UK's version of Comedy Inc- The Late Shift. Of course this is better, way way better. To have a thirty minute show, of non stop short skits, that are inventively side splitting, is no easy task. But this show manages that. I watch this show, every time, I come across it, and I just crack up. I'll have top buy DVD's of the show. Here's just another reason Londoners know comedy, and do it best, although the actors are of much greater ilk in Comedy Inc. Tim Vine, the genius of one liners, who you could watch 24/7, and Lee Mack, put the excitement into the show. If you haven't seen this show, you must, especially if a fan of Brit comedy. This show delivers sketches in constant and plenteous supply with it's dedicated writers, and performers. Too close to perfect. Almost tempted to give it ten.
12 Reviews
Strangely Hilarious
Laitue_Gonflable5 April 2003
I don't know what it is about the Sketch Show that appeals to me. IT has all the elements that I usually hate and will usually turn me off a show forever; a lot of the sketches are either really bad puns or are highly predictable, and the cast, all made from British stand-up comedians of varying fame, are all incredibly smug and very sure of themselves without really being brilliant at acting. But having said all this, it works, and really well.
The show is hilarious at best and grimace-forming at worst but it still always makes you smile. Perhaps it's because it doesn't always try to be funny, and when it isn't being funny, it knows it, and so do the cast. I first saw Jim Tavare doing a piece at the Montreal comedy festival some 15 years ago with his double bass, and the humour is very much the same. I love it.
Lee Mack is especially good, he has some very good routines that he accomplishes with a smarmy and very unlikeable air but the fact is he is more often than not playing very smarmy and unlikeable characters and in the process is poking fun at them.
And with all those comments also said, occasionally they will come up with an absolute pearler of a sketch that stands out in the history of sketch comedy. The one in the men's toilets, for example, or the sign language sketch- neither of them particularly clever or witty but both just make you fall about laughing. I thoroughly recommend this, particularly to my fellow countrymen who are bored as I am with the tired and hopelessly predictable comedy of Skithouse and Comedy Inc. 4 stars out of 5.
The show is hilarious at best and grimace-forming at worst but it still always makes you smile. Perhaps it's because it doesn't always try to be funny, and when it isn't being funny, it knows it, and so do the cast. I first saw Jim Tavare doing a piece at the Montreal comedy festival some 15 years ago with his double bass, and the humour is very much the same. I love it.
Lee Mack is especially good, he has some very good routines that he accomplishes with a smarmy and very unlikeable air but the fact is he is more often than not playing very smarmy and unlikeable characters and in the process is poking fun at them.
And with all those comments also said, occasionally they will come up with an absolute pearler of a sketch that stands out in the history of sketch comedy. The one in the men's toilets, for example, or the sign language sketch- neither of them particularly clever or witty but both just make you fall about laughing. I thoroughly recommend this, particularly to my fellow countrymen who are bored as I am with the tired and hopelessly predictable comedy of Skithouse and Comedy Inc. 4 stars out of 5.
Fantastic!
Ristevski10 June 2003
First of all I think it was a shame that only two series of this show were made. The sketches were fresh and original and not boring and predictable like most comedy shows are. Maybe the people that don't like it should watch more than 10 minutes of it before posting their reviews as Im afraid to say not every sketch can be hilarious.
I loved it! 10/10.
I loved it! 10/10.
Hilarious! Great British humor!
up_north_girl31 July 2004
"The sketch show" is one of the funniest shows I have ever seen!
The sketches are funny and entertaining.
I don't know how they come up with it all! The actors are amazing at acting different characters.
The humor is one-of-a-kind, but oh...so funny! "The sketch show" always makes me laugh.
Personally, I just love British TV-series ( most of them), and the sketch show is one of my favorites. The humor maybe weird, and different, but that is just exiting, isn't it? Hilarious!
I recommend the show to anyone who cares for a laugh!
The sketches are funny and entertaining.
I don't know how they come up with it all! The actors are amazing at acting different characters.
The humor is one-of-a-kind, but oh...so funny! "The sketch show" always makes me laugh.
Personally, I just love British TV-series ( most of them), and the sketch show is one of my favorites. The humor maybe weird, and different, but that is just exiting, isn't it? Hilarious!
I recommend the show to anyone who cares for a laugh!
It's funny without trying to be too clever
OliviaF26 January 2003
Re: Transparency of jokes.
The Sketch Show is the sort of comedy that is hilarious without trying to be too clever. That's what I like about it - its simplicity. The humour comes from the way its acted and delivered - without needing to resort to excessive crudeness or political impersonations which you find in a lot of comedy shows these days. It's light entertainment that is a good filler for half an hour every Monday night.
