It's a rare programme that can leave you sitting on your sofa absolutely stunned, silent, open-mouthed. Often it's a very good thing - like when Sam Tyler jumped off that building, when Blackadder and his men went over the top, or when Donna had to have her mind wiped. Then there are the programmes that have perhaps defied your expectations, such as the unremittingly dark opening episode of The Mighty Boosh series three, Eels which left me as confused as amused. And then there are shows like Lab Rats...
If you've seen any of the preview clips of this show, then you'd know that you were heading for a traditional set-up: studio, fixed cameras, and a live audience. There is nothing wrong with that, plenty of our greatest sit-coms have been made that way. You'd also know that it stars Chris Addison, known as one of the most cerebral comedians on the circuit. You might have even thought this might be a good idea - giving Ricky Gervais's incessant and often spiteful bashing of traditional comedy a bit of a kicking itself is something I can very easily warm to, believe me.
But if only things had worked out that way. Yes, the traditional set-up was matched by traditional humour, but does traditional humour really have to be this... well, bad? We had people with funny names, people with funny accents, a slow Brummie girl and "hilarious" misunderstandings. Now, I love an obvious, dumb joke that you can see coming a mile off as much as the next dude - Spaced was full of them - but you have to intersperse that with other types of humour. Otherwise it is just obvious and dumb.
And to be fair, Addison and his co-writer Carl Cooper did try. In fact, despite what I've written so far, I'm finding it hard to hate this programme because I know exactly what they were going for. They were trying to say you don't have to be edgy and sweary to be funny, that sit-coms in this style can have a warmth and quirkiness that something like Peep Show may lack. And I agree! And there were glimpses of invention, and I think Addison has charisma, and I like his pink coat. But let's face it, that's not enough. Not by a long way.
I could be harsh about the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace-esque production values (I mean, they really were awful), or the fact that the little cartoon inserts made it feel like a kid's programme (and not even a good comedy one like My Parents Are Aliens) but I'm loath to be harsh about a programme that clearly had its heart in the right place. And yet, I keep coming back to the fact that I barely laughed at all. It's a problem.
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I only saw the last five minutes, but I too was left with my mouth hanging open (after shouting to my husband, "Come and look at this - it's SO BAD!). It looked like it should've been on CBBC. Grim.
The setup has potential, but the style of jokes are completely missing balance and at points straight from the offcuts of 'when the whistle blows'.. They didnt help themselves by having a terrible stereotypical foreign character in the first episode, effectively in the same league as the 'when the whistle blows' Chinese businessman.
This style of comedy has obviously worked well in the past, but this script is dated in style which is only emphasised by the modern title sequence and Chris Addison's unenthusiastic delivery as the main character.
After reading all the bad reviews I was surprised to find I quite enjoyed this. There were some terrible moments and most of the supporting cast were awful, but Addison and Joanna Neary were good, the scenes between the two of them getting the most laughs. And it's packed full of jokes. Most of them are rubbish and predictable, but there's so many that it's almost forgiveable. And they're jokes, and they're fundamentally jokes that work and make sense and hence cause a smile, even if critically you know they're old and hack.
Sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, headphones on, rest of the house asleep, it actually made me laugh out loud on one occasion.
Given that this was basically the pilot episode and the rest of the series was shot after a bit more development, I'm really interested to see where this goes.
OK yes I also sat open-mouthed and in dis-belief ... it seems the makers of this programme had lifted the carpets of the comedy departments floor, broken through the hard flooring, dug past the foundations and disturbed some old comedy fossils in the process ... so low has this specimen of dreadful 'comedy' sunk ... and I use the word regrettably. It was a compilation of what I can only think were the un-wanted material from 'When The Whistle Blows' and probably far worse than that. I for one, love a nice easy going comedy that doesn't tax the brain .. 'Worst Week Of My Life' comes to mind as a superb example but even I was reaching for the remote within minutes. But no, I had to watch a bit more just to see if it got any worse ... sadly I couldn't bear it much longer .. it started with the ominously bad titles and went quickly downhill from there. What a stinker ... it may be what 2008 is remembered for .. as the year of 'THAT' comedy.
This "comedy" is not even remotely funny. if you haven't watched it yet and your reading this take my advice. Don't waste half an hour of your life on this awful programme.
Well, I was prepared to give it a go...mainly because Chris Addison was good in 'The Thick of It', but readers let me tell you....it was a complete let down. Dated, predictable, and rarely generating more than a micro-titter in our house. Later in the evening, after watching Lab Rats (and I couldn't even hack it to the end) I turned to an old episode of Father Ted, and was belly laughing in seconds. Chasms apart.
It really isn't that bad. People are just used to comedy trying very hard to be self-consciously "cool", which this doesn't even attempt. It's silly fun, not a million miles away from something like "The Goodies". And the characters will be growers, just like "The IT Crowd".
I could not sit through this poor excuse for comedy for more than 5 minutes before changing the channel.
It's weakness is brought out even more by the fact that it is preceded by Mock The Week, which is superb.
Make it stop, make it stop! I can't believe Chris Addison has stooped to this. It's like a 30 minute object lesson in how not to be funny. Go and watch 'Look Around You' if you want a decent comedy about science.
This is shockingly bad...how did it get commisioned
i have just spent 2 months in america and was looking forwrd to some decent uk tv but i put this on and thought did i go back in time 30 years on the plane home
What follows is a list of why "Lab Rats" is the worst thing to grace my television set since, well, ever...
--> Addison may as well be replaced with a cardboard cut-out, as this would provide more enthusiasm and charisma than he ever could.
--> They relegate the only funny character, the Nobel prize winning one (I cannot remember his name)to a mere sideline role.
--> The jokes are less funny than being told you have AIDS. They are ill-timed, and when they do eventually happen, they may as well not have bothered due to the low quality of the punchlines. Actually BEING punched would probably provide you with more lulz.
--> The set looks as though it has been constructed from low-grade cardboard.
--> There are far better comedies available to watch: Father Ted, the IT Crowd (which I am ashamed to see some people compare Lab Rats to, as that is an insult to Chris O'Dowd. Slapping him would be less insulting.) and HIGNFY.
Truly appalling, and I hope all those responsible are shot.