On 12 December 2007, BBC Four aired "Russell Brand On the Road", a documentary presented by Brand and Matt Morgan about the writer Jack Kerouac and his novel "On the Road". Brand returned to Channel 4 to host "Russell Brand's Ponderland", in which he discussed topics like childhood and science through stand-up comedy. The show first aired on 22 October 2007 and continued for the next five nights. A second series began on 30 October 2008. The show ran for 12 episodes over the two series. Brand was later announced as the host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), which drew scepticism from the American media, as he was relatively unknown to the American public. Brand's appearance led to controversy for numerous reasons. He said the night "marked the launch of a very new Britney Spears era", referring to it as "the resurrection of He also said, "If there was a female Christ, it's Britney". Brand implored the audience to elect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and later called then–U.S. President George W. Bush "a retarded cowboy fella", who, in England, "wouldn't be trusted with scissors". He also made several references to the purity rings worn by the Jonas Brothers, but apologised for the comments later in the show.