View source for Da Ali G Show

{{Short description|English satirical television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Da Ali G Show logo.png
| alt_name             = {{Plainlist|
*Ali G in da USAiii {{noitalic|(series 2)}}
*Ali G: Rezurection {{noitalic|([[FXX]] broadcasts)}}
*Da Ali G Show Remixed {{noitalic|(Stan streaming)}}
}}
| camera               = 
| runtime              = 30 minutes
| genre                = [[Satire]]
| creator              = [[Sacha Baron Cohen]]
| starring             = Sacha Baron Cohen
| country              = United Kingdom
| company              = [[Talkback (production company)|Talkback]]
| network              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Channel 4]] {{small|(2000)}}
* [[HBO]] {{small|(2003–2004)}}
}}
| first_aired          = {{Start date|2000|03|30|df=yes}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|2004|08|22|df=yes}}
| num_series           = 3
| num_episodes         = 18
| list_episodes        = List of Da Ali G Show episodes
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[F2F (TV series)|F2F]]''
* ''[[The 11 O'Clock Show]]''
}}
}}
'''''Da Ali G Show''''' is a British [[Satire|satirical]] [[sketch comedy]] television series created by and starring British comedian and actor [[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.<ref name=IMDB>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367274/|title="Da Ali G Show" (2003)|publisher=www.imdb.com|access-date=2008-04-03|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116155718/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241088/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, HBO stated they had no plans to make an additional series of the show.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/arts/television/23ali.html |work=The New York Times |title=For Ali G, More Fame But Fewer Dupes |first=Joel |last=Topcik |date=23 July 2005 |access-date=27 March 2010 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116155728/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/arts/television/for-ali-g-more-fame-but-fewer-dupes.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Baron Cohen has gone on to make four films featuring each of his three characters from the show: ''[[Ali G Indahouse]]'' (2002), ''[[Borat|Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]'' (2006), ''[[Brüno]]'' (2009) and ''[[Borat Subsequent Moviefilm|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'''''.<ref name="hollywoodreporter1">{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sacha-baron-cohen-signs-first-652621 |title=Sacha Baron Cohen Signs First-Look Deal With FX, 'Da Ali G Show' to Air on FXX |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=2013-11-01 |access-date=2014-02-27 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116155737/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sacha-baron-cohen-signs-first-652621 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Characters==

===Ali G===
{{Main|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 [[Staines-upon-Thames|Staines]] Massiv". His mannerisms are a mix of stereotypical and often exaggerated [[British African-Caribbean community|British African-Caribbean]] and [[hip hop]] cultures, with some American [[Urban culture|urban]] influences thrown in. He interviews unsuspecting guests; in the American version of the show, he tells them he is a British talk show host and wants to discuss the [[Mass media|media]] and [[politics]]. He often asks a question, and upon receiving an answer, instantly creates a story of an event relevant to the topic, employing his neighbours and fellow "gangsters" such as Ricky C, Dangerous Dave (who refuses to speak because he is terribly embarrassed about his voice) and Rainbow Jeremy (also known as Jezzy), his partner, whom he refers as "me Julie" (Jamaican slang for girlfriend)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRv4x01EozQ Rove Live interview with Ali G] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116155759/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRv4x01EozQ |date=16 November 2020 }}, 2002. (see 02:47)</ref>{{irrelevant citation|date=March 2020}} or a family member such as his grandmother or his Uncle Jamal (who is apparently secretly gay). The character was later the basis of the film ''[[Ali G Indahouse]]''.

===Borat Sagdiyev===
{{Main|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 [[Television X|Fantasy Channel]]". He comes from a fictionalized version of [[Kazakhstan]], and travels around the United Kingdom and United States interviewing people and engaging in their activities. Though well-intentioned, Borat often makes his guests feel uncomfortable by introducing them to "[[Kazakhs|Kazakh]]" customs, or by making [[misogyny|misogynistic]], [[antisemitism|anti-Semitic]], or other [[political correctness|politically incorrect]] comments based on his unfamiliar culture. The culture he presents is entirely fictional, however.  For example, a real-world [[Roma people|Roma]] ("Gypsy") village in [[Romania]] stood in for Borat's "typical Kazakh village", while the character of Borat dislikes Gypsies and claims to have once been a "Gypsy catcher".  Similarly, the foreign language Baron Cohen speaks in this role is [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], but interviewees and the average audience member are led to believe the anti-Semitic Borat is speaking in Kazakh. Borat makes references to his favourite sport called "shurik", a "Kazakh" custom where dogs are shot and killed in a field. He also makes references to his dead wife, his brother Bilo, and his desire to have "sexy time" with many of his interviewees. There are two films based on the character, ''[[Borat|Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]'', released in 2006; and the [[sequel]] ''[[Borat Subsequent Moviefilm|Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]'', released in 2020.

===Brüno===
{{Main|Brüno Gehard}}

'''Brüno Gehard''' is a [[gay]] [[Austria]]n 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 [[Alabama Crimson Tide|Crimson Tide]] fans during the 2002 Alabama–[[Mississippi State Bulldogs football|Mississippi State]] [[American football|football]] game. He nevertheless convinces the students to say that they are gay, in [[Polish language|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 [[Osama bin Laden]] is cool, and that if [[house music]] were around in the 1930s, it would have prevented [[World War II]]. [[Universal Pictures]] released a film about the character, ''[[Brüno (film)|Brüno]]'', in 2009.

