Peter Serafinowicz is a vaguely-familiar face in cult comedy, having appeared in sitcom Spaced, horror-comedy Shaun Of The Dead and kid's TV spoof Look Around You. He's a good impressionist with a taste for the surreal and a flair for spoof.
The Peter Serafinowicz Show is being promoted as his breakout project; a sketch show of weird characters, parodies, impressions and bundles of silly charm. It's not going to rewrite the sketch show rulebook like the Fast Show did in the 90s, but it's still pretty funny...
A sketch-by-sketch account of episode 1:
The opening titles. Peter dances around maniacally in a snow-white suit, providing a one-man warm-up for the kind of manic energy and pace we're about to see.
One-Hair Shampoo. A spoof of shampoo hair adverts, taking the absence of a plural to a silly extreme -- where a bald man with, literally, a solitary hair, advertises a new hair-care product.
Gay Sherlock. A Sherlock Holmes spoof, where the genius Victorian detective receives such a buzz from solving a crime, it leads to gay clinches with Watson. Very obvious, as the Holmes/Watson gay jokes have been doing the rounds since Conan Doyle's era!
O News! A spoof of frivolous TV channels like E! Peter plays Kennedy St. King, an orange-tanned, grinning US host of showbiz news. This was actually a sequence of sketches, including such gems as Eyes Closed News (where the hosts, bizarrely, present with their eyes shut) and Peter's amazingly accurate Alan Alda impersonation.
Clone House. A Big Brother parody, featuring a house of clones called Stevie. Peter plays all the amiable, chilled-out Stevies -- who are obviously based on former Big Brother scouse housemate Mikey, who looks like Peter. It's an amusing idea, but the only good gag is when Stevie explains what argie-bargie actually means: "Er, Argument bargument?"
Butterfield Direct. Peter plays an obese, deadly-serious man, advertising his insurance claims service. I particularly liked the claimant who fell of a ladder after being "frightened by a ghost" and now owes the ghost money when he dies!
Acting Masterclass... with Michael Caine. Peter does a decent Caine impression, as the acting legend teaches a class about his craft. Includes the bizarre decision by Caine to appear in the background of other actor's reaction shots, and the fact all sausages look like cigars on camera, and vice-versa!
Kitchen Gun & Toilet Grenade. A spoof of the Cillit Bang adverts, with Peter playing Derek Bum. It essentially takes the "BANG! And the dirt is gone" catchphrase of the real advert to violent extremes -- with a "Kitchen Gun" and "Toilet Grenade" to blast away stains. Quite weak, as the actual advert is pretty much a spoof already!
A Guide To Modern Life... Marriage. A 70s information guide for "modern men", but with a 70s sexist attitude. Amusing to begin with in the chat-up scenes, but too long and the resolution was weak.
BBN News. A news anchor presents the day's news, but without really knowing what to say -- so a "buzzer" sounds whenever he gets a word or phrase wrong. A funny idea, but thankfully kept short.
Michael-6. Peter plays the robot host of a Jerry Springer-style confessional TV show. It's perhaps meant to be a comment on the inhumanity of hosts, but it just seemed like a willfully weird thing to do. Good for a chuckle, and I particularly liked the "milk" Michael-6 dribbled when he went haywire (a nod to Aliens).
Elephants & Trains magazine. A spoof of those collectible magazine adverts, but featuring the most ridiculous publication imaginable.
Buy It Channel. A wonderful spoof of QVC, where two presenters tell the truth about the low-quality products they sell to idiots. While it's an obvious idea and QVC an old target, the dialogue and performances were spot-on.
Heads Or Tails. A spoof of simplistic gameshows, primarily combining the luck format of Deal Or No Deal with the style of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Peter does a great Chris Tarrant impression (less manic than most) and the concept of a game based on a coin toss is developed well. Funny.
Play My Fingers. A weak sketch where a couple from a black-and-white 40s-era romantic film meet... and the man seductively plays his lover's fingers like a piano. Er, yeah.
Pirate Chat. A spoof of those late-night chat lines, usually showing gorgeous women lounging around in their bra. But here, it's eye-patch wearing pirates with hooks for hands. Too obvious.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the laugh riot I was expecting. I'm glad it wasn't catchphrase-orientated (as that's the bane of British sketch shows nowadays) and it had a good pace and energy behind it.
I was disappointed it was 90% spoofs, though -- mainly because the targets were either obvious (Cillit Bang, Big Brother) or old-hat (Millionaire and QVC). The strongest moment was undoubtedly O! News, which showcased everything that was great about the show -- spot-on impressions, a warped style, silly ideas and amusing parody. I just hope subsequent episodes don't focus so exclusively on TV/advert spoofs and any recurring characters don't outstay their welcome.
Oh, but what a nice surprise to see the wonderful Catherine Shepherd as a co-performer in many of the sketches! You may remember I raved about her appearance on The IT Crowd recently.
