Tittybangbang (BBC3 – More often than it should be)
This is supposedly BBC3’s next ‘big thing’. It’s been getting a lot of praise in the press, mainly because of its mostly female cast. But oh my god, it’s just not funny.
I watched the pilot last year and think I chuckled a couple of times, but even then I didn’t think much of it. Having just seen the first episode of the series, I can safely say the likes of Man Stroke Woman and Spoons have no competition for the title of ‘Best New Sketch Show’. (An award I think I’ve just made up.)
There are so many things wrong with this programme that I don’t know where to start. I think the slow ‘dancing’ at the end of some of the sketches gets the ‘It’s Just Wrong’ award (ooo, another one). Green Wing showed how to do this kind of slow motion weirdness properly; here it is completely out of place.
The ‘gross out’ characters aren’t that gross and aren’t funny. The other characters aren’t funny. This show is not funny! To be fair to it, I can see some opportunities for improvement on the scripts that would make it funny, or at least raise a couple of laughs more. Thing is, this could be sorted out with basic script editing. I don’t know what the hell the editor for this show was doing, but it wasn’t making a sketch show that’s for sure.
What annoys me about this show is the amount of press it got for just being a ‘female’ sketch show. That shouldn’t matter. The same thing happened with the BBC1 sitcom The Crouches. That got so much coverage due to it being a ‘black’ sitcom. But this should not matter. What matters is, in these cases, how funny the shows are. And in both cases they fail. Smack The Pony showed how a female sketch show should be done, and that deservedly got praise for its high quality.
Doesn’t matter what gender/race/species you have, what should matter the most is the quality of the programme.
And for me, a woman dressed as a guy paying for sex, then wanting to pee on the prostitute, her running out, then him dancing in slow motion is really, really bad TV.
It was rather an amusing week in Ramsay Street wasn’t it? Mostly due to Izzy getting one up on the even more detestable Elle and of course Janelle’s prize novel being put into the public domain by a Mr Mo Jangel! Also, the first invitations to the Lassiters 20th Anniversary have been sent out - now this plane crash is gonna be spiggin’ awesome!!
Legend of the week
So spoilt for choice, but I had to go for...
Izzy Hoyland:
I hated her with a passion when she was with Karl, but now I really like her. I was jumping out of my seat with delight as she exposed that annoying brat Elle for the liar she is! Paul has finally met his match.
Tosser of the week
David Bishop:
$250,000 to the Salvation Army!!! Why David, why?! If I had been Lil I would have beat his ass!
Honourable mention
Has to go to the Bogan’s Tipped Hair - the best piece of literature the street has ever seen. Take a bow Janelle!