Jesus was Indian! (Goodness Gracious Me)

Member Name: lily7star

Product:	Goodness Gracious Me
Date:	14/08/00 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of the funniest shows ever

Disadvantages: It's not on often enough or in a prime TV slot!

I *love* this show, it has to be one of the best comedies on TV, and is in my eyes totally unmissable!
It's true that British actors would never get away with "Goodness Gracious Me!", but with Asian actors, and Asian script writers it works fantastically well, and is enormously good at poking fun at both asian and english cultures equally well.
MY favourite sketch is where the Indian son nervously tells his father he's become a christian, dreading his reaction, but finds his dad totally reinterprets the Bible to the point at which everyone there is Indian and he has proof! I mean, didn't Moses come down the mountain with tablets? He was an indian pharmacist! Has to be seen to be appreciated, and a close second is the same man singing carols to his little daughter at Christmastime......"Oh Little Town of Bangalore....." .
There are a number of characters we see repeatedly, and all of them still make me laugh. Most of the laughs come from the clever juxtaposition and questioning of the links and differences between asian and english cultures and the ridiculous nature of prejudices and assumptions on all sides. The flip side of the man to whom everything is indian, is the couple who have abandoned indian names, culture and all to try and be assimilated as stereotypical upper middle class twits. They have friends who are also playing the same game and it's wonderful watching them trying to find their way through the minefield of english culture without admitting they don't have the slightest clue exactly what they're doing and why...want mango chutney with that communion wafer?!

Summary: