third party candidates Gary Johnson (Libertarian) and Jill Stein (Green), who despite Johnson's loud recorded protestations, have a high chance of being spoilers this election cycle. YouTube (19m)
- And Finally: A Glimpse Into the Innter Workings of the Most Patient Man on Television
Detectorists: Season 2 Discussion Season 2, Ep 0
Baby Stan has arrived, Andy has qualified as an archaeologist, and there’s a search for the mayor's missing chains of office.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Guantanamo Bay Season 3, Ep 25
For the week of 10/9:
- Trump's tape talking to Billy Bush bragging about being able to grope women. A portion of it on YouTube (5m)
- And Now: A Look Back At Billy Bush's Creepy Bromance With Donald Trump YouTube (1m10s)
- Main story: Guantanamo Bay, President Obama's continued difficulties in closing it, and the true meaning of "Freedom Isn't Free." YouTube (21m)
- And Now: A look Back At Billy Bush Being Creepy With Everyone. YouTube (1m20s)
- Another look at Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who's now running a reality show and staging martial arts battles among children. This is the guy who Oliver teased earlier this year, asking "Is this your cat?"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Night Shift Season 4, Ep 4
After being assigned the dreaded night shift as punishment for last week's Florida adventure, the gang deal with it in different ways: Jake refuses to let the wee hours (or his injured leg) keep Charles and himself from solving cases, Amy suspects Rosa of slacking off on the job, and Holt attempts to raise precinct morale the only way he knows how. [more inside]
Superstore: Guns, Pills and Birds Season 2, Ep 4
Jonah doesn't want to work the gun counter. Glenn starts a side business. A crow gets stuck in the store.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Police Accountability, Wells Fargo Season 3, Ep 24
This week:
- Trump tries to spin his terrible debate performance by citing terrible, exploitable online polls, and his thin skin somehow gets even thinner, as he casts aspersions on a former Miss USA winner by, well.... Oliver: "That is a candidate for President of the United States urging America to check out a sex tape. Just do me a favor. Look up into the sky right now. Higher. No, higher still. Do you see that? Way up there? Way up above the clouds? That's rock bottom. And we are currently way down here."
- And Now: Newscasters Quoting Movies
- Main Story: Police accountability, or rather its lack, as it turns out that police who use deadly force practically never get called on account for it, due to a variety of increasly infuriating reasons. YouTube (20m)
- And Now: Newscasters Quoting Movies, All Christ Matthews Edition
- More on Wells Fargo, how the company retaliated against whistleblowers who called an internal ethics hotline to warn of wrong-doing. It turns out that the case for ethics had been made by a training video that Wells Fargo themselves had commissioned. The host of that video, it turns out, now works as a writer for Last Week Tonight! He stars in an update for that video. YouTube (4m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Presidential Campaign Scandals Season 3, Ep 23
This (last) week:
- The protests in Charlotte over yet another police shooting, and the release of video from the incident.
- Employees for Wells Fargo created a huge number of accounts for people without their knowing, in order to extract fees for those accounts, due to an "aggressive" sales campaign.
- And Now: Wait, Is WCBS2 News at 11 Just Fucking With Us At This Point?
- Main story: The scandals plaguing the Clinton and Trump campaigns, how the Clinton ones tend to be more annoying than truly serious, while the Trump ones tend to all be blockbusters that would doom any other candidate, resulting in scandal fatigue. YouTube (21m)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS Season 5, Ep 23
"Teen-agers zoom to supersize and terrorize a town!" Opie invents a magic growth formula, called "Goo," that turns surly teens into Olympian gods! It's the beach party of Ragnarok, and boy, is Andy ever gonna be pissed! It's another low-budget schlockfest from the most prolific of all MST directors, Bert I. Gordon; indeed, it is the last of his films the show would do. Although MST had a rule against doing comedies, Village of the Giants is partly one, although with suspiciously low-grade jokes. The script is based off of H.G. Wells' Food of the Gods. Musical guests The Beau Brummels and Freddy Cannon give this film rather more star power than you might expect from Mr. BIG's projects. It's a pretty good episode! The movie's certainly riffing fare, but is still watchable and fun all the same. And in the host segments, prepare yourself for a visit from an old fiend.... YouTube (OFFICIAL, with Annotations!) (1h32m) Premiered January 22, 1994. [more inside]
Transparent: Full season Season 3, Ep 0
The Pfefferman family splinters into disparate journeys on their continued path of self-discovery. Then everyone goes on a cruise!
