Jasmine Sahu is well suited with this new American drama exclusive to Dave.
Lois Cameron explains why this series is much more than your average cosy period drama.
The last episode of this series sees Sherlock and Moriarty attempt to solve the final problem with devastating consequences.
With major cast changes afoot, Jacob Martin ponders whether Being Human can live up to its own scarily high standard.
This autumn sees the start of a new series of The Armstrong and Miller Show. Some sketch shows fall into the trap of finding a couple of winning ideas and sticking with them no matter what until eventually they become caricatures of themselves (Little Britain anyone?). With the RAF pilots and the cavemen, Armstrong and Miller could very easily have done the same. They are of course included; the pilots face D-day (they decide they “might give it a miss innit. Bit crowded and shit”) while the cavemen introduce an emo and sarcastic vegetarian into their midst. However, they have managed to both keep them funny and not allow them to take over the show.
What I like about Armstrong and Miller (aside from the fact that they dance uncannily like my dad in the opening credits) is their ability to take the piss out of something very current one moment and then be horribly creepy the next (helped by Miller‘s terrible greasy hair which makes him look like someone‘s slightly pervy uncle) and yet still funny. The epitome of each in this episode are the outdated Dracula-esque vampires who are beaten at every turn by the super speedy Twilight generation, while the final sketch sees a man re-enact his wife’s murder in front of the estate agent who is trying to sell him a house, which was actually very unsettling in the end.
My favourite moments were plentiful, such as he ship’s doctor, the cameos from Aha’s Morton and Will’s mum from Inbetweeners in the Farmers’ Market musical number, Holmes and Watson’s awkward break-up and especially the German and British war veterans arguing over Pete and Katie’s split. “Pete does nothing? Was ‘Insania’ nothing?!” “Nein. My definition of nothing is Peter Andre!” Of course, there were some flatter moments where the comedy didn’t quite work. Beyond the cavemen and the pilots the first half didn’t take off and was carried by the old favourites. By the second half, though, they had got into the swing of things and all my favourites mentioned above appeared in this section.
In the end, this opening episode of The Armstrong and Miller Show was an enjoyable half hour of television which, while I don’t feel the need to watch religiously, is a nice alternative to the endless Friends re runs on E4 or as a relief from the overwhelming emotion of X Factor. All in all, this episode signals a welcome return from Armstrong and Miller.
See the first episode of The Armstrong and Miller Show on iPlayer now.
A good start, I thought. Having seen this the day after watching them live with some of their new sketches at the Grand Opera House on Clifford Street (the vampires: "You said we would sup like kings; we ended up in Ziggy's!") I like the direction they're going in. I didn't feel that the RAF pilots were up to scratch this time round or that there was enough Brabbins and Fife though.
You must log in to submit a comment.
Report