billyellyot Reviews

The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2009)

Am i bovvered tho?

[22 December 2005]

First of all i want to say this - how is the use of catchphrases on this show "unfunny and trite" when Little Britain (which also does it) is "better executed"? Double Standards here.

Personally, i think this show is FAN-TASTIC! Some of the characters are so accurate, its actually scary. I'm 17, and i go 2 school with several people like Lauren, who are rude and sullen (and i can openly admit that i'm like that sometimes as well!) As Ms Tate has been performing this character in her stand-up shows for years, exactly how is she a rip-off of Vicky Pollard. I think thats the generic response from people who haven't actually seen the show but pan it for the sake of it. Yes Vicky and LAuren are alike, but Vicky is more of a caricature than Lauren - you cant go anywhere in a modern British city without seeing a Lauren! However, i think that Vicky and LAuren should meet in a special sketch, as that would be interesting!

Ms Tate is a virtual chameleon, and her set of hilarious characters include Nan, who is scarily like every old person in this country; the housewife who screams at everything - a classic case of a simple joke that works every time; randy Irish nurse Bernie with her great accent and laugh; the middle-class mother ("Daddy has not been able to pick up some Brie today, darlings" "But Mummy, there is some Wensleydale in the cupboard") who again i'm sure everyone knows; Allie who always puts her foot in it at parties; Amanda the TGI Friday's waitress; the hilariously effeminate Derek Leslie Faye ("WHAT are you insinuating?!" "Just because I shave my eyebrows and listen to Judy Garland, doesn't mean i'm a back-door Deirdre!") who gets in a hissy fit every time someone suggests he's gay; the banal Essex couple who find the most normal thing funny; and in Series one, the rude Estate Agent ("You're a disgrace to ur profession!" "Dont be ridiculous! I'm an Estate Agent!" {laughs crazily}) and the drunk Bride in series 2!

However, can someone answer me this = whats the deal with the burger van people? I never have got that one.

Along with Little Britain, this is one of the best new TV sketch shows i have ever seen!

All in all, Ms Tate, your show is superb, and i think you were robbed at the recent British comedy awards!

Bad Girls (1999–2006)

Fantastic show, unfairly tarred with the "trash TV" brush

[13 November 2005]

I first started watching Bad Girls when i was 12, a little young perhaps, but i was hooked on it, and wanted to continue seeing it. That was when the 3rd series was drawing to a close in 2001, and ever since then, i have become an ardent fan. It has shocked me, made me laugh with some genuinely funny moments, and some very moving story lines. b Having also seen the first two series that made the show the huge hit it once was, i feel that it has lost its way over Series 5 and 6 (WHY did they do the Tanya Turner episodes??) However come 2005, and Series 7 hit our screens, and has shown us once again why Bad Girls won all its awards - it has returned to the dark, gritty roots and brought us a genuinely chilling and moving episode when 18 year old Laura Canning killed herself, action-packed drama where the amazing Pat Kerrigan (Liz May Brice) arrives. She is the best thing to have happened to the show since Eva Pope was brought in, and is also one of the sexiest women i have ever seen on TV! However ever since the introduction of Footballers Wives, people seem to think that this show is OTT camp like FW. Although FW is also a great show (it was set out to be OTT), it cannot compare with Bad Girls.

The writing, acting and direction of Bad Girls is almost always great, and i think Shed Productions should do more to improve it so it can win more awards again, as the current series has shown that there still is life in it, and that although it is made by the same people that made FW, its a very different show.