The Revolution Will Be Televised

The Revolution Will Be Televised is a British television satire show, which was first screened on BBC Three in August 2012.^[1][2] Writing for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston said it's "Sacha Baron Cohen with a bit more substance then, or Mark Steel with a few more laughs".^[3]

At the 2013 British Academy Television Awards, the show won the BAFTA for the Best Comedy Programme.^[4]

Programme content

The programme is a montage of satirical pranks and sketches carried out by Prowse and Rubinstein to "fight back" against "a world full of hypocrisy, corruption and greed." Sometimes assuming fictional characters, most of the show's content consists of the two presenters making a mockery of the wrongdoings of politicians, bankers, and that in other current affairs, in an attempt to try to emphasise its immorality. The public involved usually has no idea that what is being carried out is satire, and are usually fooled by the antics of Rubinstein and Prowse, which leads to some interesting reactions.

Notable regular sketches

• Inside the Story: Rubinstein dresses as "fearless hetero journalist" Dale Maily and goes out to events (for example, an EDL march, or a protest against the badger cull) to deliver what he claims "fair, impartial news", by interviewing people at the event. It is in fact not impartial as he often tries to be controversial when speaking to people, voicing his highly conservative, borderline racist and generally far right opinions to them. Dale Maily is a parody of Daily Mail.
• James and Barnaby: James Twottington-Burbage (Rubinstein) and Barnaby Plankton (Prowse) are Conservative and Lib Dem MPs respectively who try to convince people on the street to agree with views of theirs that are generally unpopular or controversial with the public, or with a particular division of the public, often with a stuck up and elitist attitude which is a stereotype of the Conservative Party or Coalition. Examples include trying to convince people on the streets of London that MPs deserve a pay rise, and hoping to get Scottish football fans to vote against independence. James often dominates the conversation which represents the popular stereotype that the power of the Conservatives overrules the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition.
• BBCOMGWTF: Rubinstein is Zam Zmith, a showbiz news reporter who interviews celebrities at film premières and festivals with typical questions that such a reporter would ask with informal, teenage-style mannerisms, then abruptly changing the topic to something on current affairs (e.g. "Do you think we should intervene in Syria?"), causing the celebrities to look baffled.
• Ewan Jeffries: Labour MP (Rubinstein) is someone who will "stand tall, stand proud and tell you anything you need to hear in order to get your vote".^[5] He constantly tries to relate with the people he speaks to in order to try and look like he has a lot in common. If someone disagrees with a point he is making he will often make a U-turn and agree with them instead.
• "Honest" subtitles: This is a clip of a real speech from a politician at a party conference or an interview on a current affairs programme such as Newsnight. Instead of providing a real transcription of the politician's words, the subtitles display what could be considered the real public perception on what they actually mean, hence "honest".

Episode list

Series 1

Series 2

The second series of the show was first broadcast on BBC Three on 10 November 2013.^[7] Co-creator Jolyon Rubinstein confirmed via Twitter that the second series would start on 10 November 2013.^[8] Sam Wollaston of The Guardian said that "It's outrageous and audacious to the point that it's sometimes painful to watch. Hilarious, though".^[9]

Series 3

It was announced in September 2014 that the show would return for a third series including items filmed in the United States.^[10]

The Revolution Presents: Democracy Dealers

References

External links

• The Revolution Will Be Televised at BBC Programmes
  
• The Revolution Will Be Televised at British Comedy Guide
• The Revolution Will Be Televised (2012– ) at the Internet Movie Database