Category Archives: Comedy

Red Dwarf’s best moments

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Since Red Dwarf disappeared off our screens fans have been teased with talk of a movie which sadly never happened. Thankfully the television channel Dave came to the rescue when they started repeating the series and created a whole new group of Red Dwarf fans. They tested the water back in 2009 with a Red Dwarf special called Back to Earth but tonight sees the series return properly.

So to mark the triumphant return of Red Dwarf and to get ready for what to expect in the new series here are the top ten Red Dwarf moments.

The Arnold Rimmer experience

Rimmer left behind his fellow Red Dwarf colleagues to follow the work of his parallel self. In truth Chris Barrie partially left the series to work on other projects, namely The Brittas Empire. Unusually Lister found himself missing Rimmer, so Kryten helped out by building the Arnold Rimmer Experience complete with its own song.

Tongue Tied

The Red Dwarf crew clearly aren’t adverse to having a sing and a dance. Cat dreamt that when he was around women he became tongue-tied and he expressed his emotions through the medium of song.

Gunmen of the Apocalypse

Who would have thought that the Red Dwarf crew entering a computer simulation of the Wild West only to end up facing the four horsemen of the Apocalypse would end up winning an International Emmy Award? Well it did. And it is one of the best episodes of the series ever.

Smoke me a kipper

The Rimmer we know is arrogant and miserable, but Rimmer in a parallel universe is Ace. Ace Rimmer to be exact. The seemingly perfect Ace is modest, popular, a bit of a daredevil and also fond of wearing his gold, fur-lined suits. He also has his own catchphrase “Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast”. What a guy.

Kryten becomes human

When visiting a strange spaceship Cat accidentally pressed some buttons that he shouldn’t have and Kryten was converted from mechanoid to human.

Although he thought he would enjoy the freedom of being a real boy in fact he was disappointed that his nipples could pick up radio stations, his eyes had no zoom function and he was attracted to electrical appliances. So he decided it was best to go back to being a mechanoid again.

Fish!

Cat is a cat, therefore he likes fish. He also enjoys the benefits of a speaking spaceship only too happy to supply him with fish.

Mr Flibble

Lister, Cat and Kryten visit a research centre filled with a holo-virus. Once back on board Red Dwarf Rimmer decides to throw them into quarantine for three months.

However, Rimmer ends up contracting the holo-virus and turns against the rest of the crew while wearing a red and white checked gingham dress and with the help of glove puppet called Mr Flibble.

Kryten learning to lie

Kryten is programmed to tell the truth and to help people. However, after spending enough time with Lister he is soon being taught how to lie and told to start calling people smegheads.

Holly

Holly is the ship’s computer who has an IQ of 6000. But with such a high IQ Holly gets bored. A great example of his boredom was when another computer called Queeg won control of Red Dwarf from Holly through a game of chess. However, turns out that Queeg was Holly all along, in his self-proclaimed “jape of the decade”.

Kicking Death where it hurts

When the series was last on screens, which was 1999, it ended on a cliffhanger. Rimmer was about to die, again, and as the dramatic music built up it looked as if the series was going to have a sad ending. Instead Rimmer kicked Death in the balls.

Watch these classic Red Dwarf moments in our YouTube playlist below.

The new series of Red Dwarf starts tonight on Dave at 9pm.

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Twenty Twelve: Don’t let the Games kill the comedy

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The Olympic Opening Ceremony in all its farmyard-y glory will be beamed across the world tomorrow night. It’s a very exciting time, tempered only by the fact that the long-awaited arrival of the Games also spells the end for exceptional BBC mockumentary Twenty Twelve.

Tuesday’s finale saw Ian Fletcher and his Deliverance Committee handing over the Games to the Live Team, their job done. In fact, this last episode fell a little flat, failing to top the hilarious mishaps of the previous two weeks, which included Ian getting shot by a tampered-with starting pistol, Perfect Curve’s rubbish new campaign to get people excited about women’s football and the disastrous oak tree planting stunt.