4 October 2007
BBC2, 9.30 pm
The Peter Serafinowicz Show is being promoted as his breakout project; a sketch show of weird characters, parodies, impressions and bundles of silly charm. It's not going to rewrite the sketch show rulebook like the Fast Show did in the 90s, but it's still pretty funny...
A sketch-by-sketch account of episode 1:
The opening titles. Peter dances around maniacally in a snow-white suit, providing a one-man warm-up for the kind of manic energy and pace we're about to see.
One-Hair Shampoo. A spoof of shampoo hair adverts, taking the absence of a plural to a silly extreme -- where a bald man with, literally, a solitary hair, advertises a new hair-care product.
Gay Sherlock. A Sherlock Holmes spoof, where the genius Victorian detective receives such a buzz from solving a crime, it leads to gay clinches with Watson. Very obvious, as the Holmes/Watson gay jokes have been doing the rounds since Conan Doyle's era!
O News! A spoof of frivolous TV channels like E! Peter plays Kennedy St. King, an orange-tanned, grinning US host of showbiz news. This was actually a sequence of sketches, including such gems as Eyes Closed News (where the hosts, bizarrely, present with their eyes shut) and Peter's amazingly accurate Alan Alda impersonation.
Clone House. A Big Brother parody, featuring a house of clones called Stevie. Peter plays all the amiable, chilled-out Stevies -- who are obviously based on former Big Brother scouse housemate Mikey, who looks like Peter. It's an amusing idea, but the only good gag is when Stevie explains what argie-bargie actually means: "Er, Argument bargument?"
Butterfield Direct. Peter plays an obese, deadly-serious man, advertising his insurance claims service. I particularly liked the claimant who fell of a ladder after being "frightened by a ghost" and now owes the ghost money when he dies!
Acting Masterclass... with Michael Caine. Peter does a decent Caine impression, as the acting legend teaches a class about his craft. Includes the bizarre decision by Caine to appear in the background of other actor's reaction shots, and the fact all sausages look like cigars on camera, and vice-versa!
Kitchen Gun & Toilet Grenade. A spoof of the Cillit Bang adverts, with Peter playing Derek Bum. It essentially takes the "BANG! And the dirt is gone" catchphrase of the real advert to violent extremes -- with a "Kitchen Gun" and "Toilet Grenade" to blast away stains. Quite weak, as the actual advert is pretty much a spoof already!
A Guide To Modern Life... Marriage. A 70s information guide for "modern men", but with a 70s sexist attitude. Amusing to begin with in the chat-up scenes, but too long and the resolution was weak.
BBN News. A news anchor presents the day's news, but without really knowing what to say -- so a "buzzer" sounds whenever he gets a word or phrase wrong. A funny idea, but thankfully kept short.
Michael-6. Peter plays the robot host of a Jerry Springer-style confessional TV show. It's perhaps meant to be a comment on the inhumanity of hosts, but it just seemed like a willfully weird thing to do. Good for a chuckle, and I particularly liked the "milk" Michael-6 dribbled when he went haywire (a nod to Aliens).
Elephants & Trains magazine. A spoof of those collectible magazine adverts, but featuring the most ridiculous publication imaginable.
Buy It Channel. A wonderful spoof of QVC, where two presenters tell the truth about the low-quality products they sell to idiots. While it's an obvious idea and QVC an old target, the dialogue and performances were spot-on.
Heads Or Tails. A spoof of simplistic gameshows, primarily combining the luck format of Deal Or No Deal with the style of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Peter does a great Chris Tarrant impression (less manic than most) and the concept of a game based on a coin toss is developed well. Funny.
Play My Fingers. A weak sketch where a couple from a black-and-white 40s-era romantic film meet... and the man seductively plays his lover's fingers like a piano. Er, yeah.
Pirate Chat. A spoof of those late-night chat lines, usually showing gorgeous women lounging around in their bra. But here, it's eye-patch wearing pirates with hooks for hands. Too obvious.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the laugh riot I was expecting. I'm glad it wasn't catchphrase-orientated (as that's the bane of British sketch shows nowadays) and it had a good pace and energy behind it.
I was disappointed it was 90% spoofs, though -- mainly because the targets were either obvious (Cillit Bang, Big Brother) or old-hat (Millionaire and QVC). The strongest moment was undoubtedly O! News, which showcased everything that was great about the show -- spot-on impressions, a warped style, silly ideas and amusing parody. I just hope subsequent episodes don't focus so exclusively on TV/advert spoofs and any recurring characters don't outstay their welcome.
Oh, but what a nice surprise to see the wonderful Catherine Shepherd as a co-performer in many of the sketches! You may remember I raved about her appearance on The IT Crowd recently.
4 October 2007
BBC2, 9.30 pm
