Mock The Week

The standard BBC comedy show gets a six week run, but there has been a trend to, where possible, film five episodes, then close the series out with a compilation/out-takes episode. It’s cheap and it’s lazy, but sometimes it’s funny enough to be worth while. This week Mock the Week closed out their current series with a clip show.

 

For those unfamiliar the show, Mock the Week is a British panel game based on improvised topical stand-up comedy. It’s hosted by Ireland’s Dara O’Briain who is joined by 3 regular panelists (Hugh Dennis, Any Parsons and Russell Howard) and 3 guest comedians.

 

Although this series has been good, it hasn’t been as good as previous years due to the departure of Frankie Boyle as a regular. The other regulars are all pretty middle class. Boyle brought a working class I-don’t-give-a-shit kind of attitude that provided at least one jaw on the floor moment of anti-political correctness hilarity per week. All this compilation does is highlight that the show is severely lacking in edge since the departure of Boyle.

 

The geusts rarely stepped up to fill the gap left by Boyle. Patrick Kielty was the first in the scotsman’s seat and came across as turgidly broad, saying nothing controversial. Instead of attempting stinging ploitical satire like the other comedians, he made Ant and Dec jokes. The BBC must love him.

 

The BBC has been very fond of safe comedians since Sachsgate and two of their current darlings, John Bishop and Chris Addison, also made appearences without really saying anything properly funny. It was just humourous.

 

One of things that really grated about this “best of” episode is that it didn’t really reflect the series. Edinborough award winner, Sarah Milican was pretty dissapointing over the course of her 30 minute appearance. When that appearance was condenced down to a few clips she seemed bloody hilarious.

 

Milican got more screen time than the minority acts who appeared during the series. Andrew Maxwell, Andi Osho and Holly Walsh barely got a look in. If you’re Ireish or black or young you were slightly overlooked.

 

Milton Jones stole the show the two times he appeared this year with his obscure one-liners. None of these made it in, instead his only real inclusion was an off the cuff remark about a short policeman being nicknamed “Piglet”.

 

The regulars obviously had the best clips. Russell Howard tells an annecdote about how his catted batted his balls when he’d gotten out of the shower one day and Andy Parsons compares sex addict clinics to Weight Watchers meetings where everyone else is a cake.

 

All of the satire and improv was however blown out of the water by outtakes of Dara O’Briain shooting the panelists with a little Nerf gun. He then shoots a little foam ball up in the air and tries to catch it in his mouth. The first two attempts fail but the third time is the charm, and this somehow brought the biggest smile to my face. Bring back Boyle.