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The Final Episode Of 'Clarke And Dawe' Was As Brilliant As Ever

John Clarke's curtain call.

The ABC has released the final episode of the long-running Clarke and Dawe series, following the sudden death of renowned satirist John Clarke at 68.

The previously unseen episode aired on the ABC on Thursday night. It marks the end of 25 years of comic relief and close-to-the-bone political satire between Clarke and collaborator and friend, Bryan Dawe.

The 68-year-old died of natural causes while on a photography expedition hiking in bushland Victoria on April 9.

The final episode was filmed at the ABC at Southbank on Wednesday April 5, just four days before Clarke's death. The episode was released with the permission of Clarke's family and Dawe, the ABC reports.

In the episode -- which you can watch in full here -- Clarke plays a National Broadband Network employee, 'Dick', whose job it is to "explain to people why they haven't got [the NBN] yet or why it's so slow."

Clarke ('Dick') is quizzed by Dawe on neologisms -- words that, as Clarke says, have "come into the language fairly recently."

A play on the recent so-called "double speak" of modern politics ensues, including a jab at "alternative facts".

"What is fake news?" Dawe asks in one exchange.

"Fake is fradulent, so fake news is news that isn't really news," Clarke said.

"What does news really mean?"

"Well, news is news that is really news," Clarke replies.

"News is news, according to whom?" Dawes asks.

"Yeah good question, Bryan, I've got no idea."

"Correct."

He also answers what clean coal is ("an example of alliteration") and what politically correct means ("it doesn't mean anything").

Clarke not only starred in the sketches, he also wrote them. The comedian scripted two episodes every week, and he and Dawe filmed them both. Then Clarke would decide which one would go to air.

TV personality and comedian Andrew Denton called him a "beautiful, wise mentor", while veteran TV presenter Ray Martin paid tribute to a "political comedy genius".

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