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The Revolution Will Be Televised
Other | Thursday 23rd August 2012 | Osh
Jolyon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse’s new show airing on BBC3 The Revolution Will Be Televised is refreshing to say the least. According to the Huffington Post, Jolyon has been described by one web enthusiast as Jamie Theakston and Charlie Brooker’s illegitimate love child!
Aiming to pick up the torch that Sacha Baron Cohen’s comic creations have left burning and stoke the fire with political satire and a current affairs agenda.
Full of satirical gems that poke fun at real issues The Revolution Will Be Televised switches from being insanely awkward to hysterically funny. Delving into a number of political issues in their characteristically factious and accusatory manner, the show proves to be seriously funny and almost tear jerking in how relevant the issues are.
The half hour episode explores a day out for junior MPs James Twottington-Burbage, (sickest name ever) and Barnaby Plankton (Lib Dem) at a Lib Dem conference in Newcastle, enraging female delegates, freak out Vince Cable with pestering requests for a coffee date and Barnaby declaring his love for another man at the LGBT stand.
Character Dale Maily gets up close and personal at an Occupy London protest. Creating a scene reminiscent of a full scale riot amidst the peaceful “non - showering hippie protestors.” Insanely awkward for the police on standby he even manages to get up close and personal with a few members of the law without being cuffed and beaten.
My personal favourite is the fluorescent vest clad “officer” clamping embassy cars in an attempt to force them to pay up their phenomenally large and as yet unpaid congestion taxes that scale into the millions. It’s gleeful to see how pissed off some embassy officials become at the sight of this clown in his jacket. It’s a joke dude, chill yourself!
There is a very strange looking skit involving a lot of BSM, MI6 and a whole lot of Latex. As well as a campaign to make Tony Blaire a saint in which Prowse actually manages to gain access to former prime minister’s abode and is even given a ladder to help measure a stain class window with a smiling saintly Blair.
But the most strikingly appropriate gag is the lads collecting money outside of the buildings of our biggest banks in protest of their enormous tax funded bail out “Give Us Back Our Fucking Money You Cunts” (GUBOFMYC). There really is not better way of saying it...personally. Although side splittingly funny the message here is an easy one to get and I’m sure one felt by many.
The ridiculousness of the stunts pulled by Rubinstein and Prowse’s go a long way in highlighting the sheer injustice of many of the issues. For once engaging in political discussion is fun. Even some of those being heckled see the laugh in it.
And as Keith Watson sums up perfectly in his article in the Metro “There will be those who dismiss them as chip-on-the-shoulder losers. But it’s about time comedy stopped patting itself on the back in smugfest panel shows and nailed some colours to the mast.” Amen!
By Saabeah Aforo-Addo
