Stand up comedy is one of those things that if done correctly look incredibly easy to do. After all how difficult is it to stand around and tell jokes? Every school yard and work place clown does it every day. The thing is this is one of the most arduous tasks for a comedian. The main entry point for the stand up comedian used to be talk shows. If you made it on the Tonight Show you were a success. Then, the apex of success was to get a HBO comedy special. Lately the place to make it is the fake news. Comedy Central’s parody of the news networks, ‘The Daily Show’ has been a breeding ground for the latest generation of the most popular comedians. This series has jump started the careers of the heavy hitters of current comedy including the like of Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and the current host Jon Stewart. The main reason is the demographic for this show are mostly young people well versed in the political topics and popular culture of the day. It features the best comics using humor to dissect the political and social scene we live in. As such the comedians that come out of this venue are more in the line of the thinking man’s comedians. If you don’t read the papers or watch the news you are not likely to get their acts. One of the latest comedians to break through on ‘The Daily Show’ is John Oliver. His dry British humor is juxtaposed against the glossy popular culture of the States. If you know who he is you most likely first saw him on this show. Now, Comedy Central has given him a chance to return to his comic roots with his own stand up special ‘Terrifying Times’. In case you missed it or you just want to add it to your collection parent company Paramount has released this show on DVD. This disc contains some of the sharpest, wittiest humor that I have heard in a long time.

Considering his pronounced accent it should be little surprise that John Oliver hails from England. Educated at Cambridge University with a degree in English literature this is a man who is quick on his feet and knowledgeable in his delivery. No subject is taboo for this comedian. He holds everything up to the light of his scrutiny. In this special he covers everything from comparisons of the British and American empires to the treatment of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In some ways much of his humor comes from an outsider’s vantage point of our political system. He is quick to note that if we had not dumped all that tea in Boston Harbor we would all sound and act more like him. This DVD does present an uncensored and extended version of what has been shown of Comedy Central so just be warned this is definitely not for the kids. The dry humor of Oliver begins with the main menu. He notes that if you are watching this DVD you bought, rented or stole the disc. If you stole the disc he wonders if you might have made some better life choices but consider the small compensation he gets for the sale he can understand.

The comedy concert was recorded in front of a live audience at the Symphony Space in Manhattan. The special starts with Oliver’s voice off stage. They show a picture of the earth as Oliver notes it is home to hundreds of religious beliefs including God, Buddha, Vishnu and Mohammed. All of them had an associated image except for the last were we see ‘No Image Available’. He takes the stage and warns the audience that he will be using an English accent which will give words more authority than usual. He relates how difficult it is to be English. He cannot walk into any museum in any country and not feel guilty. This is he shame of the British empire and he continues that some day soon all this shame will understood by the American people for we have taken up the baton of imperialism from the English. We are not doing anything that the British haven’t done before it is just we are doing it in the era of 24 hour cable news. Back when England was the dominate world power a massacre in India was only capture in water color. The world yearns for the days of British rule; to be treated that badly that politely. At least he is fair. If he is going to lampoon the administration of our government he will treat his own homeland equally.

He goes into a look at the democratic process noting that the only such nation with 100% voter turnout is Australia. They did this by making it illegal not to vote. The subsequent problem is that people there have started to vote drunk. Oliver challenges a report from there that stated being drunk has an 18% affect on your ability to vote. It also makes you more prone to vote right wing. By this point Oliver is rolled into a ball on the stage. There is one thing the English comedians know it is how to include physical comedy into their acts. He suggests that American should make voting mandatory but change it to scratch card like those used in the lottery. This leads him into a bit of the ‘self styled’ forty third president of the United States noting that hearing him speak is to wish upon yourself physical harm. Next he rifts on the debate over evolution and how some conservative want a sticker on textbooks stating it is only a theory. He proposes that such stickers should be on all books including the Bible or books on the theory of gravity. Oliver takes a simple idea and runs with it to absurd levels making the audience think while they are laughing. While he is going through his routine the jokes are punctuated by images on a large screen behind him emphasizing the points he is making. He goes into his own theory on economics. The strength of a nation’s economy is based on its population to buy things they don’t need and because of this America is way beyond any nation on earth. Our malls are cathedrals to buying junk. Well, this is paraphrasing the uncensored remark he actually made.

Paramount has gone beyond just provided the extended and uncensored presentation of Oliver’s routine. They include several hilarious extras. There are some clips of his appearances on ‘The Daily Show’. There are some clips of the behind the scenes for his show at the UCB theater. Rounding things off is an interview with Andy Zaltsman. This is a politically and socially savvy show that is a must to view.