This British comedian focuses a lot on politics in his work, and (as viewers of The Daily Show would know) is on the far Left side of the political scale, and that slant shows up heavily in this set. While I found a few truly funny parts, unfortunately, most of the act felt like a political rant more than an attempt at comedy.
Oliver starts off talking about the differences and similarities between America and Britain; like the past imperialistic nature of the UK, and the current similar behavior of the US. He then goes on to talk about motivating the public to vote more, and the idea to make it more entertaining (with the use of scratch-off tickets, of course). This first section isn't bad at all, and I found it truly enjoyable, but it isn't long before he starts his political rant.
From this point, Oliver's message seems to take the forefront beyond the comedy, which turned me away pretty quickly. I'm not saying I don't agree with many of his messages, it just seems like I was cheated out of a comedy routine and got preached to instead.
By the end of the standup act, Oliver will touch on American consumerism (with a nod to the inflatable bar-b-que and the Oreo pizza), Fair Trade, 24-hour news channels, sports montages put to 80's power-ballads (which is one of the other parts that made me laugh) and alternative fuel.
Oliver will also bring in a friend of his a couple of times, Andy Zaltzman. With Zaltzman on stage, the pair focuses on the War On Terror. While amusing, this part feels far less natural than when Oliver is on stage alone. While Zaltzman is on stage, the dialogue between the pair just feels to rehearsed and scripted, while Oliver alone feels much more fluid.
Oddly enough, I enjoyed the special features a lot more than the main attraction. Here you will get to see four clips that feature Oliver on The Daily Show (including a personal favorite, "Tortured Logic" which delves into quite a bit of word-play). The other extras include snippets of Oliver and Zaltzman's radio show and some older versions of the act that Oliver performs in the main feature (this is nice because you get to see what didn't make the cut, and earlier versions of the jokes that did).
Interestingly enough, I also enjoyed the DVD menu itself. The main screen has Oliver talking directly to the audience, mainly about why they haven't chosen a menu option yet. No matter how much he begged me, I just couldn't help but watch to see what he did next.
As a piece of political satire, Terrifying Times really does its job, but as a bit of stand-up that will hold up to the test of time, this piece is severely lacking. In the end, Terrifying Times is targeted directly at the people who never miss an episode of The Daily Show and Colbert Report, so if you fit into that category, then definitely pick up this DVD; otherwise you might want to pass it up.