Ian Fletcher and the Deliverance Committee

Despite this there were still some very funny moments, especially surrounding The Big Bong plans and Perfect Curve’s lame attempts to acquire Sting to front it, but ending up with Aled Jones. The ending of the ‘will they, won’t they?’ storyline between Ian and PA Sally was immensely frustrating (loud yells of ‘what did he SAY?!’ echoed round our house) but memorable…and does this mean they are leaving the door open to show what happens next with the pair? I hope so!

In fact, personally I don’t think the Olympics need herald the end for this intelligent comedy. If I was the BBC (I’m not but I ought to be) I would already be planning a third series showing the outcome of the Games and the Deliverance Committee’s work, featuring all kinds of hilarious cock-ups with Ian, Siobhan Sharpe and co being hauled back to sort things out. Things like the wrong Korean flag being shown during the women’s football match causing the team to walk off in disgust. Oh wait, that was real…

There’s definitely a lot of mileage left in these brilliant characters. As well as the Games and the aftermath, we could see a lot more of Ian and Sally- a one-off special to show their trip to Umbria would be great, mostly just to see if she can last the length of time it takes to eat a tiramisu without saying ‘not a problem’.

Alternatively they could easily do a spin-off about life in the Perfect Curve offices headed by (the scarily accurate PR) Siobhan Sharpe. A firm like Perfect Curve would be involved in all sorts of interesting (and potentially funny) events and campaigns, providing storylines galore.

Of course any follow up series, or spin-off would have to be voiced by the fantastic David Tennant, who has provided the voiceover for all of Twenty Twelve so far. His perfect dead-pan delivery of a fabulously tongue in cheek script makes for a lot of laughs, if you listen carefully. You could be forgiven for at first thinking it’s a genuine documentary until you hear Tennant’s dulcet tones saying things like ‘rock legend, Aled Jones’ and ‘Mr X- a prolific composer in his own head,’ and you realise it’s not serious.

I’m responding to the sad end of Twenty Twelve by buying the boxset and reliving the magic right from episode one as a comedic accompaniment to the Games themselves. If you want to catch up, take a look at BBC iPlayer.

 

 

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Dead Boss, taking no prisoners

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Tucked away on BBC3 it would be quite easy to miss brand new prison comedy Dead Boss. But that would be a real shame (dare I say it, criminal?) as it’s actually rather good.

Although very different, it nicely fills the comedy void left by Have I Got New for You on Fridays at 9pm. Written by and starring Pulling‘s Sharon Horgan, Dead Boss is a quirky comedy following likeable main character Helen (Horgan) who has found herself wrongly imprisoned for 12 years for the murder of her boss.

Dead Boss: Sharon Horgan (centre) stars.

Helen (Sharon Horgan) centre

Once inside she devotes all her efforts to finding a way out, with the help of her nice-but-dim arsonist cellmate Christina. But meanwhile she’s up against terrifying fellow prisoner Top Dog (who turns out to be none other than Helen’s ex-supply teacher, intent on revenge for her teenage pranks), as well as Jennifer Saunders’ brilliant prison governor who takes it as a personal slight that Helen wants to leave. On top of that she has to contend with a sister who’s stolen her job, flat and dog and an obsessively stalker-ish work colleague who Helen believes is helping her get out but clearly has very different ideas.

I wasn’t sure about it initially- the opening with a bumbling lawyer was extremely unbelievable and quite silly and some of the characters, especially the tough female prisoners seemed a bit clichéd but by about halfway through I realised I was enjoying it.

Helen is an intelligent, brave and likeable main character and Jennifer Saunders is great. It would very easy to play the governor in an OTT panto fashion but instead she is  very under-stated in her portrayal which makes her far more menacing. There are some genuinely funny and clever lines and in addition a nice little murder mystery is starting to unfold.

