It's life Jim, but not as we know it (Fast Show, The)

Member Name: raynor238

Product:	Fast Show, The
Date:	07/06/01 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, Clever, Mirrors reality

Disadvantages: No more...

There are no catchphrases left from this show to use in my title, which haven't already been used to great effect as titles for other opinions. I thought I would pick one from a totally unrelated show, which, although irrelevant to any specific material, probably sums up the entire contents.

Life. Reality. It is something that fascinates us all. Look at recent TV projects, and their popularity to realise how easy it is to fuel public imagination. Programmes like 'The Fast Show' do not waste time and effort inventing characters, they took them from real life. Even the most ludicrous sketches involve people and characters that we recognise.

I am writing this op at work sat opposite a real life 'Colin Hunt' with his novelty ties and his really annoying (lack of) sense of humour. To say that Charlie Higson, who created this character has apparently never worked in an office environment, but has just listened to friends who have, is a credit to his writing skills.

Last month, my wife and I were shopping in Leeds, and in two hours we encountered the following:
1) A group of so-called South American musicians clad in ponchos, annoying the hell out of everyone with their bloody pan-pipes.
2) A harrased man, and his suitcase carrying daughters tearing through the streets, with the screamed encouagement 'Come on girls'
3) At a cafe, an inebriated old man, with a bulbous pickled nose, and wild grey hair, mumbling his life stories to no-one in particular
4) A couple on the train who told us all about their holiday, or rather she did, whilst demanding agreement from her long suffering spouse after each sentence.
5) A over-made up 'lady' in the make-up section of a department store, who could not help insulting people whilst trying to sell her produce.

For a team to consistently produce material which so accurately mirrors real life is proof of their comic ability. They must spend hours s
imply watching the world pass by.

Nearly every situation shown is a direct parody or exaggeration of a real life scenario. Obvious exceptions are the Channel 9 sections, which initially were a clever parody of the low quality overseas broadcasts we have all seen whilst on holiday, but in the final series became a commentary on the excesses and banality of foreign TV.

Paul Whitehouse and co. have made a fantastic contribution to light entertainment at a point where British TV is struggling. Observational humour has always been a hit, but it takes a collection of comic geniuses to be able to raise a laugh (never mind a smile) by the simple utterance of such mediocre phrases as 'I'll get my coat', 'There's someone sitting there' or 'Does anyone fancy a pint?'. Harry Enfield proved to the world that a fortune can be made from repeatable catchphrases, and he probably regrets letting Whitehouse and Higson go.

The strength of 'The Fast Show' was proved to me last year, when the BBC screened their deleted sketches, which the team did not feel were good enough for screening, and the humour and satire was far superior to anything else currently being shown.

One Final Point: I a picky, miserable, and pedantic old git. I have never played Trivial Pursuits, only Trivial Pursuit, Dr Spock was a paediatrician not a Vulcan, and the two gentlemens outfitters in The Fast Show say 'Suit you, Sir' not 'Suits you'. Just a point.

Summary: