Staying In Is The New Going Out

Lee Mack and Tim Vine are two of the funniest comedians around today. The fact that they both star in 'Not Going Out' (BBC1) makes for an hilarious, genuinely witty half hour of entertainment. Mack and Vine are superb one-line deliverers - they remind 'thetvreviewguy' of the power of the joke over the situation; their characters are vehicles for excellent gag delivery and no harm there. It's a warm programme, full of great puns, sideways jokes and clever remarks. Add Miranda Hart (who appeared in previous shows before moving on to her own series) another great comedic talent, to the mix, and you have a top-class comedy that bears repeat viewing. Imagine 'Friends' meets 'Cold Feet' with lots of invention, wit and originality and you have 'Not Going Out'. Quotes such  this 'You know what they say. No man is an island.What about the Isle of Man?' make 'thetvreviewguy' chortle and guffaw with the best of them. There are literally dozens of lines like that that will have you appreciate quality writing and superb timing. Give yourself a laugh and get this out from the DVD store now; 'thetvreviewguys' hot tip for beating those New Year blues.

Family Dysfunction

'Family Guy' has been on the air for over ten years now; one of the few tv series to have literally been brought back by popular acclaim, 'thetvreviewguy' has decidedly mixed views about the whole thing. On the one hand, he enjoys the wise-cracking and general smart-assery that fills each episode; on the other hand, he gets tired of the constant need to shock or offend. He also gets a little weary of the programme's cutting edge cynicism. Peter Griffin is no Homer Simpson; there never will be another. But he does lack the roundedness (yes, 'thetvreviewguy' knows we're talking about cartoon characters here) that Homer displays in spades. The thing about clever-dick comedy is that after a while, it wears thin. Making people laugh takes more than a string of sick jokes (albeit some very funny and spot-on ones). 'Family Guy' is a perfect cartoon for the Gamer Generation: Crude, funny, superficial and repetitive. 'Stewie' and 'Brian' the dog are stand out characters in an otherwise very hit and miss comedy show. 'Family Guy' lacks the invention of a good to middling 'Simpsons' episode. ‘South Park’ has already riffed on the Springfield Set’s superiority; ‘thetvreviewguy’ thinks they’re on the money here.‘Family Guy’ gets seven laughs out of ten.

Faded Dreams

'Fade Street', Ireland's version of 'The Hills' gets 'thetvreviewguy' thinking. What is reality? Has TV extended the dramatic art form? And, above all, why? Why 'Fade Street'? The IMF may be running the country, we have daily political turmoil in our parliament and there's a palpable sense of anger and fear out there. But the reality in 'Fade Street' is whether a girl called Vogue (huh??) can get a modelling shoot or if the unintentional anti-hero of the drama, Louise, can flick her hair the right way and remember her lines, sorry, 'reality drama' reactions, or, most importantly, who scores who. It's a definite fugazzi, but even 'thetvreviewguy' has been tempted to switch over from Recession News and not just for the obvious reasons. He needs laughter as much as everybody else and if that has to come from having his jaw drop and shaking his head as these actors/real people (?) lead their post-bust 'glamourous' lives, then so be it. Maybe 'thetvreviewguy' is looking back from approaching middle-age and wistfully longing to recover his early 20s. More likely, he likes feeling a bit smug by thinking; yes, they might have their lives laid out before them but do they read books and appreciate irony. He would probably swap the latter for the former though...

