Quality new television comedy has been sadly rather hard to come by this year.
But out of the quagmire of mediocrity came a BBC2 sketch show from those guys out of Peep Show and my what a beauty it was. Every Thursday we put ourselves through another half-hour of the self-absorbed, poe-faced Extras, but our reward was That Mitchell and Webb Look. Unashamedly high-brow one minute, incredibly juvenile the next, it's a classic already in my eyes.
Everybody now - "That's Numberwang!"
David Mitchell and Robert Webb are no strangers to the sketch show format, having written and performed this show's fore-runner The Mitchell and Webb Situation. Their genius was evident then - such as in the sketch where a farmer can't believe chickens are "actually made of chicken!" or the tramps which clearly turned into Sir Digby Chicken Caeser and Ginger - but they really came of age with this show.
Let's relive some highlights. First, there's the silly, but utterly sublime 'Numberwang'. Yes, I'm sure it says something very clever about daytime TV and digital programming, but in the end it's brilliant simply because it's so ridiculous and so demented. And the joke never got old, thanks to little twists on the format such as German Numberwang and Wordwang. It really isn't surprising that this sketch got the biggest cheer on the live tour.
Next, Big Talk. Robert Webb says that he loves doing the 'shouty' ones and you don't get much more shouty than Raymond Terrific - his Jeremy Paxman-esque berating of the talking heads was a joy to behold. David Mitchell's equivalent piece de resistance was the 'The Honeymoon's Over' guy - the intimidating waiter, priest and shop assistant. The waiter sketch was especially brilliant: 'How could I possibly introduce you to the manager? You haven't shaved, you're not wearing a tie and you hold your ladle like a pen'. Perfect.
Unfortunately, I don't think that this show been given the kudos it deserves (it didn't win Best New Comedy at the British Comedy Awards, for example), and that's a real shame. People call it traditional because it has a recognisable format and a couple of catchphrases, but 1) a lot of it is really clever, and really quite weird, and 2) when did being traditional in itself become a crime anyway? Peep Show may be innovative, but That Mitchell and Webb Look is equally deserving of our respect. [annawaits]
TMAWL was poor. Two or three decent sketches each week surrounded by total dreck. Mitchell and Webb are both one-trick ponies when it comes to performing and are really bad when they try anything different. They're competently funny but anyone who knows their comedy could spot that most of their material is ripped off from other places from Fry and Laurie to Lee and Herring to Adam and Joe and Viz. Sir Digby Chicken Caesar was the only character who felt fresh. The rest, to quote their dire snooker commentators, was 'a bad miss'.
You're certainly not alone in thinking they're decidedly average (or worse!). I just always had fun watching it, and think it'll bear repeated viewings, because so many of the sketches are a lot more intricate than they first appear. Thanks for the comments Sam!