==Episodes==
{{Main|List of Da Ali G Show episodes}}
{{:List of Da Ali G Show episodes}}

==Controversy==
<!--This section is linked from [[Sacha Baron Cohen]].--> 
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 [[Tucson, Arizona]], where he sang an [[antisemitic]] song called "[[In My Country There Is Problem]]" with lyrics including, "Throw the Jew down the well/So my country can be free/You must grab him by his horns/Then we have a big party." Many patrons of the bar were shown responding gleefully and singing along, though a later investigation by ''[[The Jewish Daily Forward]]'' found that many or all of the audience members were aware that the song was a joke and that Borat was a comedian in disguise. A Jewish audience member shown laughing in the HBO clip said, "You could tell right away it was a wig he was wearing, and a fake mustache. I would say 99% of the people in here saw that, too."<ref>[http://www.forward.com/articles/5116/ "Comic Pushes Limits in Antisemitic Sing-along"], Nathaniel Popper, ''[[The Jewish Daily Forward]]'', 13 August 2004</ref> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] complained about this segment, to which HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer replied, "Through his alter egos, [Cohen] delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the way ''[[All in the Family]]'' did years ago."<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=9732 |work=The Jewish Week |title=Did Ali G Go Too Far?|first=Liel |last=Leibovitz |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=25 August 2004 |location=New York |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040826111026/http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=9732 |archive-date=26 August 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baron Cohen, who is also Jewish, said in an interview that the show's Borat segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity as much as rabid bigotry" rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=553818 |location=London |work=The Independent |title=Sacha Baron Cohen: After Ali |first=William |last=Cook |date=22 August 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050320190417/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=553818 |archive-date=20 March 2005 }}</ref>

One upset interviewee was James Broadwater, a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] candidate for [[United States Congress|Congress]]. He was interviewed by Borat, who told him that the interview would be played in Kazakhstan and other foreign countries to teach others about the American political system. Borat's questioning led Broadwater to state that Jews would go to Hell if they did not convert to Christianity. This comment upset some Jewish communities and prompted Broadwater to post a letter on his website denouncing ''Da Ali G Show'', demanding the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) exert greater control over the "liberal, anti-God media", and saying, "I have had a logo on my website which says, 'I am a proud friend of Israel.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.webgeordie.co.uk/borat/broadwater.htm |work=The Unofficial Borat Homepage |title=Behind the Scenes: James Broadwater |author=<!--Staff writer; no by-line.--> |date=2004 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200911165809/http://www.webgeordie.co.uk/borat/broadwater.htm |archive-date=11 September 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>

==''Ali G: Rezurection''==
On 1 November 2013, [[FXX]] announced a deal to re-broadcast the show (including episodes unaired in America) under the branding ''Ali G: Rezurection'',<ref name="hollywoodreporter1"/> which started on 26 February 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fxx.com/aligrezurection |title=Ali G Rezurection Feb 26 &#124; 10:30 |publisher=Fxx.com |access-date=2014-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302030755/http://www.fxx.com/aligrezurection |archive-date=2 March 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> The show featured new, original introductions starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Ali G.<ref>{{cite web|title=FXX Sets Premiere Dates for 'Legit' Season Two and 'Ali G: Rezurection'|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/16/fxx-sets-premiere-dates-for-legit-season-two-and-ali-g-rezurection/230042/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119012444/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/16/fxx-sets-premiere-dates-for-legit-season-two-and-ali-g-rezurection/230042/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 January 2014|publisher=zap2it|access-date=16 October 2014|date=16 January 2014}}</ref> The show streamed under the name ''Da Ali G Show Remixed'' on Australian streaming service [[Stan (streaming service)|Stan]].

==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 ''[[The Simpsons]]''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW69Wmq-l2Yt "Homer spoofs Da Ali G Show"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116155741/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW69Wmq-l2Y |date=16 November 2020 }}, 2006.</ref> and in the 2005 BBC mini-series ''[[Casanova (2005 TV series)|Casanova]]'' starring [[David Tennant]].

==Home releases==
{{Main|List of Da Ali G Show home video releases}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.channel4.com/alig ''Ali G''] at [[Channel4.com]]
* [http://www.hbo.com/alig/ HBO website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818074624/http://www.hbo.com/alig/ |date=18 August 2004 }}
* [http://www.boyakasha.co.uk/ Boyakasha.co.uk (fan website)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216130924/http://www.boyakasha.co.uk/ |date=16 February 2006 }}
* {{IMDb title|id=0241088|title=Da Ali G Show (UK Version)}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0367274|title=Da Ali G Show (US Version)}}
* {{Screenonline TV title|id=535258|name=Da Ali G Show}}

{{Sacha Baron Cohen}}
{{HBONetwork Shows}}
{{BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) 2000–2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali G Show, Da}}
[[Category:Da Ali G Show| ]]
[[Category:2000 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:2000 British television series endings]]
[[Category:2000s British satirical television series]]
[[Category:2000s British television sketch shows]]
[[Category:2000s British LGBTQ-related comedy television series]]
[[Category:Channel 4 sketch shows]]
[[Category:HBO original programming]]
[[Category:Showcase (Canadian TV channel) original programming]]
[[Category:Television series by Fremantle (company)]]