Russell Howard has always been a stand-up comedian with a positive view of the planet. No miserabilist angst for the boss-eyed Bristolian. So his enduring upbeat TV series looking at news around the globe has been a good fit for him. And fit is the word. For better or worse when the programme goes out these days there are as many people lusting after his guns as there are laughing at his gags.
Which is a shame because some of his gags are pretty good. Which is not surprising as Howard has some top quality writers – regulars Steve Hall and Steve Williams, plus additional material in episode one courtesy of Lloyd Langford, Andy Zaltzman, James Boughen and Dale Shaw.
What is difficult, however, is putting together a topical TV programme using clips that anyone with a broadband connection and a few minutes of down time may well have seen already. The first episode felt particularly late to the party with gags about rugger bugger Boris when he “twatted a kid” in Japan, Piggate and Jeremy Corbyn. Although I did like Howard’s description of Corbyn in one picture resembling an “ejaculating ostrich”. Whoever coined that should have taken the rest of the day off.
In theory Howard doesn’t take political sides, but there was no doubting his sympathy for overworked, underpaid doctors in a stout defence of the NHS. This was probably the nearest he got to Daily Show satire-with-a-point in the first episode of the tenth series. Elsewhere he interviewed inspirational breast cancer campaigner Kris Hallenga and had a plastic boob thrown at his face for his troubles. I don't remember that ever happening to Jon Stewart.
You can sum Russell Howard up in two stories though - a piece about someone who had to have a toy dinosaur removed their vagina after it got stuck during masturbation (now that’s what the NHS is for) and the closing feelgood story about an old lady who dresses as a bee and collects money for charity in her local shopping centre. He likes wanking gags and old ladies, that's for sure.
Ok, so the show is a bit soft and childishly smutty. Don't forget it started life on BBC3. But you’d have to have a a sense of humour failure not to find the dinosaur story funny and a heart of concrete not to smile at the bee lady clip. There’s not much sting to Howard’s satire, but if you like comedy that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling Good News is pretty good.
Thursdays, 10pm, BBC2. Watch the first episode on iPlayer here.
