The Revolution Will Be Televised

Series two, episode two
PPI. Extreme sexism in Saudi Arabia. The spread of betting shops in impoverished towns. The opening minutes of alone of ‘The Revolution…’ call out all sorts of modern hypocrisies, without drawing breath or offering any solutions. But satire needn’t be constructive, provided it’s accurate and funny. And if the targets err on the soft side tonight (Katie Price’s IQ, Boris Johnson’s showbiz inclinations), the laughs keep coming.

Über-banal red-carpet show ‘BBCOMGWTF’ is spot-on when it wrongfoots its deserving quarries (‘Israel or Palestine?’ Jerry Bruckheimer, pleased: ‘Israel!’) and the subtitles telling the truth behind the political soundbites are just so. Scattergun by its very nature – a bit longer spent on fewer issues might have been preferable – but the righteous anger is bracing in what has become a somewhat cowed BBC, post-Savile. To the barricades!