Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show is a British satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists — faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev, and gay Austrian fashion enthusiast Brüno Gehard. These characters conduct real interviews with unsuspecting people, many of whom are celebrities, high-ranking government officials, and other well-known figures, during which they are asked absurd and ridiculous questions.
The first season originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK, and the second and third seasons on HBO in the United States. The second series was known as Ali G in da USAiii in the UK and Australia. In 2005, HBO stated they had no plans to make an additional season of the show.
Baron Cohen has gone on to make three films featuring each of his three characters from the show: Ali G Indahouse, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and Brüno. In 2014, FXX reaired the show under the branding Ali G: Rezurection.
Characters
Ali G
Ali G is the main character of Da Ali G Show. He is the self-proclaimed "voice of da yoof" and the leader of the "West Staines Massiv". His mannerisms are a mix of stereotypical and often exaggerated British African-Caribbean and hip hop cultures, with some American urban influences thrown in. He interviews unsuspecting guests; in the American version of the show, he tells them he is a British talk show host and wants to discuss the media and politics. He often asks a question, and upon receiving an answer, instantly creates a story of an event relevant to the topic, employing his neighbours and fellow "gangsters" such as Ricky C, Dangerous Dave and Rainbow Jeremy, his girlfriend, whom he refers as "me Julie" or a family member such as his grandmother or his Uncle Jamal. The character was later the basis of the film Ali G Indahouse.Borat Sagdiyev
Borat Sagdiyev is another character featured frequently on the show, introduced as someone Ali G came across on obscure satellite TV "whilst waiting for the 10-minute free preview on the Fantasy Channel". He comes from Kazakhstan, and travels around the United Kingdom and United States interviewing people and engaging in their activities. Though well-intentioned, Borat often makes his guests feel uncomfortable by introducing them to "Kazakh" customs, or by making misogynistic, anti-Semitic, or other comments based on his unfamiliar culture, which are often undercut by various aspects of the film, e.g., Borat's hometown being a gypsy village and Hebrew being his native language. Borat makes references to his favourite sport called "shurik", a "Kazakh" custom where dogs are shot and killed in a field. He also makes references to his dead wife, his brother Bilo and his desire to have "sexy time" with many of his interviewees. A highly successful film based on the Borat character, titled Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, was released in 2006.Brüno
Brüno Gehard is a gay Austrian fashion reporter and is the third character of Da Ali G Show. He claims to be the voice of "Austrian gay television". He often makes others uncomfortable by flaunting his flagrant homosexuality. In one episode, Brüno performs cheers with exaggerated, limp-wristed, stereotypically gay mannerisms, along with University of Alabama cheerleaders, provoking the ire of some Crimson Tide fans during the 2002 Alabama-Mississippi State football game, and convincing the students to say that they are gay in Polish.Brüno also interviews fashion aficionados and 'party people' and exposes their extreme views of how unfashionable people should be treated and aims to show the superficiality, hypocrisy and inconsistency of the fashion world. For example, he gets them to say that they think fashion has saved more lives than doctors, that people who have bad fashion should be sent to concentration camps, that Osama Bin Laden is cool, and that if house music were around in the 1930s, it would have prevented World War II. Universal Pictures released a film about the character, Brüno in 2009.
Episodes
Controversy
Baron Cohen's methods often cause considerable controversy. Some guests became upset upon learning they had been tricked, and various comments made on the show outraged viewers. In one episode, Borat goes to a bar in Tucson, Arizona and sang a song about Jews, in which he said, "Throw the Jew down the well/so my country can be free/you must grab him by his horns/then we have a big party." Many patrons of the bar were shown responding gleefully and singing along. A prominent Jewish anti-racism group, the Anti-Defamation League, complained about this segment. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer replied, "Through his alter egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the way All in the Family did years ago." In an interview, Baron Cohen said the show's 'Borat' segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry," rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself.One upset interviewee was James Broadwater, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress. He was interviewed by Borat, who told him that the interview would be played in Kazakhstan and other foreign countries to teach others about the American political system. Borat's questioning led Broadwater to state that Jews would go to Hell if they did not follow Christianity. This comment upset some Jewish communities and prompted Broadwater to post a letter on his website denouncing Da Ali G Show, demanding the Federal Communications Commission exert greater control over the "liberal, anti-God media", and saying, "I have had a logo on my website which says, 'I am a proud friend of Israel.'"
''Ali G: Rezurection''
On 1 November 2013, FXX announced a deal to re-broadcast the show under the branding Ali G: Rezurection, which started on 26 February 2014. The show featured new, original introductions starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Ali G.The show currently is streaming under the name Da Ali G Show Remixed on Australian streaming service Stan.
Opening sequence
The show's opening sequence has been well recognised. Director of the sequence Garth Jennings thought up the idea where Ali starts off completely naked under a spotlight, then all his clothes come flying in piece by piece.It has been parodied on The Simpsons.