Ali G, the whiteboy wannabe gangsta who has taken over British television with his spoof interviews of public figures, lands this Friday on HBO with a US show. Ali G is actually Sacha Baron Cohen, a nice Jewish boy from North London, whom Gawker's publisher knew when he did a bad stand-up act at the House on the Hill in Hampstead.

Ali G mocks everyone: ludicrously macho black guys, the white kids who emulate them, and the old farts who haven't got a clue what's going on. The Ali G show works on all levels. I wasn't sure it would work in the US, but HBO is the perfect platform, race is an even more potent subject for comedy, the buzz is good, and, most important of all, American politicians are even more out of touch with youth and urban culture than their British counterparts. Ali G meets Brent Scowcroft: I can't wait.
HBO: Ali G [HBO]