Fazzinchi

Staying In

Series one of Not Going Out was a delightful surprise. A Friday night, BBC1 comedy in the slot that had brought us the funny-for-five-episodes My Family and much other forgettable fayre, suddenly threw up a little gem. It didn’t baulk away from its comedy as so many other, more knowing, 21st century sitcoms tend to do and neither did it rely on extreme characterisation that encourages the audience to “laugh at” instead of “laugh with”. No, here was a comedy that was just (more…)

The Meaning Of Life

One of the best sitcom imports of recent years has quietly sneaked back onto the schedules of Channel 4 after what seems like far too long.  The second series of My Name Is Earl is easily still on a par with the first one and, just five episodes in and we’ve already enjoyed seeing the eponymous hero making amends for stealing a cat, throwing an old guy out of their band and making fun of a girl with a moustache, they’ve even had time along the way for cameo appearances from Burt (more…)

The Start of A Beautiful Relationship

There will be, in fact there already is, such controversy about the digital switch-over and the switching off of terrestrial TV signals and quite rightly there needs to be a substantial amount of work put in to enable this to be a success, it is fraught with logistical and social difficulties and I do not envy those who have been put in charge one little bit. Throughout this work over the coming years, I hope that the powers-that-be remain clear on their vision for the promised-land ahead. A (more…)

Wise Words #1… Quit While You’re Ahead 

The second and last series of US sitcom, Joey has stared airing on channel five on Sunday evenings and it would seem that they have decided to show it as a series of double headers. This is good news, it means it will all be over more quickly. Having watched far more repeats of Friends than can be generally deemed to be healthy for a chap of my age, I had held out hope that Joey might flourish. Americans have a pretty good record for making these kinds of spin-offs a success and, (more…)

Actually, It’s Quite Funny

mock·er·y [pronunciation: mok-uh-ree]
-noun, plural -er·ies

1. ridicule, contempt or derision.
2. a derisive, imitative action or speech.
3. a subject or occasion of derision.
4. something absurdly or offensively inadequate or unfitting.

Sarcasm, when you think about it, is a very odd basis upon which to design a quiz show, but there it is, right in the title of (more…)

Retrospective Review #1 of 5

I’ve never watched The Thick Of It before and so this seasonal special was my first introduction to the murky world of these spin doctors and politicos. I caught a few minutes of the repeat viewing while channel hopping last night, so thought now was as good a time as any to post a review. The programme had very strong echoes of The Office, with its faux documentary style and handicam work but perhaps better comparissons would be drawn with Yes, Minister, which told a (more…)