Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show | |
---|---|
Also known as |
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Genre | Satire |
Created by | Sacha Baron Cohen |
Starring | Sacha Baron Cohen |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 18 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Talkback |
Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 30 March 2000 22 August 2004 | –
Related | |
Da Ali G Show is an English satirical sketch comedy 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 (2000) series originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK, and the second and third (2003–2004) series on HBO in the United States. The second series was known as Ali G in da USAiii in the UK and Australia.[1] In 2005, HBO stated they had no plans to make an additional series of the show.[2]
Baron Cohen has gone on to make four films featuring each of his three characters from the show: Ali G Indahouse (2002), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Brüno (2009) and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020).
In 2014, FXX reaired the show (including episodes unaired in the United States) under the branding Ali G: Rezurection.[3]
Characters
Ali G
Ali G (Alistair Leslie Graham) is the main character of Da Ali G Show. He is the self-proclaimed "voice of da yoof" and the leader of the "West
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
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. He nevertheless convinces 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
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 6 | 30 March 2000 | 5 May 2000 | Channel 4 | |
2 | 6 | 21 February 2003 | 28 March 2003 | HBO | |
3 | 6 | 18 July 2004 | 22 August 2004 |
Controversy
Baron Cohen's methods often caused 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 went to a bar in
One upset interviewee was James Broadwater, a
Ali G: Rezurection
On 1 November 2013,
Opening sequence
The show's opening sequence, conceived and directed by Garth Jennings, has become well-known. It shows a naked Ali G standing under a spotlight in a black room, with each piece of his clothing flying in one by one (complete with action-packed sound effects) until he is fully dressed.
The intro has been parodied on
Home releases
References
- ^ ""Da Ali G Show" (2003)". www.imdb.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
- ^ Topcik, Joel (23 July 2005). "For Ali G, More Fame But Fewer Dupes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Sacha Baron Cohen Signs First-Look Deal With FX, 'Da Ali G Show' to Air on FXX". Hollywood Reporter. 1 November 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ Rove Live interview with Ali G Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 2002. (see 02:47)
- The Jewish Daily Forward, 13 August 2004
- ^ Leibovitz, Liel (13 August 2004). "Did Ali G Go Too Far?". The Jewish Week. New York. Archived from the original on 26 August 2004. Retrieved 25 August 2004.
- ^ Cook, William (22 August 2004). "Sacha Baron Cohen: After Ali". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 20 March 2005.
- ^ "Behind the Scenes: James Broadwater". The Unofficial Borat Homepage. 2004. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Ali G Rezurection Feb 26 | 10:30". Fxx.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
- ^ "FXX Sets Premiere Dates for 'Legit' Season Two and 'Ali G: Rezurection'". zap2it. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ "Homer spoofs Da Ali G Show" Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 2006.
External links
- Ali G at Channel4.com
- HBO website Archived 18 August 2004 at the Wayback Machine
- Boyakasha.co.uk (fan website) Archived 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Da Ali G Show (UK Version) at IMDb
- Da Ali G Show (US Version) at IMDb
- Da Ali G Show at the BFI's Screenonline