Vice Principals: Season 1 Season 1, Ep 0
Vice Principals just finished airing on HBO this past weekend. Another collaboration between Jody Hill and Danny McBride, the show treads familiar ground, featuring two terrible men (McBride and Walton Goggins) who plot and scheme against one another in an attempt to take the top spot of the pecking order at a South Carolina high school after the previous principal (Bill Murray) retires. However, an outsider named Dr. Brown (Kimberly Herbert Gregory) ends up taking the job that each man sees as rightfully his. Through 9 episodes, the two sink lower and lower in their efforts to unseat Brown. [more inside]
One Mississippi: Tig Notaro's new Amazon Prime series Season 1, Ep 0
Tig Notaro's new series One Mississippi is a fictional "traumedy" based on events in Notaro's life, and follows her as she returns to her hometown after a double mastectomy and the sudden death of her mother. Released September 9th, the first season tells a complete story in six 30-minute episodes, with a full narrative arc that includes both dramatic and comedic high points. This post is for discussion of the entire 3-hour story, so spoilers within. (Most important spoiler: it's great.) [more inside]
Movie: Café Society
Woody Allen's latest: In the 1930s, a young Bronx native moves to Hollywood where he falls in love with the secretary of his powerful uncle, an agent to the stars.
Movie: Morris from America
Morris (Markees Christmas) is a 13-year-old African-American who moves to Heidelberg with his dad (Craig Robinson), who coaches professional soccer. The film explores Morris's romantic and coming-of-age misadventures. [Trailer #1 | full soundtrack listing] [more inside]
Movie: War Dogs
Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), who worked their way up the ladder of Pentagon contracts to land a $300 million contract to arm America's allies in Afghanistan. [Trailer #1, Trailer #2] [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Charter Schools Season 3, Ep 22
This week....
- US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte (4m) and others trashed a men's restroom, and Lochte flees to us while his collegues are detained.
- Main story: The downsides of many charter schools (18m): poor planning, profit seeking and corruption.
- And Now: One Final Second of Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte The Perfectly Encapsulates His Entire Personality, Career and Worldview.
- Finally, LWT tonight noticed surprising parallels between the campaign of Donald Trump and the book "The Kid Who Ran For President." Part 1 (5m) - Part 2 (5m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: API's New Ad,and Auto Lending Season 3, Ep 21
This week...
- Hillary Clinton releases her tax returns. Donald Trump claims Obama founded ISIS. He also claims that, if Hillary beats him, it must have been because of vote cheating. He also loves charts. Part 1 (4m) - Part 2 (4m)
- The American Petroleum institute airs a new commercial, and totally rips off the style of Last Week Tonight's intro! Of course you know, this means war. (4m)
- Main story: Predatory auto lending (18m) and its effects on the disadvantaged.
Movie: Sausage Party
A sausage strives to discover the truth about his existence. [more inside]
Saturday Night Live: SNL Season 42 Preview Season 42, Ep 0
Two veterans – Taran and Jay – have been given their walking papers a year before their contracts would have expired. Jon Rudnitsky might be dropped as well! What next?
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Journalism Season 3, Ep 20
This week....
- A recap of the Olympic opening ceremonies. Part 1 - Part 2 (both 4m)
- And Now: Newscasters Perv Out Over a Shirtless Olympian in National Dress
- Main Story: Journalists (19m), and the increasing difficulty that news outlets have staying in business while not compromising their work. With a special guest appearance by Tronc (MeFi)! Finishes with a trailer for "Stoplight," a depressingly realistic take on the plight of a reporter in the 21st century.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The US Democratic National Convention Season 3, Ep 19
This week:
- Restrictive voting laws struck down in Wisconsin, Texas and North Carolina. (4m)
- A military coup fails in Turkey, and the Turkish President Erdogan seeks revenge. (4m)
- How Is This Still A Thing: Tanning Beds
- The 2016 Democratic National Convention (18m)
- And Now: Some More Highlights from the Democratic National Convention
Movie: Black Dynamite
Michael Jai White is All-Star Baltimore Colts running back Ferrante Jones who is Black Dynamite, a former CIA agent who investigates the death of his brother at the hands of the mob. [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Republican National Committee, and Campaign Songs Season 3, Ep 18
This week....
- The 2016 Democratic National Convention, and Hillary Clinton's choice of Tim Kaine as her VP pick.
- David Cameron's successor Teresa May's controversial pick of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary.
