Yes, I'm still watching. There's not much else on at 9.30 on a Thursday night and at least TPSS isn't relying on catchphrases and repeating sketches joke-for-joke. Well, not quite.
Interestingly, my blogs about Peter Serafinowicz are amongst the most popular according to my stats -- so there's clearly a lot of love out there...
The sketch-by-sketch review:
Buy It Channel: I like the style of these shopping channel sketches, with Catherine Shepherd a particular delight as the female co-host. This time, the presenters' too-honest selling technique is interrupted by an ant infestation... leading to spiders, and later snakes being released to tackle the escalating problem. A funny idea that's nicely developed and escalates.
BBN News: Quick and funny, this time embellished with a reporter only able to explain the news via a game of Pictionary.
Acting Masterclass... with Ralph Fiennes: Not the best use of this acting masterclass idea, although the idea to transform Fiennes into Rigsby from Rising Damp was fun.
Alcoholic Chat: A chat-line, with alcoholics.
Poirot Loves Miss Marple: Hercule Poirot basically interrupting his investigations to shag Miss Marple without his assistants realizing what's going on. Not bad, but did it justify recurence throughout the episode? No.
O! News: Always one of the show's highlights, but this week's was a little bland: Hugh Heffner is gay, Stallone doing another Rocky and Al Pacino performing in a one-man Godfather musical reprise.
Butterfield Diet: Well, the character's growing on me, and this was the best use of him so far – a painfully low-food diet program, with a 24-hour mass-binge on Saturdays.
Michael-6: A one-sketch joke, pointlessly returning every week.
Amnesia Magazine: Obvious, but an amusing idea.
Déjà Vu Magazine: Har-har.
Modern Life... Let's Get Fit: These 70s instructional films are usually the best thing on TPSS, but this one was the weakest yet. Mildly amusing at times.
Paranoia Magazine: Yeah, we get it...
License To Tell Jokes: James Bond's classic quips, used as stand-up material for Roger Moore on a new DVD release. Good stuff.
Ringo on "Imagine": Perfect impression, as Ringo remembers John Lennon's original lyrics to "Imagine" – which were boastful and self-obsessed. Worth a chuckle.
Duke Barrel Cheese: The cheese for liars. Odd and quite funny.
So yeah; below-average overall, and perhaps only better than Episode 2 because the characters/ideas have embedded themselves now.
I still think this series is disappointing and desperately in need of quality-control, but when the sketch show competition (beyond Catherine Tate and Little Britain) is dross like Tittybangbang, it's comparatively a work of genius.
25 October 2007
BBC2, 9.30 pm
Interestingly, my blogs about Peter Serafinowicz are amongst the most popular according to my stats -- so there's clearly a lot of love out there...
The sketch-by-sketch review:
Buy It Channel: I like the style of these shopping channel sketches, with Catherine Shepherd a particular delight as the female co-host. This time, the presenters' too-honest selling technique is interrupted by an ant infestation... leading to spiders, and later snakes being released to tackle the escalating problem. A funny idea that's nicely developed and escalates.
BBN News: Quick and funny, this time embellished with a reporter only able to explain the news via a game of Pictionary.
Acting Masterclass... with Ralph Fiennes: Not the best use of this acting masterclass idea, although the idea to transform Fiennes into Rigsby from Rising Damp was fun.
Alcoholic Chat: A chat-line, with alcoholics.
Poirot Loves Miss Marple: Hercule Poirot basically interrupting his investigations to shag Miss Marple without his assistants realizing what's going on. Not bad, but did it justify recurence throughout the episode? No.
O! News: Always one of the show's highlights, but this week's was a little bland: Hugh Heffner is gay, Stallone doing another Rocky and Al Pacino performing in a one-man Godfather musical reprise.
Butterfield Diet: Well, the character's growing on me, and this was the best use of him so far – a painfully low-food diet program, with a 24-hour mass-binge on Saturdays.
Michael-6: A one-sketch joke, pointlessly returning every week.
Amnesia Magazine: Obvious, but an amusing idea.
Déjà Vu Magazine: Har-har.
Modern Life... Let's Get Fit: These 70s instructional films are usually the best thing on TPSS, but this one was the weakest yet. Mildly amusing at times.
Paranoia Magazine: Yeah, we get it...
License To Tell Jokes: James Bond's classic quips, used as stand-up material for Roger Moore on a new DVD release. Good stuff.
Ringo on "Imagine": Perfect impression, as Ringo remembers John Lennon's original lyrics to "Imagine" – which were boastful and self-obsessed. Worth a chuckle.
Duke Barrel Cheese: The cheese for liars. Odd and quite funny.
So yeah; below-average overall, and perhaps only better than Episode 2 because the characters/ideas have embedded themselves now.
I still think this series is disappointing and desperately in need of quality-control, but when the sketch show competition (beyond Catherine Tate and Little Britain) is dross like Tittybangbang, it's comparatively a work of genius.
25 October 2007
BBC2, 9.30 pm
