Russell Brand's crank yanking

When the country's prime minister gets involved in your raunchy crank calls, you know that off-the-cuff spate of (drunk?) dialing was a massive success.

Russell Brand, the cheeky host who single-handedly saved the "MTV VMA Awards" from falling off the total doldrums cliff, lost his BBC radio gig today in the ongoing brouhaha surrounding a string of bawdy messages he left for a beloved British comedian. Something about what he did to the guy's granddaughter, set to some kind of improvised tune. Use your imagination.

Number of registered complaints to the calls, which were broadcast on his weekly radio show: 18,000 over a 36-hour period.

Highest-ranking finger wagger: Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Brand apologized profusely and took his suspension like a man. Then he resigned when the furor failed to die down. Never mind that it seems to us like more of an issue of broadcasting the prank than creating it. Who at the BBC wasn't minding that store? He's a household name there for a reason, and it has nothing to do with restraint. (See: his best-selling book about numerous and simultaneous addictions).

It's all material, right? Alls we can say is, can't wait for that Comedy Central special.