Russell Howard's Good News

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

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

Tropes used in Russell Howard's Good News include:
  • 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).