Well Worth a Peep

If 'thetvreviewguy' were to invite a few comedy characters to a dinner party, he'd be really interested in having Mark, Jez, Super Hans, Sophie and Dobby over for a highly entertaining, if somewhat unpredictable evening. They are, of course, all part of Channel 4's 'Peep Show', easily one of the funniest comedies on television right now. It's stream of consciousness format, its rich group of characters and an hilarious script make for indispensable Friday night viewing. Mark Corrigan's internal insecure monologue, '(Can't do it. It's too much. I'm not American; I can't date.)' contrasts brilliantly with Jez's empty vessel persona '(Useless...all useless. I wish they were all robots...I wish I were a robot...maybe I could punch through a wall...)'. And then there's Dobby, the loved one, who Mark loves and lusts after; to Mark, she's like Mrs H...she's gorgeous, she's quite a lady. Yet, 'Peep Show' is based on a very simple premise; its a variation of 'The Odd Couple' - incompatible flat mates finding their way through life in different ways. The writing standard has stayed consistently high over the duration of the series and 'Peep Show' will doubtless go on to be rated as one of the great comedies of the last twenty years; gets 'thetvreviewguy' seal of approval

'Big Bang Theory' has Universal Appeal

Comedy Recipe: take four science geeks, a blonde bombshell, a good dose of strong sciptwriting, add appealing character acting and you have a show that makes for good, relaxing tv viewing. Perfect background fare, 'thetvreviewguy' always enjoys 'The Big Bang Theory', a show that makes physics funny and 'dumbs up' in references. Be it Sheldon's uber-nerdiness, Penny's likability or Leonard's unsuccessful attempts to be cool, TBBT provides a good dose of humour served up on a plate for the discerning laugh-hunter. Forget what you hear about American television being great; wrong - it's almost all rubbish. However, the top 2% is excellent and while shows like 'The Big Bang Theory' may not be up to 'Wire' standards, it is a great little programme that never fails to have 'thetvreviewguy' chortling and/or guffawing. It reminds this 30-something reviewer of the limitless possibilities we can enjoy in our twenties and is a funny take on the identity building at that age. According to 'thetvreviewguy's laughter equation, wit plus strong casting equals good comedy gold; again, he wishes he'd studied more during his science classes in school. TBBT definitely tickles the funny bones.

'How the Universe Works'

'Discovery UK' has an unusual mix of hard-core militaria (which 'thetvereviewguy' finds an instant turn-off), adventurer shows where the protagonists run amok, nerd-fests and the occasional superb documentary about the natural sciences. 'How the Universe Works' falls into the last category. Beautiful imagery and effects are intermingled with knowledgeable talking-head pieces from various boffins. Little of the subject matter is new but the presentation is never less than lively and exciting. Popularising science is a difficult matter; pitch it too low i.e. at the level of this reviewer, and you risk putting entertainment values over education. Aim too high and you soon lose plenty of people (ahem, same critic) in discussions over string theory and multiple universes. That's why 'How the Universe Works' works. It is a goldilocks of a TV series (see what 'thetvreviewguy' did there?). Anyone who grew up with 'Star Wars' will love the way planets and celestial objects are portrayed. In these Super Nova days it's comforting to look up to the stars and wonder what cosmic glue holds everything together. We can learn to feel bigger by realising we're smaller. Programmes like 'How the Universe' can help us do this. Live long and prosper!

South Park - Equal Opportunities Offenders

'South Park' continues to amuse, excoriate, lampoon and pillory and while it hits more marks than it misses, the long running public stock of a cartoon could be losing its lustre. The problem with 'South Park' is that, as they were good enough to point out, the 'Simpsons' have done most of their gags and themes before in a more subtle and, what they didn't say, funnier way. While frequently hilarious, the 'let's rip into both sides' trope becomes tedious with the writers having to invent strawmen to knock down. The recent 'Inception' episode was desperately weak as it tried to pick holes in one of the most original movies for the last five years. America is, despite attempts to 'restore sanity', an incredibly divided country and the 'here's what the Red State douchebags would say' and 'here's what the Blue State A'Holes harp on about' only has so much traction; you can only play both sides of the fence for so long. Still, it's very easy late night viewing and Eric Cartman is still a big-boned, foul-mouthed legend. But when you've had a go at everybody, who's left? A very funny programme well past its best before date; keeps 'thetvreviewguy''s attention as he likes satire as much as the next dude but...keep it original guys.