"Theatre of the mind" is an underappreciated mechanism of comedy, typically employed by radio DJs and stand-up comedians. It relies, very simply, on audience imagination -- prodded along by a performer's verbal and physical descriptions. Amazingly, everyone gets a different mental image, but everyone laughs because the joke is half their creation. It's personal. People like to have their brains opened and stretched by comedians in this way...
The Wrong Door, BBC Three's latest sketch show, is theatre of the mind's arch-nemesis. The concept is that we're in a parallel universe, where all sorts of craziness takes place routinely: giant robots knock over skyscrapers looking for their keys, fairies embarrass a drunkard, the government create The World's Most Annoying Creature, superheroes have X Factor-style "tryouts", magazines come with free inflatable men, etc.
As the cost of effects plummets, visuals once the domain of Hollywood can be achieved with relative ease, and this sketch show was living proof. It was littered with CGI -- which were enjoyable to watch, making this Three's best attempt at a unique sketch show. Sure, it was awash with indie music (often the sign of a show struggling to entertain with its own material) and its visuals overshadowed the performances, but at least it was different.
Trouble is, while I entertained and giggled throughout, I was mainly enjoying the effects and trying to guess the next CGI-based punchline. That said, the Wrong Door is definitely worth watching and will likely succeed where Tittybangbang and Scallywagga failed. The fact most sketches resemble funny adverts (without the marketing) will make them popular on YouTube, too.
But I can't help thinking: if Lee Evans acted out a scene where a tiny-armed Tyrannosaurs Rex called Philip was taken home to meet its human girlfriend's middle-class parents and vomited on her granny, it would be funnier than actually seeing a computer-generated T-Rex do the same.
28 August 2008
BBC Three, 10.30 pm
The Wrong Door, BBC Three's latest sketch show, is theatre of the mind's arch-nemesis. The concept is that we're in a parallel universe, where all sorts of craziness takes place routinely: giant robots knock over skyscrapers looking for their keys, fairies embarrass a drunkard, the government create The World's Most Annoying Creature, superheroes have X Factor-style "tryouts", magazines come with free inflatable men, etc.
As the cost of effects plummets, visuals once the domain of Hollywood can be achieved with relative ease, and this sketch show was living proof. It was littered with CGI -- which were enjoyable to watch, making this Three's best attempt at a unique sketch show. Sure, it was awash with indie music (often the sign of a show struggling to entertain with its own material) and its visuals overshadowed the performances, but at least it was different.
Trouble is, while I entertained and giggled throughout, I was mainly enjoying the effects and trying to guess the next CGI-based punchline. That said, the Wrong Door is definitely worth watching and will likely succeed where Tittybangbang and Scallywagga failed. The fact most sketches resemble funny adverts (without the marketing) will make them popular on YouTube, too.
But I can't help thinking: if Lee Evans acted out a scene where a tiny-armed Tyrannosaurs Rex called Philip was taken home to meet its human girlfriend's middle-class parents and vomited on her granny, it would be funnier than actually seeing a computer-generated T-Rex do the same.
28 August 2008
BBC Three, 10.30 pm
