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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

So it has come to this!

Dear America

As we prepare to depart your shores we would like to thank you for putting on a truly wonderful show. 

The Madness of King Donald has been a thrilling ride from the very first episode. (The entrance of the the Mad King down the gold escalators was a sensational opening sequence).

It is rare to see a series as long as this that does not have some flat spots but this is not the case with The Madness of King Donald. Every episode has been carefully crafted to ensure that the talents of the writers and actors are given full reign. 

The casting of the Mad King is a triumph. He exudes precisely the right amount of dangerous lunacy coupled with the manic language necessary to impart instability. He takes me back to Silence of the Lambs but with an unrestrained ability to deadpan language that has the viewers rolling on the floor laughing. 

The writers must certainly be up for awards for the genius of casting him as a fat orange man who wears ill fitting suits and ties that are six feet long. It is pure comic invention. His performance is faultless. 

The series really kicked into gear when season two started on 8 November 2016. The opening sequence in episode one flabbergasted everyone 

Since then it has been a roller coaster ride of shock, horror and amazement as all the performers throw themselves into free space clearly clutching for something ephemeral. They provide stunning performances that I have never seen bettered anywhere. 

Some of the cameos have been brilliant. Michel Flynn as the poisoned dwarf was perfectly cast. The Scaramucci character burned bright but too briefly. I was disappointed to see him written out so early in the series. Vladimir as the dungeon wrangler was eerily good. 

And I was sorry when Sean Spicer left but his replacement Sarah more than filled his boots and is simply stunning in her role as the prevaricating waffler - yammering witlessly to groups of stunned journalists who dribble as their mouths hang agape.  

Of course the longer the show goes on - the greater the tendency is for the writers to jump the shark - and indeed some of the episodes are so far fetched as to make it necessary to suspend disbelief. 

But all in all a riveting, rollicking show with a madcap cast of characters and never ending series of impossible and hilarious situations.

I give it five stars.