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" The British Invasion never really ended. In addition to your Mumford &amp;amp;amp; Sons and Adeles ruling the radio, the British have spent the past 50 years forcing their funny people on American audiences. Now their presence, 41 years after Monty Python&amp;#039;s Flying Circus started airing in the U.S., has become routine. John Oliver takes over from Jon Stewart, and it seems perfectly natural. James Corden takes The Late Late Show (even though hardly anybody in the States knew who he was) and nobody complains. So in a way it&amp;#039;s not surprising that NBC would import Red Nose Day, the British comedy institution that has been raising money for anti-poverty charities since 1988. Yet another limey show.  On the other hand, Red Nose Day is a very particularly British thing with a very particularly British sense of humor. In the name of charity, comedians humiliate celebrities, and the celebrities join in on their own humiliation because of the ingrained national imperative to be willing to make fun of yourself. The NBC version of Red Nose Day, premiering live tomorrow, has the celebrities lined up\u2014Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Hudson, Peter Dinklage sing-bragging about his staying power on Game of Thrones, and many more\u2014but it remains to be seen whether Americans will take to this specific breed of ritual mockery, or indeed whether American celebrities have the same willingness to put up with jokes at their expense. I hope it does work, not just because of the money it could raise for charity but because Red Nose Day produces a kind of sketch that can be hilarious, an amalgam of &amp;quot;celebrities in real life&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;very special episodes&amp;quot; of successful comedies. Below are the best of the Red Nose Days from the recent past as an introduction, ranked. If the American version generates one sketch like the ones below, it will be a triumph:  5. Smithy meets the England football team      James Corden, then playing a working-class plumber in the brilliant English show Gavin &amp;amp;amp; Stacey, lived every sports fan&amp;#039;s fantasy. Running into the English national football team, he gives them an impromptu lecture, outlining all of their personal and professional failures. The skit gives a good sense of how powerful Red Nose Day is in England. The most powerful sports celebrities in the country have to sit there and take it. 4. Ricky Gervais African Appeal      Ricky Gervais, in his usual mastery of awkward social situations, manages to have Irish singer Bob Geldof fake-cry and gets Bono to do blackface. Well, sort of.  3. Catherine Tate meets Tony Blair      Tony Blair was prime minister when comedian Catherine Tate had him repeat her catchphrase over and over again. You have to give him this: He actually has pretty good timing.  2. Elaine Figgis dates Daniel Craig      In some ways, the ideal Red Nose Day skit. James Bond being dumped by a Yorkshire woman he met on a Celine Dion fan chatroom. It is worth watching simply to see Daniel Craig eating the world&amp;#039;s most disgusting sandwich at 2:00.  1. Ali G with David and Victoria Beckham      What Red Nose Day is all about: Find the most famous people you can and embarrass them as much as possible. The artist formerly known as Posh Spice talks about how the fans in the stands shout &amp;quot;Posh Spice takes it up the arse,&amp;quot; David Beckham looks like his dearest wish is for the ground to swallow him up. Actually hilarious. Plus More of What to Expect on Red Nose Day USA: Benedict Cumberbatch Set for NBC&amp;#039;s Red Nose Day Daniel Craig and Roger Moore Team Up for James Bond Short Chris Pratt and Idris Elba Make Red Nose Day Look Cool "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a35120/red-nose-day-explainer/>