No wonder Chris Morris had trouble funding his upcoming Jihadi comedy (see Warp films for the latest—more positive—development)—satire, it seems, is dead.

I recently moaned about the unbelievably stupid, over-the-top public reaction to Brand and Ross’s telephone prank, where tens of thousands of people who hadn’t witnessed the incident nonetheless complained, which has led to the powers-that-be saying we need a register of ‘high risk’ programmes. Whether this means killing something like Brass Eye (or even Mock the Week) at birth remains to be seen—probably, as we enter another Mary Whitehouse era.

However, what totally bowled me over today is how, without even a hint of irony, ITV replaced Jonathan Ross with Angus Deayton at the Comedy Awards. For those of you with memories presumably as short as ITV’s, Deayton was kicked off Have I Got News For You? six years back after revelations regarding links with prostitutes and cocaine. Therefore, they’ve replaced a disgraced presenter who was rude to an old man with one who once had a penchant for ladies of the night and sniffing exciting white powder.

It’s quite possible the Daily Mail and all its readers will self-combust upon hearing the news. Good.

Tasty!

I don’t often post Mac stuff on Revert to Saved, due to not wanting to cover the same ground I go over in MacFormat and on Cult of Mac. Now and again, though, something crops up that just demands a mention.

Case in point: Apple-branded apples from a Japanese person calling themselvs Nobon. The Apple-fan’s blog post outlines the process, using cunningly designed and attached stickers to cause Mac-shaped discolouration on the fruits. Time for an iSnack, anyone?

It’s a dog’s life

Every once in a while, 2000 AD serves up a new strip that manages to attain ‘classic’ status, despite the premise being fairly ordinary. On balance, perhaps it’s actually this ordinariness—with a typically 2000 AD twist applied, of course—that marks such a strip out for longevity, because it’s not trying too hard.

A case in point is Kingdom, scripted by the usually reliable but rarely remarkable Dan Abnett. On the face of it, Kingdom is another future war story, following a battle against swarms of highly evolved insect-like creatures, referred to as ‘Them’. The twist is that the protagonist, Gene Hackman, is a tough bipedal dog-like creature wondering the Earth with his pack, getting guidance from unheard ‘urgings’ and discovering there’s more to his life and world than ‘scrapping’ and orders.

On the page, the story comes across as an odd mix of Mad Max 3, the battle scenes from Starship Troopers, and Grant Morrison’s We3, with its mix of post-apocalyptic settings, stunted language, massive and bloody battles against overwhelming odds, and intelligent, genetically enhanced canines. However, the twists in Abnett’s tales, his deft characterisation and the assured changes in pace (from frantic battles to thoughtful contemplation of Gene’s aims and desires) give the strip an identity all its own.

Abnett’s dialogue is a particular standout. Rather than aping the irritating broken English of the film world, he crafts a new language for his characters, simplifying the English tongue. Peppered with phrases known to dogs, the language comes across as a living, breathing thing (a particular standout being the phrase “your mouth is full of wrong”), and so, by extension, does the entire strip.

Ably assisted by Richard Elson’s workmanlike art, with its direct storytelling, clean lines and strong panels, Kingdom is a joy, and deserves its place amongst the very best of 2000 AD’s titles.

Kingdom: The Promised Land is available now for £11.99. For more information about 2000 AD graphic novels, check out the 2000 AD Books website.

Zoom (brake), zoom (brake), zoom!

1. Speed up!

It might have escaped your notice, but your speedometer has some numbers on it that are greater than 40. This is because your car is actually capable of travelling faster than 40 mph. Therefore, if you happen to stumble upon, say, a motorway, while ambling about, oblivious to the world, you are allowed to drive above 40, and will thereby have fewer fellow road users cursing the very day you were born.

2. Slow down!

OK, so I know this one is going to confuse you, since I just told you to speed up, but you know when you entered a built-up area and saw that big, round sign with a red border that had astonishingly clear ‘3’ and ‘0’ figures in? Well, that was to tell you the maximum speed allowed in that area.

This will probably be a big shock to you, but when you’re faced with a 30 mph speed limit, the ’30’ does not in fact mean ‘carry on at 40’. The aforementioned sign should have alerted you to this simple fact. If not, just watch out for frightened children darting out of the road and scowls from angry pedestrians in future, and take that as an indication that you’re a total idiot who’s driving too fast down a high-street.

3. Speed up!

Yeah, I know—you’re probably thinking “make your mind up”, but here’s the thing: cars don’t topple over when you go around a really slight corner during your 40-mph mission. You don’t need to brake at every single bend, especially if your car is barely moving at that point. Now, I’m not suggesting careering round a hairpin bend at 40, just that your brain doesn’t go: “Corner ahead. Must brake for no discernible reason,” every single time.

4. Enjoy the pretty orange lights

A quick final tip: you probably won’t have noticed this, but there are a bunch of orange lights stuck to your car, towards the sides. These are called ‘indicators’ and they are used to indicate your intentions. They’re not there to make your car a bit prettier, nor to tell someone all about the exciting manoeuvre you just made.