Emmy-award winning comedian John Oliver is gracing our presence this week in Melbourne with a series of sold-out shows. He will take to the stage at the Palais Theatre over the next two nights before heading to Sydney.
Oliver takes a satirical approach to news, politics and current events as host of the HBO show, Last Week Tonight. You may also know him for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or his weekly satirical podcast, The Bugle.
In preparation for his shows this week, City Journal counts down the best John Oliver moments:
6. Australia
Johnny Depp found himself in hot water when he brought his dogs into the country in May – a big enough deal that his wife Amber Heard was charged with two counts of illegally importing dogs into the country and one count of producing a false document. It’s only fitting that Oliver took us to town for having a countdown to Pistol and Boo’s death if Depp and Heard didn’t get them out of the country.
5. FIFA
He’s not afraid to take on one of the biggest sporting organisations in the world. In 2014, he talked about the biggest problems with the World Cup and the allegations surrounding FIFA’s corruption.
This year, he looked at the recent arrests of FIFA officials and took on FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
4. That one time he pissed off the Thai government
When you make satirical jabs at Thailand’s military coup and its Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s dog, you’re bound to make people angry. Because of his segment, the Thai monarchy believed the comedian was a threat to the Thai monarchy. In true John Oliver fashion, he postponed his Thailand holiday indefinitely and poked fun at other countries with similar laws prohibiting insults to the monarchy.
3. Government surveillance and Edward Snowden
Oliver and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden talk about privacy and security in America, and more importantly, how it all relates to dick-pics.
2. Gun Control in the U.S.
Oliver takes apart the United States’ policy on gun control, focusing on a country that has managed to successfully implement gun reforms – Australia. The three-part series aired as a segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2014.
John Oliver Investigates Gun Control in Australia (Part I) from Melel Media on Vimeo.
John Oliver Investigates Gun Control in Australia (Part II) from Melel Media on Vimeo.
John Oliver’s Australia and Gun Control Aftermath from Melel Media on Vimeo.
The segment remains a relevant video with the U.S. yet to introduce adequate gun reforms. This comes after news that two television journalists in Virginia were shot dead during a live broadcast by their former colleague.
Sadly it’s time to watch John Oliver’s brilliant piece on gun control again http://t.co/Wi6Pu88r4d
— ralph horowitz (@rtralphy) August 26, 2015
And our favourite moment:
1. John Oliver takes on Tony Abbott
How could you forget the roasting of our very own, Prime Minister Tony Abbott? This four-minute segment showed off our PM’s unique way with words and Australians.
Honourable mention: John Oliver schools us in geography
This wonderful compilation shows us how little we know about world geography.
If you were unlucky enough to miss out on tickets to Oliver’s shows, you can catch Last Week Tonight on the Comedy Channel Mondays at 6.30pm.
Featured image photo credit: Tech Crunch