The Sketch Show is the sort of comedy that is hilarious without trying to be too clever. That's what I like about it - its simplicity. The humour comes from the way its acted and delivered - without needing to resort to excessive crudeness or political impersonations which you find in a lot of comedy shows these days. It's light entertainment that is a good filler for half an hour every Monday night.
british and funny!?!?!!
ScurryInertia14 April 2004
It would be the only british show i ever watch, I usually find it hard to bare british dribble but this, this is british and FUNNY.
Plus without a doubt its the best sketch show ive seen in recent times, they keep there gags so simple and hilarious rather than trying to over do it all the time. Punch lines in the show are most of the time clear and funny. Unlike all of the crappy sketch shows that are coming out of Aus these days, the sketch show is consistant in its level of laughs it produces each week.
With shows like skithouse (god knows why the keep on pushing on with this) its always hit, miss, hit, miss. More often than not, miss. The sketch shows nowhere near as funny as 'Merrick and Rosso Unplanned' but it would come a close second or third.
A+ for the best sketch show on TV.
Plus without a doubt its the best sketch show ive seen in recent times, they keep there gags so simple and hilarious rather than trying to over do it all the time. Punch lines in the show are most of the time clear and funny. Unlike all of the crappy sketch shows that are coming out of Aus these days, the sketch show is consistant in its level of laughs it produces each week.
With shows like skithouse (god knows why the keep on pushing on with this) its always hit, miss, hit, miss. More often than not, miss. The sketch shows nowhere near as funny as 'Merrick and Rosso Unplanned' but it would come a close second or third.
A+ for the best sketch show on TV.
I don't like watching it...
cool_guy20008519 January 2003
but thats not coz i think its not good, it's coz i think it's too good! I have nearly died laughing at every episode! Whenever my mum and dad come upstairs while i'm watchin it in my bedroom, they think i'm a bit mad coz they can always hear me going crazy laughing at it! I once made the mistake of eating a packet of crisps while watchin it! I was laughing so much i nearly choked on them! Some sketches aren't as funny as others but they are all very funny and very clever! When the show starts the first five minutes might not be as funny, they seem to save the best sketches til the end in most episodes! But give it a chance! Don't just switch off after five minutes! You don't know what British comedy is all about until you've seen this! The new series is due to start on ITV1 very soon(should be sometime in february i think!) so my advice to you is watch it! If you don't like this, you don't like comedy!
A brilliant comedy
otacon23dav24 June 2003
A great british comedy full of short quick-witted sketches. One great joke after another. Sometimes it has its downs where a sketch drags on and wasn't funny. But most of the time it is hilarious.
I recommend watching this for a good comedy rather than the boring Australian sketch shows that only has ONE or TWO ..soso jokes such as Skithouse, comedy inc and big bite. Those are the worst sketch shows that drag a sketch on and on. They don't know when to end the joke. Most the time when the "punch line" comes in they still continue on with the sketch draining it out of its joke.
A good sketch will have the "punch line" and quickly on to the next like this series.
I guess DEANNE must be a woman because most girls don't have a sense of humor and to compare good british comedy with full frontal and fast forward, she must be an idiot. Fast Foward was a good sketch show, Full frontal was an alright sketch show - and thats the ONLY good sketch shows that eventually came from Australia.
But british sketch shows kills over australian sketch shows any day. Watch this series, its pretty funny and people should judge shows by ONLY watching it once. Some days its really funny, sometimes it will probably be dead. I watched skithouse, comedy inc and big bite about 3-5 times....what a waste of time and tv space that was.
I recommend watching this for a good comedy rather than the boring Australian sketch shows that only has ONE or TWO ..soso jokes such as Skithouse, comedy inc and big bite. Those are the worst sketch shows that drag a sketch on and on. They don't know when to end the joke. Most the time when the "punch line" comes in they still continue on with the sketch draining it out of its joke.
A good sketch will have the "punch line" and quickly on to the next like this series.
I guess DEANNE must be a woman because most girls don't have a sense of humor and to compare good british comedy with full frontal and fast forward, she must be an idiot. Fast Foward was a good sketch show, Full frontal was an alright sketch show - and thats the ONLY good sketch shows that eventually came from Australia.
But british sketch shows kills over australian sketch shows any day. Watch this series, its pretty funny and people should judge shows by ONLY watching it once. Some days its really funny, sometimes it will probably be dead. I watched skithouse, comedy inc and big bite about 3-5 times....what a waste of time and tv space that was.
Best sketch show since Alas Smith & Jones
gut-63 April 2005
To be honest, I'd pretty much written off British comedy in recent years. After producing comedy classics one after another for so many years (as well as numerous pointless timeslot fillers), the BBC & Channel 4 seem to have had all comedy and creativity and independent thought drained from them by the humourless PC Marxists who succeeded in infiltrating and ultimately taking over. After seeing programs like "The Fast Show", "The Office", "Brass Eye" and "The League of Gentlemen" hyped, and then trying to force a laugh when watching them, I'd pretty much assumed that the last of Britain's comic talent (apart from Borat) must have either retired or moved across the Atlantic. The sudden eruption of outstanding comedy TV programs from the USA starting in the 1990's, after decades of canned laughter abortions, made me think the latter.
