Martin Sheen Gets Us Ready for the End of the World on 'Last Week Tonight'
When the end of the world is upon us, who better to usher us into whatever comes next than President Bartlet himself?
On HBO’s Last Week Tonight this week, host John Oliver made fun of CNN for the recently revealed video that they’ve prepared to play in the event of a planet-wide apocalypse. It’s a nice, somber marching band rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee” — but it is a bit of a downer, don’t you think?
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In response, Oliver unveiled his own doomsday video starring that beacon of American paternalism, The West Wing prez Martin Sheen. In it, Sheen mourns the loss of our world, “whether by war, disease, or genetically modified dinosaur,” and tries to buck up our spirits by celebrating the best of humanity’s time on earth, from discovering fire to inventing transparent underwater tunnels so we could gaze up at “shark tummies.”
But it wasn’t all good times: Sheen also remembers mankind’s failings with our “blooper reel.” The Nazis? Atomic bombs? What were we thinking?
And the video ends with an image designed to carry us through eternity: an amazing trick basketball shot in some kid’s backyard. Man, humanity rules!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.
