Mock the Week

Revision as of 21:56, 21 September 2006

Synopsis

A topical panel game from the creators of Whose Line is it Anyway?.

The similarity to the late, great Whose Line is enough to be obvious, but not such that it looks like a straight revival. In fact, this is a pretty neat adaptation of a classic format to a different style of humour. Rather than the off-the-wall surrealism of WLIIA, we have games based on current affairs, and there's more of a straight stand-up comedy feel to some of them rather than actorly improv. A few games are carried through from the previous show - celebrity dating videos work just as well in this format as they did in the original - but it's mostly a new show using only the basic template of the old. There's no real scoring system, and it's obvious that the show we see on TV is edited down from a much longer performance. An obvious reference point is Have I Got News for You, though in truth we suspect the real influences come more from the countless topical shows that seem to be crammed into every available space on Radio 2 and Radio 4 these days (even the title has a distinctly Radio 4 ring to it). There also seems to be a hint of If I Ruled the World..., the short-lived panel game hosted by Whose Line's Clive Anderson and featuring Jeremy Hardy, also a guest on the first episode of this show.

But enough of comparisons, the important thing is that this is a lot of fun. The cast are well-chosen - likeable stand-up Dara O'Briain slips effortlessly into the Clive Anderson role, Rory Bremner is not only sharp but also clearly loves doing the show (notice how often he cracks up laughing at other people's jokes) and newcomer Frankie Boyle has proven to be a natural. The emerging double-act between Bremner and regular guest Hugh Dennis is a pleasant surprise too. And what else are you going to watch on a Sunday night anyway? We declare Mock the Week a winner and will now ask the entire cast to present the credits in a style of our choosing. Except they don't do that on this show. Pshaw!

Trivia

The pre-publicity for the first series named Rory Bremner and Frankie Boyle as the team captains, but curiously Boyle didn't take the usual captain's chair in the middle of his team - instead Hugh Dennis sat there for the first show. And every subsequent show. On the fifth episode, Dennis was finally listed as one of the regulars in the end credits, and in the Beeb's publicity for the sixth and last programme in the series he had been officially promoted to actual team captain status. Ironically that week's show was replaced by a clips compilation anyway.

Inventor

Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson.

Theme music

"News Of The World" by The Jam.

Web links

Official site

Wikipedia entry

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