We stormed US, claims Ali G director

Ali G director Dan Mazer claims the show was a big hit in the US, despite reports of a critical mauling,

He claims the UK press only picked up on the negative reviews because they wanted to sneer at how the Americans didn't understand British satire.

"It went down incredibly well," he said. "When it came out, we got hundreds of glowing reviews, and one bad one, in the Washington Post. That was the one that seemed to get noticed in Britain.

"I've got a theory about this: In Britain, we're no longer world leaders in anything, we're in America's thrall. Yet the one thing we still maintain, and cling on to jealously, is that we've got the best sense of humour in the world.

"So we don't like the idea that people in other countries get our sense of humour. We prefer to cling to the idea that our comedy is too sophisticated for the Americans And yet the truth is rather different.

"If you look at sitcoms, with a couple of exceptions, all the best ones come from America, like Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld. I actually think Americans get the undertones of satire almost better than the British."

His argument is supported by those that rapped Ali G when it aired on the HBO network - as many criticised the show for being too blunt in its satire.

As well as the Washington Post, Chortle found reviews in the Boston Globe, Associated Press, Variety and the San Francisco Chronicle which all criticised the show - but only one paper, the Detroit Free Press, which loved it.

Published: 1 Apr 2003