I love David Mitchell and Robert Webb in Peep Show. They have brilliant rapport and understanding of each other as performers, although none of that transferred well to their movie Magicians last year. More successful was their sketch show, That Mitchell & Webb Look, which wasn't quite the flawless brilliance their fans would have you believe, but it definitely had a higher hit-rate than the likes of The Peter Serafinowicz Show.
It returned last night for another season and proved to be consistently good, even inspired on a few occasions. In fact, there were only a few clunkers in the whole half-hour, so that's deserving of some respect. Of course, it's standard practice to make sure the first episode of a sketch show is near-faultless, so let's see how funny it is around episode 3 and 4… but I suspect another enjoyable run. And I really hope they've dropped those tedious snooker commentators.
A sketch-by-sketch report:
Helivets. Pink jump-suited action-hero vets with ice-white grins, who descend from their helicopter (sometimes a model on string), and have no power to bring a dead dog back to life. Good fun, but mainly because of the vets' ridiculously funny costumes and make-up.
Battle Re-enactment Group. One member of a re-enactment troupe gets bored of being a Roundhead or a Cavalier, so they instead perform a very racist modern conflict from the Sudan. A nice idea, but not that funny.
Carry On Hospital. Dr Asquith, who works in a hospital where the staff and patients only communicate in double entendres, can only make blatant rude remarks about his cock to fit in. Excellent parody with a hilariously nonplussed performance from Webb.
Padlockigami. A Welsh TV show about the hidden art of origami with padlocks, showcasing "The Swan". Totally bonkers and winningly sold by Webb as the host.
Sky Sports Football. A pastiche of those loud and brash Sky Sports adverts that hype up simple games of football into some must-see, exciting, essential, desperately exciting, never-ending spectacle. Slightly too long, but very funny in places, and I concur with every single word.
"Sometimes Fires Go Out". A highbrow film critic interviews a filmmaker who specializes in making movies that reflect ordinary life – with men who have coughs that aren't near-death symptoms, important meetings where people need to sneeze and go to the loo, and house fires that burn themselves out. Quite a funny idea, but only the house fire and Casualty spoof made me laugh.
Sir Digby Chicken Caesar. A return for the cult characters, who are basically two drunken homeless men who think they're in a terribly exciting Victorian detective adventure. I'm not a fan of these slightly-overated characters, but this wasn't too bad.
Bronze Orientation. Two cavemen who specialize in working with stone are dismissive of the new Bronze Age. The worst sketch, purely because it was too obvious, although I like how the cavemen describe people and places.
"The Boy With An Arse For A Face". A parody of all those Channel 4/Five exploitative documentaries featuring people with hideous deformities, this fake one featuring a little boy with an arse instead of a face. Absolutely perfect on every level, and very prescient.
That Mitchell & Webb Look Garden. The show does these behind-the-scenes glimpses at the "real" Mitchell and Webb, in breaks between filming, and this one has them discussing how all TV shows (not just Blue Peter) have private gardens. Amusing, but stretched a bit.
"The Numberwang Code". Inventive continuation of the cult Numberwang sketches from last time, now using the nonsensical quiz as the basis for a Da Vinci Code spoof. A fun way to continue Numberwang, but doing spoofs of Da Vinci Code is almost a cliché now.
Extreme Negative Feedback Job Interview. A man has to get through a job interview with three people, one of whom is tasked with trying to throw him by being totally negative. Quite weak, although I liked the final hit (literally).
All said, this was a very funny first episode that fans will love and newcomers should find plenty to chuckle at. Unfortunately it's been badly scheduled against BBC1's Ashes To Ashes, which perhaps explains why it only got 1.4 million viewers, and Gene Hunt walked away with 5.9 million.
Thursdays may "be funny" (as BBC2's promos still want us to know), but Mitchell and Webb won't be laughing if Ashes To Ashes continues to soak up their audience...
21 February 2008
BBC2, 9.00 pm
