Heydon Prowse

Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein's targets might be sitting ducks (rightwing zealots and perplexed members of the public, mainly), but that doesn't stop their politics-themed pranks often being outright hilarious. In this third series, the pair's arsenal is as varied as ever, with spoof interviews, mock-documentaries and roadside stunts all deployed in the name of satire.

Heydon Prowse responds to Russell Brand's views

Russell Brand's right about democracy - but wrong about how to change it. If you're 18-35 and agree the system isn't fit for purpose, make it work for you by doing what the 65+ demographic does: vote.

If you read this website on a regular basis then you know we're big supporters of the save BBC Three campaign. Despite that, occasionally the channel produces a programme that tarnishes their name and The Revolution Will be Televised is one such show. Whilst I don't blame the channel for bringing back the satirical comedy, especially as it won a BAFTA last year, Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein offer nothing new during this third outing. Old ground is retread courtesy of Dennis Pennis-lite character Zam Zmith whilst plenty of the puns concerning Wonga and Nandos' suspect business policies were just woeful. Meanwhile the duo's jaunt to America means that their coalition MP characters were given the chance to mingle with Sarah Palin and Bill Clinton. This trip to the States also allowed for their character of reporter Dale Maily to quiz several Americans about their use of firearms. These segments took up quite a lot of the show and I thought that the show really sought cheap soundbites rather than anything substantial. I personally feel that the main issue with The Revolution Will be Televised is that both Prowse and Rubinstein come across as self-satisfying toffs who feel jubilant when they get a famous face on their programme. This is best exemplified when they approach Gordon Brown at a book signing with their version of his tome having a different cover from the original. I felt that this segment had nothing to say and instead felt like an opportunity for the boys to pat themselves on the back for getting a former Prime Minister on their show. For a show that won the Comedy Programme BAFTA, the other issue with The Revolution Will be Televised is that it's not funny at all. All the gags are obvious and clichéd there is nothing clever on show here and I for one feel that if the programme hadn't won an award then it wouldn't have been rewarded with a third series. Suffice to say that I won't be watching the rest of this run and I recommend that all of you do the same.

Heydon Prowse: Save BBC Three

BBC Three allowed Heydon Prowse to take his satirical collective Don't Panic from the internet to national TV - and win a Bafta in the process. He argues that the loss of the channel to cost-cutting would be a disaster for the youth of the UK.

Radio Times review

Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein bow out with a last clutch of stunts, many of them harder-edged than before. Fake right-wing hack Dale Maily romps around the Notting Hill Carnival, in a segment that initially appears to be a rather uncomfortable experiment to see how people respond to a racist. But the magic of the event soon gets hold of him.

Backbenchers James and Barnaby take their abusive coalition relationship to a teachers' union protest, before going a step further by somehow being allowed to address a closed meeting. One scene will draw complaints, but it makes a basic point well: in Kensington, the Israeli embassy is expanding, which is bad news for the local shops that will have to be bulldozed.

The usual stunts - putting up insulting signs and delivering insulting props at corporate or political HQs - are above average this week, with a highlight being the brightly coloured donation boxes installed in the main parties' offices, so businessmen can leave money in exchange for a peerage. There's also an excellent re-edit of Ed Miliband's conference speech, turning into the dullest cover version of One Vision by Queen ever.

But increasingly the stars of this show are James and Barnaby, the low-ranking coalition goons played by pranksters Jolyon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse. This week they tackle Scottish independence, discussing the issue with kilted football fans approaching an England v Scotland match. Can they survive?

Radio Times review

Sometimes this show feels rather like an endless list of depressing facts about a corrupt world, with the bad guys too numerous and malign to be dented by light pranking. With the best ideas naturally blown in the first few episodes, tonight there are quite a few will-this-do stunts, such as plastering a tax-avoidance slogan on Cadbury's HQ, then running away.

As always, Revolution is best when Jolyon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse interact at length with unwitting stooges, preferably in ridiculous circumstances. Their attempt to launch a privatised lifeguard service on Brighton beach does not go down well. And we still need more of BBCOMGWTF, the apparently vapid red-carpet interview segment that suddenly asks questions like: "Is Tony Blair a war criminal?"

Comedy revolution: political pranksters at large

They waltz into politicians' houses, party conferences and embassies highlighting the hypocrisies of the rich and powerful. And they've never been arrested - yet. Joshi Herrmann joins the BAFTA-winning Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein on their latest stunt: to try to flog the Houses of Parliament to the highest bidder

The second series plays out much like the first as posh boys Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubenstein try to act cleverer than those around them. The problem with The Revolution Will be Televised is that the idea of comedy characters interacting with politicians and newsworthy folk has been done better elsewhere. For example the opening sketch, in which a mock newsreader joins the EDL on one of their marches, put me in mind of something that you'd see done better on The Daily Show. The joke was basically that the EDL members basically believed every outrageous statement that was given to them, but I have feeling that the crew probably filmed for an entire day to get about four minutes' worth of footage. Meanwhile, the skit in which a celebrity interviewer gives big questions to famous faces was a direct rip-off of Dennis Pennis, though I'm guessing the central duo are hoping that their audience aren't old enough to remember him. Of course the biggest moment in this first episode was when the duo's mock politicians came face to face with David Cameron, who instantly brushed them off as the pair of juvenile jokers that they were. The fact that they probably thought that they'd achieved some sort of satirical masterstroke after interacting with the prime minister tells you all need to know about what's wrong with the show.

In my opinion the duo comes across as awfully pleased with themselves most of the time and you get the impression they think they're funnier than they actually are. Maybe it's just my age, but I feel that satirical comedy should be a lot cleverer than it is here and ultimately I didn't find any of Heydon and Jolyon's big stunts particularly funny.