The best part of 'The High Life' is the theme song, with elaborate song and dance sequences at the beginning and end of the show, rather Busby Berkeley style. High energy, silly fun. And Forbes Masson looks wacky and adorable. He looks like he must be a genuinely sweet person--a quality I value highly, even if I am, alas, not sweet myself.
So the theme music gets a big '10' from me. I would give the rest of the show a '6,' but instead go up to '7' because Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming are pretty memorable performers.
The pilot episode (never officially aired?) has the same plot as episode 4, and most of the same guest stars. It didn't have the heavy-duty laugh track--had no laugh track, in fact--and Alan Cumming's pomaded hair was less extreme and bizarre. The official episodes obviously benefit from a larger budget, but the whole series is still clearly 'low budget.' With the thick Scottish accents, subtitles would often be helpful. I pride myself on my ear for British accents of all sorts, but sometimes it's all too much. It's kind of like one of those cable documentary shows where you can basically understand the foreigner attempting to speak English, but you still appreciate the extra input from the subtitles.
Despite some stabs at surreal action and plots, this is a very sitcom-y sitcom, but with a not-to-miss theme. I especially adore the ending theme music segment.
So the theme music gets a big '10' from me. I would give the rest of the show a '6,' but instead go up to '7' because Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming are pretty memorable performers.
The pilot episode (never officially aired?) has the same plot as episode 4, and most of the same guest stars. It didn't have the heavy-duty laugh track--had no laugh track, in fact--and Alan Cumming's pomaded hair was less extreme and bizarre. The official episodes obviously benefit from a larger budget, but the whole series is still clearly 'low budget.' With the thick Scottish accents, subtitles would often be helpful. I pride myself on my ear for British accents of all sorts, but sometimes it's all too much. It's kind of like one of those cable documentary shows where you can basically understand the foreigner attempting to speak English, but you still appreciate the extra input from the subtitles.
Despite some stabs at surreal action and plots, this is a very sitcom-y sitcom, but with a not-to-miss theme. I especially adore the ending theme music segment.