After seeing the, promos for "the Sketch Show", and considering that it was on commercial TV on first run, I held out little hope for it. I thought it would be like the aptly named Skithouse. Then I accidentally saw an episode. Wow! A genuinely funny sketch! and then another! And then another!!! Granted, I haven't seen every episode, but what amazed me was how many of the sketches were genuine belly laugh sketches - more than 50%, an outstanding ratio. The production values were high, the acting was good, and even the women were funny. There is a pleasant absence of tedious political hectoring - Ben Elton take note. It lacks the surreal elements, stylistic gimmicks & recurring themes that make for cult comedies but can also be used to mask a lack of funny ideas. Instead it's just good unpretentious sketch comedy that delivers laughs. What more can you ask for?
After seeing the, promos for "the Sketch Show", and considering that it was on commercial TV on first run, I held out little hope for it. I thought it would be like the aptly named Skithouse. Then I accidentally saw an episode. Wow! A genuinely funny sketch! and then another! And then another!!! Granted, I haven't seen every episode, but what amazed me was how many of the sketches were genuine belly laugh sketches - more than 50%, an outstanding ratio. The production values were high, the acting was good, and even the women were funny. There is a pleasant absence of tedious political hectoring - Ben Elton take note. It lacks the surreal elements, stylistic gimmicks & recurring themes that make for cult comedies but can also be used to mask a lack of funny ideas. Instead it's just good unpretentious sketch comedy that delivers laughs. What more can you ask for?
Potential Out of Reach
Thor200023 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I liked this show, but even I admit it had more bad moments than good ones. The only really good TV sketch comedies that worked were "The Benny Hill Show," "Dave Allen at Large" and by the broadest scope, both the American and British versions of "Whose Line" and they all worked because they had the courage to push bad taste. "The Sketch Show" didn't even try; it relied on bad puns and confusing scenes that got even more bizarre as scenes unfolded. There was no foundation to the series either. On his series, Dave Allen told hysterical stories and shared whimsical looks of life while Benny often told dirty limericks that slipped past American censors. Nothing was wrong with the "Sketch Show" ensemble of actors; each of them could easily have created an enduring character to go down in TV history with Flip Wilson's Geraldine or Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat. Kelsey Grammar obviously had a lot of faith in this series to show just how much comedy he could do when he wasn't limited to the restraints of Dr. Frasier Craine, but the series was inflicted with not enough creativity or courage to do anything daring. Drew Carey and Dave Allen both proved that comedy could not be defined and it did not have to be forced, but The Sketch Show was about as painful as watching your relatives trying to make your baby girl smile.
You can almost hear the barrel being scraped!
Tarbie12 April 2002
With a line-up including Ronni Ancona and Jim Tavare, plus writing credits from the likes of Ricky Gervais, and production by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal, you'd think that this would be something special. BIG mistake! Without a doubt, this has to be one of the poorest comedy shows ITV has put out in the last 20 years - and as you can imagine, it's up against some pretty stiff competition!
The punchlines to the sketches are so transparently obvious, you can see them coming as the sketch starts, but not in a fun intelligent way (see The Fast Show for a better example of obvious punchlines). Example: Man #1 is collecting money in a bucket. The bucket reads 'Pickpockets In Need'. Bet you can't guess what happens next?? That's right, Man#2 takes money from the bucket rather than putting some in. Oh, hilarity!
I can't stress highly enough how much this should be avoided. Think Three of a Kind without the laughs and you're getting pretty close.
ITV - must try harder!
The punchlines to the sketches are so transparently obvious, you can see them coming as the sketch starts, but not in a fun intelligent way (see The Fast Show for a better example of obvious punchlines). Example: Man #1 is collecting money in a bucket. The bucket reads 'Pickpockets In Need'. Bet you can't guess what happens next?? That's right, Man#2 takes money from the bucket rather than putting some in. Oh, hilarity!
I can't stress highly enough how much this should be avoided. Think Three of a Kind without the laughs and you're getting pretty close.
ITV - must try harder!
The most pathetic show on television!!
Deeana2 December 2002
There is bad tv - and then there is this. I dont think I have seen such a load of crap in all my life. The sketch show is laughable, but the only thing you can laugh at is how pathetic these sketches really are. I watched an entire episode and didnt laugh once, what is British comedy coming to these days? If you want to compare this to another show, it would be like Australia's Fast Forward and Full Frontal, but unlike this show they were actually funny. Do not waste your time watching this nonsense!!
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