BBC Two is set to air what is intended to be a spoof talk-show with an animated Vladimir Putin as the host. The UK broadcaster has so far ordered two pilot episodes of the talk show, titled “Tonight With Vladimir Putin”, featuring a computer-generated representation of the Russian president interviewing human guests.
🐻🇷🇺 Incoming! Watch this space for exciting news about a pilot for a new @BBCTwo chat show hosted by Vladimir Putin
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) 21 мая 2019 г.
“Everybody’s favourite bear-wrestling global strongman, Vladimir Putin, has finally achieved his ultimate goal: a chat-show on the BBC”, the BBC said in the show’s announcement.
The first guest is slated to be Alistair Campbell, a former high-ranking political spin doctor in the UK, while other interviewees will be selected from the domain of British showbiz.
The news has sparked a vivid debate on Twitter, with one Internet user suggesting that the talk show will be loved at home for confirming the country’s “growing influence abroad”:
This new @BBC talk-show fronted by "Putin" will be loved in Russia for confirming its growing influence abroad & hated (probably by the same Russians) for fueling "Russophobia". One thing is clear: state TV will have a field day with this https://t.co/Dne3bJUvoQ pic.twitter.com/fs2KqIFMfx
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) 22 мая 2019 г.
“A chat show hosted by Putin would probably be the best thing on bbc”, another butted in.
… whereas a different Twitterian, The Guardian and WaPa contributor James Ball, having scrutinised BBC’s press release, acknowledged that the chat show “sounds so much worse than he had imagined it could be”:
“Who the f*** commissioned this?” Ball asked emotionally, showing his disgust at the show now in the making.
I’ve read the press release now and the BBC Putin chat show sounds so much worse than I’d imagined it could be.
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) 22 мая 2019 г.
Who the fuck commissioned this?! pic.twitter.com/dzHcGgaOVQ
What the hell is this, this looks awful
— Philip (@TheWatcherIsBae) 22 мая 2019 г.
“More propaganda from the BBC”, another netizen issued a disparaging remark, while another commenter seemed to be little impressed about the distinctly “left-leaning” BBC and assumed it would be highly politically correct:
More propaganda from the bbc
— BigPhillyStyle (@Housecat36) 22 мая 2019 г.
It's #bbc, nothing to be excited about as it'll be very #politicallycorrect, very left leaning, and #nothingnew or #funny.
— orrit levy (@orrit99) 21 мая 2019 г.
Another went as far as to call out the soon-to-air show as “racist crap”:
Racist crap by @bbc @BBCWorld @BBCNews @BBCPolitics @bbcnasrpskom
— Moleriks ⌛️ (@moleriks) 22 мая 2019 г.
“Television in its death throes”, another stated resolutely, in a nod to many other netizens.
Hilarious remarks and a plethora of laughable memes arrived alongside the blatant criticism, with one bringing up the extraordinarily poor CGI production quality:
Enjoying the feedback, guys?
— Bill Russell Ginn (@19Bill84) 22 мая 2019 г.
Haha.
Such a shite idea and animated somehow using Windows 95 clip art
— Brett Claxton (#E3 Soon) (@brettclaxton) 22 мая 2019 г.
If this is the funniest thing you could come up with from all of your material from the show, don’t bother. Really.
— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky) 22 мая 2019 г.
How much good stuff will never see the light of day because you commission this instead
— Jonny (@mynnoj) 21 мая 2019 г.
One netizen even picked up on the incorrectly chosen accent for the Russian president:
Also why is he voiced as a flamboyant greek man
— Jonny (@mynnoj) 21 мая 2019 г.
That’s the worst attempt at a Russian accent I’ve ever heard.
— David W Poole (@DavidWPoole73) 22 мая 2019 г.
Some couldn’t help dwelling on British taxpayers’ money going for this “crap”:
Can I have my money back?
— Paul (@paulieeaton) 22 мая 2019 г.