The only thing that irritates me about this show is the unbelievable characters, the lawyer being the primary example. Such an inept moron could never be a lawyer and if by some miracle he was, he would never have been employed by a smart woman such as Helen. Since it’s usually the grain of truth that makes things funny, I find all his scenes pretty devoid of humour. Similarly it’s hard to believe that Top Dog was ever allowed anywhere near a school.

But apart from these few little things, the first couple of episodes were impressive and I will definitely carry on watching.

Take a look for yourself on BBC iPlayer

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How to avoid the football this summer

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Euro 2012 starts tonight with a match between Poland and Greece. While thousands may enjoy watching grown men kick a ball around for the next few weeks, others might not like it that sport invited itself onto our screens removing television programmes from the schedule without asking. So here are a selection of TV shows that are on despite the summer of sports.

Alan Carr’s Summertime Specstacular

Alan Carr is hosting a two-hour television extravaganza on Friday night with celebrities and bands taking part in games and sketches on the show. The guests include: David Walliams, The Saturdays, the cast of Made in Chelsea and Justin Bieber who seemed to be confused by his meeting with Alan Carr but enjoyed it nonetheless.

It sounds as though the show is like Carr’s chat show, Chattyman, and will feature a mix of celeb chat, Carr’s humour as well as plying the guests with alcohol.

Friday 8th June, 9pm on Channel 4.

Britain in a Day

Back in November 2011 a range of British people filmed what happened on one ordinary day in their lives. In total 750 hours of video were submitted, which included 11,526 clips via YouTube. This footage was then edited to a 90-minute film which sees families having breakfast, what life is like in a detention centre and even a marriage proposal.

After the film has been on BBC Two then a website will be launched to get where people can see the full film submissions online here.

Monday 11th June, 9pm on BBC Two.

A Short History of Everything Else

Griff Rhys Jones hosts a new comedy panel show providing alternative perspectives on our past. Rhys Jones is also joined by team captains Marcus Brigstocke and Charlie Baker who, along with guests, will be trying to prove that they remember more than the other team does.

Starts Wednesday 13th June, 10pm on Channel 4.

True Love

Doctor Who co-stars are back on-screen together again as David Tennant and Billie Piper star in True Love. The part improvised drama follows the love lives of five people living in the same town. Dominic Savage, Jane Horrocks and David Morrissey also appear in the show.

The first episode follows Nick (Tennant) who is happily married with children, but begins to question everything when he bumps into his first love again. So you get the idea of the kind of stories this series will tell, but if you really want to avoid the football then it could be the show for you.

Starts Sunday 17th June, 10.25pm on BBC One.

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Alistair McGowan’s back: You cannot be serious!

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Eight years after his Big Impression, Alistair McGowan’s back on primetime with his own show, this time for ITV. You cannot be serious! is his latest offering and is a satirical look at all things sporty.

Alistair McGowan

I was pleasantly surprised. As a stereotypical girl (I watch tennis and gymnastics and that’s it!) I could have been put off by the fact that it was all about sport. The advert hadn’t made this clear at all, featuring as it did, Louie Spence and Robbie Savage talking about dance. I tuned in expecting a more general impressions show but despite this, as an opening episode I was pretty impressed.

For starters it’s very Harry Hill-esque. Turns out he’s the executive producer, so that could be why, but he’s certainly made his mark. Instead of being a re-hash of Big Impression Alistair sits behind a desk and pokes fun at a whole series of clips. Sound familiar? It’s like a mash-up of Harry Hill, Big Impression, with just a little bit of Mock the Week thrown in – the round where Hugh Dennis gets some silent footage and has to make up what’s being said.

Yes it’s about sport but you don’t need to be a big sport’s fan to find it amusing, perhaps it’s better if you’re not. After all, it’s not very realistic – Jedward covering the French Open, Louie Spence training footballers and presenters reading lads’ mags whilst commentating (ok so the last one is believable) – but it is funny.

