The Revolution Will Be Televised

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The Revolution Will Be Televised
4 / 5

Channel: BBC Three
Series: Three
Aired: 2012-present
Cast: Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein

Smart comedy is my favourite. Comedy that is saying something and making you think. Satire is a wonderful thing, though it's very easy to get it wrong and delve in to the realms of idiocy and just being mean. The Revolution Will Be Televised (from the song and poem by Gil Scott-Heron, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) is a comedy duo made up of two men with amazing names which may or may not (definitely) contribute to my liking of this programme so much.

The premise is much like a sketch show: several characters of varying absurdity parade around the UK (and the USA in the third series) participating in humorous stunts and occasionally silly conversations. Whilst it does play on the stupidity of people and the world in general, it's not in a malicious way but more of the educational way that you get when you're trying to correct someone on their spelling.

The similarities basically end with the average sketch shows as most of the topics covered are politically, socially and ethically orientated. There is a veritable piss-taking of the Daily Mail with reporter Dale Maily, which doesn't so much as cross in to mean territory as picks up mean and slaps that detestable Newspaper with it. It is light fun-making of all the idiots who, for some reason, are in charge of Earth. They also hang up signs illegally, enter buildings and the PMs house without so much as an invite and generally cause havoc like they used to in 80s comedies when PC and Health and Safety didn't kill everyone off, apparently.

The main reason I didn't give this 5 / 5 despite the fact that I love it, laugh out loud very often and agree with pretty much everything they say, do and take the piss out of, is just because when I was thinking of what to score it I had to think. Yes, it's funny and yes more people should be making fun of these people we call leaders, but I think maybe it's because it doesn't make me laugh and forget the harsh cruelty of the world and instead it makes me think about it, and that in turn makes me sad. The world is a horrible, corrupt and cruel place and The Revolution Will Be Televised announces that in volumes. My only wish is that they told me this stuff but also told me how I could counteract it, as well.