- And Now: A Summary of Roger Ailes' Contribution to Our Political Discourse
- Main story: A recap of the 2016 Republican National Convention. (12m)
- And Now: A Few More Highlights From the Republican National Convention
- Referencing both the RNC's unapproved use of Queen's "We Are The Champions" for their convention, and the long history of Americal political parties misappropriating music, often unlicensed and frequently ironically, LWT got Michael Bolton, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Cyndi Lauper, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Dan Reynolds, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson together to make a music video to speak against the practice. (7m)
Movie: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle (Sam Neill) who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush. [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Brexit Update, Doping in Sport Season 3, Ep 17
This week....
- The UK votes to leave the European Union, and in the wake David Cameron resigns as Prime Minister of the UK. YouTube (5m)
- And Now: The Things News Anchors Are Scared Of
- Main Story: Doping in the Olympics, and its creeping ubiquity. LWT provides an inspirational athlete bio that may be more realistic than the usual uplifting sports story. YouTube (21m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The NRA and Brexit Season 3, Ep 16
This week...
- The aftermath of Orlando shootings, from Trump's predictably awful remarks to the Democratic Party's filibuster, and the choke-hold the NRA holds over Congress and regulatory agencies, despite relatively low membership and campaign contributions. YouTube (11m)
- And Now: "60 Minutes" Anchors Are Still Prompting People to Deliver the Exact Soundbite They Need
- Main story: Brexit, that is to say, the motion to remove Great Britain from the European Union. Last Week Tonight debunks some of the reasons given for exiting. At the end, LWT provides their own (foul-mouthed, half-hearted) lyrics supporting staying in the EU, sung to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode To Joy." YouTube (16m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Trump University and Debt Buyers Season 3, Ep 14
This week...
- Trump and his businesses, it turns out, have been involved in over 3,500 lawsuits over three decades. LWT focuses on those concerning Trump University. YouTube: Part 1 (4m) and Part 2 (9m)
- And Now: Wolf Blitzer States the Obvious
- Main story: Debt, how Americans are in it (to the tune of $12 trillion dollars), how they get in it (often unavoidable medical reasons), how debt buying has become an industry to itself, and how it operates (predictably, badly) To demonstrate how easy it is to organize as debt buyers and buy debt, LWT organized as debt buyers in Mississippi, set up an EXTREMELY bare bones website, bought $15M of medical debt, the debt of 9,000 Texas people, and forgave it. The cost to them was a mere $60K, but it was technically the largest televised giveaway in history, beating out Oprah Winfrey's famous car giveaway. Oliver: "It is done! It is done! I am the new queen of daytime talk!" YouTube (21m)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: U.S. PRIMARIES AND CAUCUSES Season 3, Ep 13
This week....
- Protests rock Venezuela as their economy continues to deteriorate due to low oil prices.
- Canada Prime Ministar Justin Trudeau hits a very minor scandal, "Elbowgate," due to his pushing his way through a crowd of people in the House of Commons.
- And Now: John McLaughlin Angrily Introduces Discussion Topics.
- Main story: Primaries and Caucuses, the means by which the Democratic and Republican candidates get chosen, which is far from proportional to public will.
- And Now: Increasingly Weird Bell Ringers at the New York Stock Exchange
- Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, widely considered to be a brutal strongman and who idolizes Putin, has completely lost his cat. LWT launches a campaign to find Kadyrov's cat before anyone suffers for it. Follow-up on Huffington Post.
Movie: The Thin Man
Nick and Nora Charles, a former detective and his rich, playful wife, investigate a murder case mostly for the fun of it. [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: 911 Season 3, Ep 12
This week....
- Donald Trump starts to mend fences with the Republican elite (5m), as we all knew he would; refuses to release his tax returns; invented a publicist for himself in the 80s that was actually just him.
- A recording of the Queen of England caught her saying a remark about a Chinese diplomat. (2m)
- Budweiser announces temporarily changing the name of their beer-like substance to "America." (2m)
- People Who Somehow Got Elected: Paul LePage, Governor of Maine. (4m)
- Main story: 911, and the difficulties it faces in the age of cell phones. (16m)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Sees a Sunset! Season 2, Ep 12
Kimmy attempts to help Andrea stop drinking, but to no avail. Jacqueline decides to pursue Russ, the lawyer who took away her painting. Titus and Mikey move in together.
Movie: The Lobster
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods. [more inside]
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Meets a Celebrity! Season 2, Ep 11
Cyndee comes back to New York, where Kimmy finds out she has been seeing a celebrity television therapist (Jeff Goldblum). Titus mentors a teenage boy and contemplates having a family of his own. Lillian handcuffs herself to a bulldozer to prevent gentrification.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Science Season 3, Ep 11
This week....
- Ted Cruz drops out of the race for the Republication Nomination, leaving Donald Trump as presumptive nominee. (YT 4m, via Fortune!)