It’s not the sophisticated satire of Rory Bremner but it’s a light and fun show, probably on a par with Harry Hill and his ‘chippy chippppss!’ but with fewer visual gags and more daft wordplay instead. And so far, the impressions have been good.

I think it will improve as the weeks go on and they develop some running jokes á la Harry Hill. All they need now is: ‘I like Manchester United but then I like Manchester City. But which is best? There’s only one way to find out…!’

Yes. That’d end well.

 

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Full marks for Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience

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Not many comedians would decide to ditch their regular job to try their hand at something else, but Rhod Gilbert does. The Welsh stand up comedian has done a number of work experience placements to show how many jobs are out there which are tougher than his own.

Throughout the three series Gilbert has been a teacher, a police officer, a fireman, a tattoo artist, a mother, a farmer, a zoo keeper, to name a few.

The show could have been quite dull, looking at what happens in day-to-day in fairly normal jobs but Gilbert makes it funny and interesting. Not only does he try hard to do well in his new-found jobs but he also cares about it.

When Gilbert was tasked with becoming a drag artist for the show, he didn’t seem fussed by having to dress up as a woman but was stressed and emotionally fraught because he had to sing, dance and be funny on stage, which was too close, to him, to his own profession whilst being radically different. It also helps that the programme is really funny, not just down to Gilbert but the people around him too.

The show is also quite quaint because Gilbert does actually do the tasks he has been given, he doesn’t pretend for television. The most obvious example of this is from the episode where he was learning to become a tattoo artist. He ended up with nipple piercing, which was removed when he was learning about being a fireman, and a tattoo. But this was no ordinary tattoo, no Gilbert went for the unique design of a Battenberg cake resting on a flaming cushion.


The surprising thing is that he still has the tattoo which every now and again you catch a glimpse of. The tattoo is also the inspiration behind the name for his latest tour ‘The man with the flaming Battenberg tattoo‘.

It is a shame that Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience is primarily a BBC Wales show because I think Gilbert is well-known enough for it to be successful little series across the whole of Britain. However, series one and two are now on DVD.

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Channel 4′s Comedy Gala best bits

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Channel 4′s Comedy Gala, which raises money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, returns for the third time tonight with a whole host of comedians and musicians. This year Jessie J is headlining the event with a live performance, but the line up also includes Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Micky Flanagan, Jonathan Ross, Kevin Bridges and many others.

On top of the comedy happening at the O2 arena, Jimmy Carr and Alan Carr will be hijacking the adverts again, making advert breaks bearable.

Here are the best advert hijackings by the Carrs that have taken place over the years.

Alan Carr dresses up as animals

In these adverts for Pedigree and Cravendale Alan seems to have revealed his fondness for wearing animal costumes, which isn’t at all unsettling.

The Carrs are a married couple

In this 0800 Reverse advert, it shows the Carrs as a married couple who seem to have lost that special spark.

Jimmy and Alan help out on a Cadbury’s advert

Back when Cadbury’s did elaborate adverts, like the gorilla playing the drums, Jimmy and Alan did their part and dressed up as a suit jacket.

Jimmy meets the Go Compare man

Jimmy Carr should be considered a hero as he injures the Go Compare man.

This year’s Comedy Gala, and hijacked adverts, is on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9, and you can watch previous gala performances on 4OD or buy the DVD over at Amazon.

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TV highlights: Louis Walsh, Daleks, damp squids and royals doing weather reports

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The past week in television has been reality programmes and a whole host of animals doing things live. In among all that you may have missed some of the highlights from the week. Not to worry though as we pick out the best bits of telly from this week.

Celebrity Deal or no Deal

Last weekend the celebrity versions of the game show saw music manager and TV judge Louis Walsh take on the boxes. So far Walsh has had the best people to open the boxes for him, varying from Kate Thornton, to Wagner and Jedward (they had two boxes between them). Also he quite genuinely wanted to do well for the charity, so Walsh is noticeably nervous throughout the show but he does well.

