Comedy shorts on the BBC iPlayer
Note: This review is from 2014
Steve Bennett reviews the new releases
The BBC has today released a batch of comedy shorts exclusively online.
The iPlayer has been commissioning comedy pilots since 2012 but this is the first time it has brought in established talent.
Here's our verdict on the shows, all produced by Bob Mortimer, Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark's production company Pett.
Frankie Boyle and Bob Mortimer's Cookery Show
This is a combination you might not have expected, but Mortimer's deliberate geniality and Boyle's edge work well together.
Nominally a cooking show, it's a spot-on mockery of the veneer of fake chemistry that pervades daytime TV, as well as a satire on the way TV is in thrall to the instant feedback of social media.
As Boyle and Mortimer banter over their neck of lamb – and the hated peas – a series of lights indicates how well the audience is warming to them... perhaps a subject close to Boyle's heart given how much he's been subject to the judgmental feedback of the press.
Although he still swears, the aggression and nihilism of his stand-up is nicely suppressed by the supposed inanity of the genre they are sending up. Could this be the start of Boyle's comeback to the BBC?
Meera Syal's Playback
Strangely, this eight-minute sketch is introduced by Syal explaining her inspirations – primarily a memory of a Hindi film that included an incongruous deep-voiced jazz solo.
Mala Mistry, played by Syal, is the playback singer who voices a glamorous Bollywood star played by Ayesha Dharker. After a discussion about how Indian cinema loves its female leads to have a virginal 'girly descant', the pressures of this toxically symbiotic relationship are exposed.
The sketch seems a little old-fashioned in execution and format, with a boilerplate bickering song at the end. It might sit well in a wider sketch show, but it doesn't seem distinctive enough to warrant a standalone release.
Micky Flanagan's Foxageddon
With ambitions of being more of a proper comedy short than the pervious two sketches, this film, co-starring Kerry Godliman, is what happens to a man who finds himself accused of killing a pet fox in his back garden.
He's not playing far from his geezerish stand-up persona (even the 'character' is called Micky Flanagan) as a media storm flares up around the incident.
There are a few wry gags as the story spreads around the world, but the story (which Flanagan also wrote) is ricepaper-thin: Basically the tide of public opinion simply reverses after he makes a mitigating video to stress that he's a good person really.
Channel M
Another showcase for Morgana Robinson's impressive character/impression talents, similar to her Channel 4 breakthrough The Morgana Show
It's not groundbreaking for an impressions show, but it suits the short format perfectly, as the relentlessly fast pace means no idea outstays its welcome, just get the gag done and get out. Pulling away to the boozy Googglebox couple discussing the sketches is a nice 'meta' touch.
Interestingly, most of the shows parodied seem to be from Channel 4 – which suggests the broadcaster is hitting a certain zeitgeist. Highlights include her take on Benefits Street; Miley Cyrus as a mentally disturbed subject of Undateables; the orange-faced schoolgirls in Education Morgana; and Amy Childs in Celebrity Forward Roll, a clear parody of the likes of Splash!
Matt Berry: Lone Wolf
Matt Berry's distinctive, bombastic delivery is a comedy godsend ... even if the relentless Absolute Radio jingles can dilute its impact.
In this four-minute short, he hilariously narrates ('with fruity language', the BBC warns) a natural history documentary about wild wolves as they attempt to hunt down a herd of elk. The script, by Bob Mortimer, is occasionally redolent of Chris Morris at his stupid finest.
Funny stuff, though David Attenborough's job is probably safe..
Reece Shearsmith in The Case of the High Foot
As you might expect from the man from The League Of Gentlemen, Psychoville, and Inside No 9, this is the most visually distinctive of today's releases.
Shot like a 1930s film noir, this odd short (co-starring the wonderful Sally Phillips) is a little reminiscent of the insanity of Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein, and not just because it's shot it black-and-white – although that is, admittedly a big reason.
The combination of slapstick, weirdness and old music-hall jokes is unique, classy and engrossing.
Review date: 1 Jun 2014
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