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls the first meeting of their Worker's Party since 1980. (YT 4m)
- And Now: The Next President of the United States
- Main story: Science (YT 19m), and how good, and not-so-good, studies get trumpeted by the media as saying things that they don't all the fucking time. LWT presents a parody of TED talks, "TODD," to make their point.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Goes to Her Happy Place! Season 2, Ep 10
Kimmy begins therapy with Andrea. Titus helps Mikey come out to his family.
Movie: The Fortune Cookie
A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury. [more inside]
Movie: Barbarella
In the far future, a highly sexual woman is assigned with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way, she encounters various unusual people. [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Puerto Rico Season 3, Ep 10
- Obama visits Saudi Arabia, but is snubbed when he's greeted at the airport by a governor, not the king.
- Obama visits the UK, and is met by the Queen, driven by a 94-year-old prince, and his hand shaken by the adorable child Prince George.
- Norway reacts to Syrian migrants by tightening the borders.
- And Now: Everyone Likes Mispronouncing "Target"
- Main story: Puerto Rico (21m), and it's $70 billion debt crisis.
- Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda sings in behalf of his native Puerto Rico.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Greg & Larry Season 3, Ep 23
SEASON FINALE! After Holt is kidnapped in a stunning double-cross, the Nine-Nine pull off a daring rescue and escape, and finally solve the FBI conspiracy against Pimento.
Podcast: The Adventure Zone: Ep. 38. The Crystal Kingdom - Chapter Ten
It's time for the final confrontation. Who's been hunting our heroes all throughout this campaign? What's Lucas really after? Why is Merle getting just completely boned in every fight? Answers to these questions and more linger just behind the play button. Taako has a plan. Magnus has a snack. Merle says his prayers.
Movie: A Coffee in Berlin
Filmed in black and white, A Coffee in Berlin is a tragicomedy centered upon a fateful day that pushes an aimless college dropout (Tom Schilling) to stop wasting his time and finally engage with life.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Goes Roller Skating! First Watch Season 2, Ep 1
Titus' ex-wife sues him for spousal support. Kimmy still has feelings for Dong. Jacqueline's Sioux family gets fed up with her.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Maximum Security Season 3, Ep 21
To uncover the conspiracy against Pimento, the Nine-Nine sends Santiago undercover, to pose as a hardened (and extremely pregnant) women's prison inmate. Does Amy have what it takes? For that matter, does Jake? Meanwhile, Rosa and the rest put on a fake funeral for Pimento in an attempt to catch the mysterious "Scar Joe"... [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: US CONGRESSIONAL FUNDRAISING Season 3, Ep 7
This week.... Vladimir Putin snubs the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, and Donald Trump demonstrates that nuclear weapons is another thing he doesn't have much knowledge about. Baseball season prepares to begin, and the New York Yankees annoy and frustrate fans by making it difficult to resell premium tickets online, claiming that the tickets may end up in the hands of people who the Yankees owner figures may not know how to treat the privilege of sitting in the first five rows at a Yankees game. LWT is running a short impromptu context: tweet a picture of yourself wearing something that would would look ridiculous sitting in premium seats at a Yankees game with the hashtag #IHAVENEVERSATINAPREMIUMLOCATION, and you can win one of those seats to a game. [more inside]
Movie: This Is Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DeBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour. [more inside]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Trump's Border Wall Season 3, Ep 6
This week.... Brazillians protest against their president Dilma Rousseff and their legislature moves to impeach, although 60% of members themselves face criminal charges of some kind. Obama nominates Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by Scalia's death. And Now: two segments on CBS This Morning's Awkward Sex Talk. Main story: Trump's proposal to build a border wall along the US/Mexico border. (YouTube 19m) Finally, Last Week Tonight begins to consider updating their All-Dog Supreme Court and asks the public to choose a dog for the event that Garland gets confirmed. [more inside]
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Terry Kitties Season 3, Ep 19
Terry settles a kitten-related score with his old nemesis at the Six-Five (guest star Matt Besser) by taking on a 20-year-old burglary case that got away. Back at the precinct, Charles summons all of his beta-male powers to stand up to alpha-dog Pimento. Elsewhere, the rest of the Nine-Nine take a bomb disposal class that turns unexpectedly competitive for Amy and Rosa. [more inside]
Movie: Mei ren yu (The Mermaid)
Director Stephen Chow presents the finest Chinese Mermaid Murder Comedy you'll see all year. [more inside]
Movie: Clue
In arguably the finest movie based on a board game, six guests are invited to a strange house, only to find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery where everyboddy is either a victim or suspect. [more inside]