The Morgana Show

Tonight saw the launch of new comedy talent Morgana Robinson's self titled show. Because Channel 4 have, in my opinion, had a string of successes with their comedy outings recently (The Inbetweeners, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret) and only showcased them on their companion channels - E4 and More4 - the new show they've saved for the main channel ought to be something pretty special.

It wasn't.

I was a bit skeptical from the minute I saw the first advert of a seemingly mentally ill teenager dancing in front of the camera (see picture). It wasn't much bettered by a follow up advert starring a drunk has-been making a fools of herself. But I decided to give it a go anyway - like with music, often the singles realeased aren't the strongest tracks on the album.

As expected though, the rest of the show followed in the same footsteps. The characters we are introduced to are just recycled ideas from other more successful shows, and none of them really managed to make me laugh. The only one which stood out was the aforementioned 'Gilbert TV' skecth which I actually just thought was pretty sick. Despite the fact that it isn't very funny it just seems to laugh off the bear bating and anonymous bullying of vulnerable people on things like YouTube.

'But what about Andy & Lou from Little Britain?' you say? Well that wasn't Lucas & Walliams taking the piss out of a disables person, the comedy came from the way Andy manipulated and tormented Lou. The equivalent would have been Lou kicking Andy in his legs and laughing.

The only redeeming feature is her impressions; they are very well observed and benefit from being timely. The Cheryl/Dannii tarot sketch worked well with the current X Factor hype and Lady Gaga on her sit down mower received a chuckle. And, the only bit that truly made me laugh was the Fearne Cotton sketch - but she's pretty much a parody of herself anyway so it isn't exactly hard to do that right.

She may be very talented in terms of impressions, but the sketches and her own creations simply aren't funny. If this is the best she's got then lets be thankful that C4 have only invested in 5 episodes. This one just isn't for me.

The Morgana Show can be seen on Channel 4 on Tuesdays @ 10.35PM

Misfits

E4 has been criticised in the past for not delivering enough original programming (and to be fair, quite deservedly; "Accidentally on Purpose" anyone?). The fact is that when they try/commit the funds the channel has developed some good quality programmes, namely Skins and The Inbetweeners (which holds the top spot in the channel's most watched programmes). And Misfits falls into this category.

Don't get me wrong, it's a ridiculous premise; Asbo teens get super powers (catch up on series 1 here), but set that aside, suspend your disbelief and watch it for what it is and at its core lies quite a good, and more importantly very funny teen drama.

Because of the wooly premise the first series was slightly dodgy and didn't quite hit the mark, it felt like it hadn't quite been given the care and attention it deserved. However, it was good enough to warrant watching the new series opener, which seems to have found its stride. Taking a leaf out of Smallville's "meteor freaks" book we had an intelligent plot about a girl, also affected by the storm, with the ability to shape shift, who terrorised our heroes before they finish her off.

But unlike the heavy, serious "weight of the world on our shoulders" teen shows like Smallville, Misfits is far more tongue in cheek and light hearted about everything. The characters find the idea of a shape shifter a bit daft, as they should. And the writers know the premise is a bit thin, but embrace it and pack the show with good self referential humour (such as offing their third probation worker!)

Misfits obviously owes a lot to Smallville, Heroes (especially the comic book style marketing) and E4's own drama Skins, but doesn't ever try to be a carbon copy. It's gritty cinematography and visual style gives it an identity and sets it apart from other programmes on the channel.

Sadly, it's still plagued by unrealistic dialogue, particularly when Kelly hears their thoughts), which again suggests a slight lack of care and attention. However, it makes up for this with some fantastic one liners - "A man can't enjoy a quick shuffle in his own coffin?"! The writers aren't afraid to stick in some risky, occasionally slightly sick content, they just need to deliver it better.

They have however set up an intriguing mystery and series arc in the "man in black" which will make any viewer continue to watch to find out who he is. Let's just hope its some intelligent plot involving Curtis going back in time to save his future self (wibbly wobbly timey wimey) instead of some disappointing crappy villain.

The Trip

Don't you just love the tension, hype, flashing lights, loud music and screaming audience of X Factor? No, me neither. It's ok though, because the repeat of Michael Winterbottom's The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon provides a quiet, quirky antidote to this after a busy Sunday night schedule.

The Trip follows the semi-autobiographic characters of Coogan, recently dumped food writer and critic, and Brydon, who has been invited along as a replacement companion on the restaurant tour.

Comedy lovers, foodies and appreciators of the beautiful north alike will appreciate this little gem. It's not big budget, its not deep and meaningful, it just is. And that's what I like about it. It's a keen observation of human nature and the first episode promises a series full of intelligent humour and comic oneupmanship from the pair.

