So the BBC have got a lavish new sci-fi show with a stellar cast of TV regulars, a big budget and some exciting filters on the cameras, possibly borrowed from the Top Gear production office, to lend an other worldly feeling to whichever backwater quarry was used as the location of planet "Carpathia". It seems that in the future, humanity has forgotten about iPhones, painted their guns orange and thrown out all the flat screen televisions in favour of something from Amstrad, possibly as a condition of Lord Sir Alan of Sugar's continued participation in annual idiotfest "the apprentice".
Throw in some ham fisted exposition as the cast try to engage the viewer in the backstory, and an unconvincing rivalry between the security and exploration factions and you have all the ingredients of a cult TV program. Unfortunately, Outcasts is too po faced, and takes itself too seriously to achieve this status, the time slot doesn't help it's cause either! Scheduling the programme at 9pm on BBC one creates high expectations that the impressive cast can't hope to meet, and no amount of pregnant pauses (it seems that in the future, a pause to add gravitas is an essential requirement of any sentence!) can rescue things.
Episode one of Outcasts was watchable but largely forgettable. It is too early to give up on this bleak post apocalyptic dystopia yet and it remains to be seen if the imminent arrival of Daniel from Ugly Betty can add anything worthwhile to the format.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Review: Miles Jupp "Fibber in the heat" - Cambridge Junction
In recent months, Miles Jupp has been making something of a splash on TV, appearing on Mock the Week, Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Have I Got News For You. A regular performer at the Edinburgh fringe, his latest show “Fibber in the Heat” arrived at the Junction, Cambridge on February 1st. The theatre in the Junction is an appropriately intimate setting for the show, with the small auditorium allowing the audience to feel a real connection to the monologue Jupp presents.
Miles Jupp, erstwhile portrayer of Archie the Inventor in Balamory, leads his audience on a journey from the Oval to India on the trail of the English Cricket team as they tour in 2006. Jupp chooses not to cram his show full of easy belly laughs, striking a whimsical tone as he reflects on the series of decisions that lead to him attempting to blag his way into the world of the cricket journalist in order to watch more of the sport he loves. His conversational tone meanders its way through farcical attempts to get his hands on the holy grail (a press pass), chance meetings in the bar with his cricketing heroes, an unsavoury encounter with some roadside cuisine and finally the cathartic realisation that it may be better to be a fan than a journo after all. Along the way he is insulted, embarrassed and is singularly unable to produce anything that is ever likely to get published anywhere people are likely to read it.
Jupp’s charming manner and endearing pomposity warm the audience to him, and it is hard not to be drawn into his tale, laughing frequently at the absurdity of his self imposed predicament. As a fellow test match lover, the pace of the show feels similar to a cricket match with periods of frantic action, followed by more prosaic moments before the show bursts back into life at just the right time to keep the audience hooked.
A fabulous show by a comedian who is just beginning to receive wider recognition. Catch him next time he is in town!
Miles Jupp, erstwhile portrayer of Archie the Inventor in Balamory, leads his audience on a journey from the Oval to India on the trail of the English Cricket team as they tour in 2006. Jupp chooses not to cram his show full of easy belly laughs, striking a whimsical tone as he reflects on the series of decisions that lead to him attempting to blag his way into the world of the cricket journalist in order to watch more of the sport he loves. His conversational tone meanders its way through farcical attempts to get his hands on the holy grail (a press pass), chance meetings in the bar with his cricketing heroes, an unsavoury encounter with some roadside cuisine and finally the cathartic realisation that it may be better to be a fan than a journo after all. Along the way he is insulted, embarrassed and is singularly unable to produce anything that is ever likely to get published anywhere people are likely to read it.
Jupp’s charming manner and endearing pomposity warm the audience to him, and it is hard not to be drawn into his tale, laughing frequently at the absurdity of his self imposed predicament. As a fellow test match lover, the pace of the show feels similar to a cricket match with periods of frantic action, followed by more prosaic moments before the show bursts back into life at just the right time to keep the audience hooked.
A fabulous show by a comedian who is just beginning to receive wider recognition. Catch him next time he is in town!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)