- Eric Liebowitz
- John Oliver
“Welcome, welcome, welcome to . . . whatever this is,” John Oliver said at the beginning of his new HBO show, Last Week Tonight. At the risk of diminishing the very funny Daily Show correspondent’s solo effort, “it” is, in a lot of ways, a less-frequent version of The Daily Show on which it’s OK to say “fuck.” And that’s great. Oliver proved his anchor chops when he filled in for Jon Stewart last summer, although it’s more fun to imagine he got the job on the merits of his performance as Dick Pants in the canonical Mike Myers smash hit The Love Guru.
The inaugural show wraps up with a prerecorded interview with former NSA director Keith Alexander. Again, Oliver is at his best away from the desk, as the two spitball marketing campaigns that might improve the NSA’s public image. It’s funny when Oliver suggests they adopt a mascot called Mr. Tiggles, a tiny kitten in a boot, but it’s funnier when Alexander suggests the NSA change its slogan to “The only agency in government that really listens.” He said it—but Oliver got him there.
