Da Ali G Show

Irresistibly, corrosively funny. It also serves as a reminder of why HBO is home to so many comedies and dramas that are unmatched on network television.

This is rich material: Think of it as a particularly outrageous "Candid Camera," with politicians and Sunday-morning talking heads as the marks. [21 Feb 2003, p.U35]

You've seen this kind of shtick before on other shows, but Cohen occasionally gets off a laugh-out-loud moment. [21 Feb 2003, p.45]

He moons ya, he fools ya, and it don't mattah much if ya love him or ya hate him, he gonna make ya laugh. Dat's Ali G. [20 Feb 2003]

I'd seen a tape of Cohen's UK show and wasn't impressed - but as with so many TV stars, being on HBO just seems to improve him. [18 Feb 2003]

What Cohen's characters lack in originality, they make up for in execution. [24 Feb 2003]

In England, critics have called Cohen the new Peter Sellers. If that's the case, it's not Sellers at his "Dr. Strangelove"-"Being There" shrewdest but, rather, at his do-it-for-the-money "Pink Panther"-sequel broadest. [21 Feb 2003]

Despite Cohen's talent for submerging himself in his characters, "Da Ali G Show" is a spotty venture. [22 Feb 2003]

The Brits just love Ali G, but they have a considerable appetite for rude, politically incorrect satire. Americans may just find him rather peculiar. [21 Feb 2003, p.E5]

Though Baron Cohen is clever and amusing and quick on his feet, his humor boils down to a few endlessly repeated gambits: malapropisms, misunderstandings, and outrageousness in the guise of innocence.

Given his comedic breadth, it’s a shame that all the critical focus remains on his flattest sketch.

Da Ali G Show is all over the map -- funny in parts, overlong and out of steam in some taped bits and generally very inside in the humor department. Late night's a good spot for it.

There's no question that Sacha Baron Cohen is talented. And it may prove unwise to discount the tremendous popularity he and his Ali G character achieved in the United Kingdom. But the concept is hardly original to an American audience and, unfortunately, plays well under the acceptable level of greatness we've all come to expect from HBO. [21 Feb 2003]

The galling part is how Cohen betrays satire by making it hollow and toothless. "Da Ali G Show" is a sheep in wolf's clothing. [21 Feb 2003]