Decorated and prolific director Winterbottom brings a fantastic documentary feel to it, and some inspired improvisation from Coogan & Brydon provide genuine heartfelt moments as the pair bicker and banter. Despite a lack of plot and forward momentum, there is a lot to enjoy about the first episode.

There's no frills in this programme, and barely any changes of setting either. For 2/3rds of the pilot we watched the pair try to outdo one another at the dinner table. Some viewers might find this dull, others a bit bland, I find it quaint and extremely watchable.

At only 30 minutes you don't have to invest that much time, energy or emotion into this, you can just sit back let it wash over you. It's like sitting on a park bench and watching an old couple squabble; it's genuine, which isn't a word that describes many programmes on TV these days.

Give it a go, what do you stand to lose.

The Trip airs Monday evenings @ 10.00PM and is repeated Sundays at the same time.

A Comedy of Errors

The news that The Inbetweeners will return for two TV specials (and presumably end after that) is great, but got me thinking - why does British comedy just never last?

Think about the American comedy stalwarts such as Seinfeld, Friends & Frasier, the latter two were on our screens for over a decade each and churned out 236 and 264 episodes respectively, whereas excellent new british comedy such as Gavin & Stacey and The Inbetweeners have both only maaged three series and haven't broken the 20 episode mark.

And this got me wondering why? Is it bad writing, are we just not funny/clever enough to keep thinking up new material? Or do we not create formats which are sustainable and do we not invest the money that is needed to make sure they are?

So often we hear writers say "we just don't think these characters can be taken further". And that was the case with Gavin & Stacey; the titular characters ran out of steam after the first series and Smithy & Nessa - the series' true heroes - began to get stale by the final series too. Nessa getting married and having a baby began to normalise her too much, and we lost that weird and wonderful sense of mystery.

It also fell into the usual trap of having to build drama and emotional impact. Though this can often work really well - think Cold Feet - the Nessa marriage storyline spoilt her character. She ceased to be funny and quirky, and ended up being heavy and slightly depressing.

Much as this show is brilliantly funny in terms of characterisation, the story arcs didn't leave it much room to maneuvre: marriage, baby, marriage. The format essentially sets itself up for a fall from the off by not allowing the characters to be able to grow much further. Corden & Jones said they never expected the success, and never expected to write a second or third series. And maybe that's part of the problem; writers don't try to build longevity into their scripts in case more series' aren't commissioned.

It's right that these kinds of shows want to end on a high - and there is no better example of why a show should bow out early than My Family, which ceased to be funny a long time ago. It's just a shame that the 'high' couldn't come 8 series' down the line, rather than 3.

In my opinion My Family stopped being funny after Kris Marshall lef at the end of S4t. While in a drama the idea that any character is expendable is great, it keeps us guessing whether someone will make it into the next series, in a comedy suddenly the whole dynamic is changed - imagine Friends without Chandler. Lose one character, and you lose an integral aspect of the humour.

When the cast of Friends were teetering on the decision to leave suddenly the cash started to come out, and the actors were reportedly earning £1m per episode of the final season (granted this is a bit ridiculous, but they realised how important keeping all 6 actors meant). With regards to My Family, did the BBC just not have the money, or not think it worthwhile investing some extra spendsies to keep Kris Marshall that little bit longer?

And this all becomes a little bit worrying given the current financial outlook for the BBC. If they can't spare the extra funds to develop something a bit different (like they did with Gavin & Stacey which rose from the murky depths of BBC3 and ended up on prime time BBC1) then are we just going to see the same old copper/inspector/courtroom drama starring Martin Clunes/James Nesbitt/Robson Green?

The Million Pound Drop

Answer some questions, win some money, that's how quiz game shows work, right? Wrong! Last year The Million Pound Drop subverted this tired format, giving us a simple, exciting new twist on a stale genre.

For those who haven't seen it, contestants are given £1 Million, choose a category then gamble their cash on the correct answer. If they get it wrong, it plummets into the vault below. Simple, but brilliant.

The brilliant, but sadistic aspect of this gameshow is the fact that contestants could potentially place all their cash on one answer and get it wrong, or even split the money over two or three answers, still potentially losing £500,000 in one fell swoop. And we can just sit at home and go "well I'd still have £1,000,000 if I were there".

But the beauty of the internet allows us to put our money where our mouth is and play along at home. This then provides another dynamic, as Davina reads out statistics of viewers' choices, reinforcing the live nature, and subsequently the very real fact that contestants are throwing money away in front of our very eyes.

However, Davina, usually the queen of live TV having been the face of Big Brother for the past 10 years, also reminds us that it's live as she stumbles over her words. But we can forgive her on the grounds that she's so into it, so nervous and excited for the players that it's quite endearing.

