John Oliver's Last Week Tonight

As I said last time this show discussed the death penalty back in 2019: the governor could simply shoot the person being executed in the head with a handgun at contact range. There would be no need to go to such lengths to get their hands on drugs for lethal injection. That is, if their priority were actually carrying out executions with minimal suffering to the person being executed. Which it isn't.

That comment about the governor never having been present for an execution reminds me of Shaw's Saint Joan, in which John de Stogumber, an English cleric determined to see Joan be burned, has a change of heart after seeing just how cruel and gruesome such an execution actually is. It's easy condoning the death penalty from a safe distance where you don't have to experience the nastiness of it.

Frankly, dropping somebody off a building via Disney Villain Death is more humane at this point than anything else. Haha. I'm not serious obviously though.

This past weekend, the Main Story was Medicaid. That obviously didn't go up on YT yet though—and I also didn't finish watching the show yet anyway, so there you go. Tomorrow, right?

It's up now:

The other segment was about Arizona's recent abortion ruling.

So, watching the new segment on UFO sightings on Youtube, does he say anything in the full episode about his health? He seems a lot slower than usual and can't seem to get through a bit without needing to pause for breath.

I'm not talking in a "he's dying and trying to hide it from us" but a "he seems to have a noticeable cold or hay fever or something and I wonder if it's addressed." Really it highlights to me how some of his standard gags really rely on a rapid-fire delivery that I don't even notice at the time, but notice when it's not there as much.

Look, I'm just glad I could finally get through an episode without feeling like baking a cake substituting my head for the dough. I don't feel like speculating about the funny man's health right now.

Also, the link: John talks about UFOs, and why they need to be researched thoroughly and boringly

Edited by Kayeka on Apr 25th 2024 at 5:59:15 PM

Some people just slow down their motormouth tendencies with age. Yahtzee is doing the same these days.

No new episode this week so instead they're dropping all of Season One onto youtube instead. With 2-8 as well when they have no episode.

Now you watch how aged the episodes are and whether they're still depressingly relevant!

I see they are trying to depress John by reminding everyone how young and healthy he used to look a mere 10 years ago.

Edited by Redmess on Apr 26th 2024 at 10:15:43 AM

The comparison photo on one of the threads on Reddit today was crazy, even more so if you've ever seen him in 2005/6 in Mock the Week before he moved to the US for the Daily Show.

Here he is on Mock the Week, and oh wow...

Am I missing something? I don't think John Oliver has "slowed down" at all. He looks older (mainly graying hair), but it's nothing out of the ordinary.

EDIT: As for the UFO segment, it made a good point that while I've personally never seen a UFO, it's important to not dismiss anyone who has as crazy. Unfortunately, because UFO believers often (but not always) overlap with conspiracy theorists who think everything's a big cover-up, it's tempting to lump everyone together, but that's not fair.

Edited by speedyboris on Apr 27th 2024 at 6:16:38 AM

He doesn't seem that much slower to me, either.

Geez, they just dumped the whole first season on Youtube in random order. Kind of sloppy.

Well as long as the official broadcast order is still available as reference, I'm happy to go back and start watching the shows I missed. Saw most of Season 1, all of Seasons 2 and 3, fell off during 4 because it got stressful constantly hearing about how bad things were and then I think 7 was when I jumped back on since it was the season that the 2020 election would take place during—and ended up the first COVID season of course too. Been continuing to watch ever since—and been dragging my mom along for the ride too. Haha.

Next new episode is the 300th by the way.

With UFO's, I personally lean towards the theory that the ones that aren't weather phenomenons are usually experimental aircraft. Including ones spotted by military personnel, because there are internal, and cross-branch secrets. And for the military, people's belief in space aliens came as a very convenient way to keep the Masquerade, but winking and nodding and occasionally releasing disinfo. But I'm still glad John took the topic seriously, and called out the instinct to just mock people for believing in aliens.

I was thumped for a post earlier. I'll take that apology anytime.

OK,but what does that have to do with the topic of John Oliver?

There was an episode last month about capitol punishment. I brought up that Trump wants to ramp up public executions if he were to get a second term.

It would be helpful if you linked the episode with the article now that I think about it

Saw the Library one a couple days ago and yeah, beyond frustrating. Trying to reason with any of those parents is equated to talking to a freaking brick wall.