Another Tuesday morning, another wave of economic blues. But, if nothing else, we must give thanks that the global meltdown has given birth to a new genre of comedy. Who would have thought that recession humour could be so entertaining?

Our first fix is courtesy of the genius US show MadTV, which has taken a visit to the usually sunny Sesame Street (tinyurl.com/4v98ls). Unfortunately the economic meltdown has taken its toll. Big Bird's nest has been repossessed by the bank after the feathered one defaulted on his adjustable-rate mortgage. Gordon has lost his job and is now performing a role usually relegated to illegal immigrants, and the Swedish chef is cooking up methamphetamine to get by. As is glorious tradition on Sesame Street, a singalong song is composed: “Real estate and stocks drop as the price of oil soars/But somehow we can still afford to fund a couple of wars.”

But even during a global meltdown, the show's young viewers must continue to familiarise themselves with the alphabet and so the show bravely takes on the letter “b”. That's “b” for Bear Sterns, bankrupt and blow your brains out.

If you're needing an ad break after that, why not check out the droll Mastercard parody at tinyurl.com/4ro338. In that distinctive sing-song voice that backs all the credit card company's ads, a brilliant satirist intones: “Bonuses paid to executives at Lehman Brothers in 2007? $5.7 billion. Loans to rescue Bear Sterns and AIG? $225 billion. The increase to the US national debt? $1.8 billion a day. The American dollar as valued against all other foreign currencies? Priced less.”

And what of the famous sign off? That's been adjusted oh so stealthily to read: “There are some things money can't buy but for Americans to continue to live beyond their means there is Mastercard, the official card of the second great depression.”

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