Daisy Goes Stateside (Daisy Daisy)

Name: stoffy

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Product:	Daisy Daisy
Date:	27/11/03 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: genuinely funny, well chosen situations

Disadvantages: not for those who think sarcasm is the lowest form of wit...

‘The 11 O Clock Show’ was launched in 1999 as Channel 4’s flagship evening topical comedy programme. Relative newcomers Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan were at the helm of the programme and it was the channel’s aim to launch them as their new stars. Also recruited into minor roles were the also relatively anonymous Sacha Baron-Cohen and Ricky Gervais. Flash-forward to four years later and the tables have somewhat turned. Baron-Cohen Ali G creation become (an albeit brief) global phenomenon and appeared in a Madonna video, whilst Gervais created ‘The Office’, one of the most critically and commercially successful British sitcoms ever.

By comparison, Lee and Donovan have had something of a stuttering career trajectory. Lee became the figurehead of the soon-to-be axed breakfast TV programme ‘RI:SE’ alongside Big Brother victor Kate Lawler. However, Channel 4 still see him as an asset and will remain to be involved in some of the channel’s other projects.

Donovan, however, was given her own show by Channel 4 almost immediately after the demise of ‘The 11 O Clock Show’. Now in its second series, ‘Daisy Daisy’ sees Donovan fulfilling a different quirky job role in the USA each week. So far she has tackled being the PA to a Christian TV preacher on the comeback trail, a wedding planner and taking part in a New York talent contest. Another situation that she found herself in was in a spelling bee contest, where dressed as a Baywatch babe, she accompanied a young boy in trying to win the local trophy for linguistic ability. Even more intriguing that it sounds...

Armed with Louis Theroux’s tactic of befriending a subject and lulling them into a false sense of security before asking biting questions under an innocent guise, Donovan builds up a rapport with the people she works alongside despite her acid sarcasm which seems to slip under the radar of most. The tr
usting Americans that she gets involved with seem unable to detect most of her subtly deadpan double entendres and answer her seemingly odd questions with a mixture of bemusement and polite embarrassment. She is also a natural comedian with great timing, even when completely unscripted.

The strength of ‘Daisy Daisy’ is that it is genuinely funny without being too cruel to the people in the film. Her main strength is her spontaneous wit and ability to mould her subjects like putty in her hands. Amazingly, she always seems to depart on good terms with them as well. This second series, shown on both Channel 4 and E4, has yet to produce a duff episode, unlike ‘The 11 O Clock Show’ which had a couple of decent gags and an awful lot of filler material in each episode.

Whilst she’s perhaps not lived up to her promise in the past, ‘Daisy Daisy’ is a good vehicle for Donovan, and has enabled her to establish herself once again as one to watch.

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