If I were to criticise one thing about the programme it would be the scene setting at the beginning. Do we really need to be told about the money's "journey from a secret vault"? Are we really expected to believe it? If it were me I'd also ditch the security guards at the bottom who re-pack the money after it falls. I'd be inclined to leave it there, making the contestants stand above it, knowing they've thrown it away - how sadistic.

All in all though, this is a really good piece of event telly. The short run keeps it fresh and the fact that it's live maintains the drama. Similarly, the fact that it's live means that we really feel like we're going along with the contestants, willing them to make the right choices. (And holding auditions for contestants ensures that we aren't watching dull duds squander 25k bundles.) All we need now is for someone to get 8 answers correct and win that Million quid. But that just wouldn't be as fun to watch!

The Apprentice

The Apprentice! The most unrealistic business interview is back. And as usual we have the same set of seemingly incompetent idiots who wouldn't be able to organise the proverbial piss up. (A potential task next year Lord Sugar?).

My dad is yelling "stop complaining and do some work!" getting increasingly more angry with this year's candidates - we probably all are - but then again, if they all just went about it in the right way, made a profit and didn't bitch, it would just be dull!

I've often wondered why they give these candidates, who are probably already on quite a hefty salary, the chance to bumble through the tasks making mistakes that we as the general public would probably do right. But I guess that's just it; it's rewarding to see these arrogant trash talking idiots fail miserably! It's cringeworthy, but brilliant.

It is, after all, an entertainment programme. Have we ever seen an "Apprentice, what the winner did next" show? No, because people aren't bothered about the job they eventually do, they're more bothered about how they will, or won't, handle the tasks each week. The fun lies in trying to figure out which group will fail and who will get fired.

There isn't a better example of how to lead an audience on a twisting path in a reality TV series. The editing is extremely clever - building one team up to success before swiftly cutting them down, offsetting the triumphs of one team with the failings of another, and intercutting all this with some fantastic facial expressions from Nick & Karen.

The clever editing flows throughout the entire series, giving screen time to the bolshy ones and leading us down the garden path about the front runners before giving them the off in the boardroom, allowing the quieter, better ones to come through later on in the series. This keeps it fresh, and keeps the audience on its toes, guessing week on week about who the eventual winner may be.

And all this is wonderfully scored with original music by Dru Masters, to intensify the drama in the boardroom, accompanied by some very clever choices of other pieces from films such as Wall-E & Harry Potter. The intelligent score, as with the editing, leads the viewer to make an opinion of a candidate, whether it be bumbling and daft, or sincere and controlled.

All this goes together to make a dream case study for any media studies student, but also an incredibly entertaining programme that makes us feel that all of us would be capable of earning Lord Sugar's three figure salary. If only...

Watch The Apprentice every Wednesday @ 9.00PM on BBC1, followed directly by You're Fired on BBC2

Single Father

David Tennant's highly anticipated return to our TV screens aired last week - and I missed it because I was on holiday. But, thanks to the wonders of digital TV I've been able to catch up!

After a busy, messy first half hour full of exposition and back story - the first episode finally kicks into gear and we eventaully get to see what the series' title promised: how Tennant copes as a single father.

But was this slow start really necessary? We needed to understand the relationship of the family, and Suranne Jones' Sarah, but it felt like the flashback technique was only used to allow a dramatic opening sequence where Rita is knocked down. Subsequently the pacing gets slightly confused as do the viewers emotions. There were simply too many characters to introduce in such a short space of time.

However, as the episode progresses and things begin to settle, the characters are given time to develop at a more natural pace and it suddenly becomes much easier to watch and far more compelling. And we begin to see Tennant's full range as an actor.

Not that he was never pushed in his tenure as The Doctor, but the role was so iconic, and became so enormous towards the end that it was hard to see him as the actor rather than the character. This role however, is so much more paired back, more raw and natural that it allows us to see another dynamic to his acting ability.

And he is supported by a strong cast too. They say never work with animals or children but the supporting cast of young actors keeps this series fresh and grounded. And special mention should be given to Chris Hegarty (Paul) who perfectly portrays the mature before his years young man of the house - the relationship between Hegarty & Tennant is compelling and quite moving.

If I have a criticism, it's the score - not because it was poor, but because it was Murray Gold. Gold is a fantastic composer and has brought Doctor Who to life with his music over the past 5 series', but similarities between these two scores become a bit jarring. Some of the emotional cues echo those of the Tenth Doctor's, even to the untrained ear, and therefore take us out of this new world.

All in all as a first episode it didn't grip me. I might even go so far as to say that if I wasn't such a huge Who fan, I wouldn't have watched it all the way through. But I feel like it has a lot more to give. Now that the backstory is out of the way we can actually focus on the idea of the show I hope it can really entice me.

Having said that, with so many character arcs to focus on, will it just remain as messy as it started, with no one quite getting as much attention as they deserved?

TBC...

The final part of Single Father airs Sunday @ 9.00PM on BBC1