Russell Howard's Good News

Satirical programme presented by Russell Howard of Mock the Week fame. Originally aired on BBC Three. Started in 2009 and still ongoing.


 * British Political System: A fair amount of the humour is derived from this. The second series coincided with the run-up to the 2010 General Election and the Leader's Debates, and much of the programme used them as discussion points.
 * Clip Show: The end of each series has a 'Best Bits' episode.
 * Deleted Scene: An extended version is broadcast a few days after the programme is aired, which typically includes extra material and a brief comedian routine.
 * Gag Penis: A common feature in jokes regarding Nick Clegg and his third leg.
 * Improv: The Mystery Guest sections particularly.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Russell is actually quite good looking; he's usually near the top of the 'Unusual Celebrity Crushes' list in Heat magazine.
 * Running Gag: Footage of an American pastor using the words 'Mister Long-Legged Mack Daddy' to describe Barack Obama was used in the second series whenever the host mentioned Obama (along with a comical apology). This was spoofed with a clip of Howard himself using a similar title when Nick Clegg was mentioned. The latter is actually used as a Fan Nickname (Mister Long-Legged Cleggy-Weggy, which managed to become the top trending Twitter topic in the UK on the day of the 2010 Election).
 * A man in a gray suit carrying a cardboard cutout of an animal and chasing down Russell and a friend to demonstrate "the horror" of an attacking animal. Originated after a fail-tastic clip from an American news bulletin where someone used a cardboard cutout of a bear to demonstrate how scary having a bear in your garden would be.
 * One series has Russell constantly referring back to two clips; one of a dog making a funny noise and a cat saying 'No, no, no'. The dog is usually used when Russell prefers it to something else, and the cat one is used for something particularly disgusting/disturbing.
 * Stand Up Comedy: The whole programme has elements of this, but the extended versions have an actual stand-up comedy segment. For those who attend the recording, there's a lot more of the stand-up, probably to make up for all of the re-recording necessary to edit everything together properly.
 * The Un-Smile: Gordon Brown. Apparently a fairy dies every time the man smiles.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Sometimes played for laughs in the introduction to a mundane news story (as with an abnormally large chicken's egg in the first episode of series 4).