Just when Charlie Brooker seems to be on the cusp of becoming mainstream, notably in new show You Have Been Watching (Channel 4, Tuesday, 7 July, 10pm), you see him cheering “YAAAY! I.R.A!” Of course, this new programme isn’t about Brooker supporting Irish drug-dealers, but rather, his latest look at TV whilst being on the TV. This time, he’s got guests and meaningless points to hand out. While we’re used to seeing Brooker alone in his flat with no lights on, last night saw him in-front of a studio audience with clapping and a big posh set full of blinking screens… but did it work?
Related: Our Charlie Brooker Interview | Dead Set Review
In this new format, I was worried that Brooker may have got lost. I worried that he would either act like terrified labradoodle puppy with a belt cocked and ready to swipe or that The Powers That Be would have asked him to ‘tone it down’ now that he was making Proper Telly.
Mercifully, he seemed right at home and weirdly casual about the whole thing. In fact, if last night was the first time you’d seen Charlie Brooker on the telly, you could be forgiven that he’s been making shows like this for years.
That’s not to say there weren’t weird bits. The main thing for me was hearing Brooker’s rhythm broken up by studio audience laughter. Naturally, there’s nothing you can do about that and it’s great that Brooker gets some immediate feedback for once in his life, but it is something that I needed a couple of minutes to adjust to. That says more about me than the show itself I think.
The guests were in good form too and seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves in a very open and easy way. The guests, should you have missed the show, were Rufus Hound, Richard Herring (ace to see him on the box again), Jamelia and her two breasts, who were the most eager to mingle with the audience.
Thankfully, this new vehicle didn’t see Brooker’s near-knuckle gags lost, with Herring and Hound joining in, all egging each other on. Without doubt though, the star of the show was a typical Charlie Brooker find. That was Deadliest Warrior, which surely doesn’t actually exist and it’s a very expensive ruse by Brooker? I bet the internet actually set on fire last night with people searching for the show to discover if it’s real or not.
So, in conclusion, this New Glittery Charlie Brooker is a success. The show was laugh-out-loud funny and filled with the right mix of bile and fun. I imagine this must have been quite annoying for those of you out there itching to start a Brooker backlash. It certainly seems that Brooker can’t make a bad television show as I’m rather excited at the prospect of watching the rest of this series!
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Bit disappointing to see him present Telly Addicts with Rufus Hound. The Deadliest Warrior skit and Jamelia’s magnificent breasts made the dumbing-down, studio audience and censorship of naughty words (ooh!) almost worth it on this occasion.
‘I imagine this must have been quite annoying for those of you out there itching to start a Brooker backlash.’
There are other options besides bum-licking or back-lashing, you know?
How about objectivity – the staple tool of a decent reviewer?
strange that they beeped out some bad words at the start, but then rufus was allowed to say ‘fucking’? ban the bleep machine.
shaky start turned into greatness with deadliest warrior. hope to see continued improvement as the show finds its feet! will def tune in again
Wait, people think Deadliest Warrior doesn’t actually exist? haha thats madness, watch that shit on the Spike Channel all the time here in America.
I am shocked and appalled at this offering from Mr Brooker. The format of the show is typical of Channel 4, all it was missing was Justin Lee F***wit and a song from whatever new teeniebop pop indie sh*** artist that they were promoting at the time, and it truly would have been the ironic self face slapping that you could almost believe it was. The only parts that were worth watching, were the edited part reviews of the “One show” and the like, they were still abundant with the trademark wit and humor for which we know Brooker best. The disgusting self satisfied “celeb” guests, were misplaced and rather pointless, with Jamelia there to presumably fill the wank demograph. I can only hope that this show is axed before it can do anymore damage to Mr Brooker’s reputation. This is clearly not a work of choice I would have thought.
Also if mofgimmers took the time to review this properly, he would have found that the Deadliest Warrior is indeed a real show, as could have been found by researching prior to making pointless w**** half truths.