Even though Deal or No Deal can be a hard watch, I mean it is fronted by Noel Edmonds who keeps referring to the place as ‘the dream factory’, the celeb versions have brought new life to the format. In addition the pressure that the celebrities find themselves under when trying to do their best for a charity is unbelievable, and led to Jimmy Carr only winning £750 for charity, instead of the offered £14,000.

You can watch Louis Walsh’s Celebrity Deal or No Deal on 4OD.

Britain’s Got Talent

I have a confession; I have never watched Britain’s Got Talent. So the other night when left to my own devices and with full control over the television remote, I decided to catch a few moments of the show.

And what I saw was confusing. A grown man was wearing a suit, made to look like a Dalek from Doctor Who. He was also wearing a saucepan with sequins on. And then a range of colourful washing machines with baskets on top came on stage as well as Dalek back up.

The man’s talent was that he could do an impersonation of a Dalek, which wasn’t bad considering it was just his voice not put through any machines or software. But his performance led to the judges, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden, wearing saucepans on their heads.

You can watch this and the other high calibre contestants on ITV Player.

Damp squid

Nadine Dorres, a Conservative MP, took part in Have I Got News For You this week. Ian Hislop took his usual relish in poking fun at the politicians that come on the show, but Dorres embarrassed herself in a small way.

When talking about the Leveson Inquiry she called it a bit of a ‘damp squid’, when the phrase is actually damp squib.

This malapropism also forms part of the plot for an episode of The IT Crowd, where the characters discover they all know phrases that they have misremembered in some way.

You can watch Have I Got News For You on BBC iPlayer and The IT Crowd over on 4OD.

Prince Charles doing the weather

And finally Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall dropped by BBC Scotland for a tour and ended up presenting the weather. I think Charles was quite good, and maybe presenting is something that the Royal family should start to consider in the future.

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Bafta television nominations for 2012 announced

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Appropriate Adult, ITV’s crime drama about the killer Fred West, leads the nominations at this year’s British Academy Television Awards.

The ITV drama has four nominations which are in the leading actor category for Dominic West, leading actress for Emily Watson, supporting actress for Monica Dolan as well as a nomination for mini series.

Sherlock, Twenty Twelve, Scott and Bailey and The Great British Bake Off are among other nominations that have been announced.

The awards will be presented at Royal Festival Hall on May 27th, by Dara O’Briain who is also a nominee for his performances on Mock the Week.

Below are the Bafta television nominations in full.


Leading actor
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock
Dominic West – Appropriate Adult
John Simm – Exile
Joseph Gilgun – This is England ’88


Supporting actor
Andrew Scott – Sherlock
Joseph Mawle – Birdsong
Martin Freeman – Sherlock
Stephen Rea – The Shadowline

Male Performance in a comedy programme
Brendan O’Carroll – Mrs Brown’s Boys
Darren Boyd – Spy
Hugh Bonneville – Twenty Twelve
Tom Hollander – Rev.

Entertainment performance
Alan Carr – Alan Carr Chatty Man
Dara O’Briain – Mock the Week
Graham Norton – The Graham Norton Show
Harry Hill – Harry Hill’s TV Burp

Mini series
Appropriate Adult
The Crimson Petal and the White
This is England ’88
Top Boy

Soap and continuing drama
Coronation Street
Eastenders
Holby City
Shameless

Factual series
The Choir: Military Wives
Educating Essex
Our War
Protecting our children

Single documentary
9/11: The day that changed the world
The fight of their lives
Terry Pratchett: Choosing to die
We need to talk about Dad

Reality and constructed factual
An Idiot Abroad
Don’t Tell The Bride
Made in Chelsea
The Young Apprentice

News coverage
BBC News at Ten: Siege of Homs
Channel 4 News: Japan earthquake
ITV News at Ten: Battle of Misrata
Sky News: Libya rebel convoy

New media
Autumn Watch
The Bank Job
Misfits
Psychoville

Comedy programme
Charlie Brooker’s 2011 Wipe
Comic Strip: The Hunt for Tony Blair
The Cricklewood Greats
Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle


Leading actress
Emily Watson – Appropriate Adult
Nadine Marshall – Random
Ramola Garai – The Crimson Petal
Vicky McClure – This is England ’88


Supporting actress
Anna Chancellor – The Hour
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
Miranda Hart – Call the Midwife
Monica Dolan – Appropriate Adult

Female performance in a comedy programme
Jennifer Saunders – Absolutely Fabulous
Olivia Colman – Twenty Twelve
Ruth Jones – Stella
Tamsin Greig – Friday Night Dinner

Single drama
Holy Flying Circus
Page Eight
Random
Stolen

Drama series
The Fades
Misfits
Scott and Bailey
Spooks

International
Borgen
The Killing
Modern Family
The Slap

Specialist factual
British Masters
Frozen Planet
Mummifying Alan
Wonders of the Universe

Feature
DIY SOS: The Big Build
Hairy Bikers’ Meals on Wheels
The Great British Bake Off
Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea

Current affairs
Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark
Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields
The Truth About Adoption
Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

Sport and live event
Frankenstein’s Wedding: Live in Leeds
The Royal Wedding
Rugby World Cup Final
Tour De France 2011

Entertainment programme
Celebrity Juice
Derren Brown: The Experiments
Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Michael McIntyre’ Christmas Comedy Roadshow

Situation comedy
Fresh Meat
Mrs Brown’s Boys
Friday Night Dinner
Rev.

What do you think about the nominations? Has your favourite programme been missed out, or are you happy that your favourite show has been given a Bafta television nomination? Let us know what you think.

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The awards show with a difference

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Matt Lucas was proud to announce his own awards ceremony, with the tagline “gives the awards that other awards shows don’t”. No longer are awards given for ‘Best actress’ or ‘Best film’, because no one really cares about that.

Instead plaudits are given to ‘Smugest nation of people’ or ‘dreadfulest football song ever sung’. On top of that the night isn’t a glamorous affair; in fact, it takes place in Lucas’ flat with his real Mum pottering around in the kitchen.

Each of the three panelists, usually they are comedians but sometimes just a well-known personality, put forward their nominations for the award category for Lucas to choose the most deserving winner. Their prize plays homage to the Oscars, except the statue is based on Lucas.

Matt Lucas has been handing out awards for ignored areas for a while as the show’s life began back on Radio 2 and a TV pilot was made last year. In the pilot they created a fake awards ceremony stage, the audience sat at tables and Lucas wore a black suit with bow tie. But significant changes have been made since then. The people behind the show said it felt like creating a glitzy stage was too much of an obvious thing to do. Now it is a much more relaxed affair as guests sit on Lucas’ sofa, whilst flatmates carry on around them somewhat oblivious to the show happening. For me, this makes the show feel like they are playing odd dinner party games mixed with a mellow version of Shooting Stars.

Matt Lucas and his award.

As a result of too much attention being paid to the dressing of the set, they seem to have missed the fact that there isn’t enough comedy. It all feels a bit forced; these people just happen to be in Lucas’ flat to be funny, the celebrities knew that they had to come up with some nominations and, although Lucas’ Mum is lovely, it’s quite clear none of them live like this.

The most enjoyable part of the show is Lucas, who is the most enthusiastic part of the show. He brings to the programme his sense of humour, as well as singing songs reminiscent of his time as George Dawes. The premise is there, the enthusiasm is there; they just need to stop worrying about the relatively small things and inject more humour into the show.

The Matt Lucas Awards Show is on Tuesday, 10.35pm on BBC One, or catchup on iPlayer.

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