That Mitchell and Webb Look (TV Series) Episode #2.4 (2008) User Reviews

Brilliant

[bringmemybow · 10/10 · 20 June 2008]

Just a little response to the above or below or probably I should say previous, or at least the last one I read... the very fact you did not get the humour in that episode far from showing the two Comics had lost their way, it just shows that you have some sort of deep rooted emotional problems with librarians, maybe you were bullied or something... i don't know. Basically you really should grow some Britishness.

Mitchell and Webb have perfectly summed up the feeling and attitude of the British nation.

well, okay that sounds a little like the Queen. but wouldn't she be proud of those two men who have gone against the comical norm and have actually tried to revolutionise the world of comedy. they tried to do the series with no laughter track but the thicko's didn't get it, so they had to add some so the stupid people knew when to laugh at an intellectual joke. although I fear it is all down to Mitchell, his comic genius is like that of, well a genius. erm, the ketamine is attacking me right now so i must not digress too much, any way. Mitchell is genuinely a comical genius. the stuff created by him is therefore funny, whether we like it or not. I would like to say to David, that although the lizard doesn't want to make it's self look silly or stand out from the crowd, it knows that shedding it's tail is the right decision... for it will make the predators momentarily happy and in the the long term the lizard will have come out on top, surviving and with a hell of a story to tell, he will be blessed with greatness of all the god's and will be celebrated amongst his people... I lost the story a little to the end, but basically... GET RID OF WEBB. I love you David Mitchell.

Horrible and unfunny, a shockingly bad episode of what was one of Britain's finest sketch shows of recent times

[imnotinsane1 · 2/10 · 18 March 2008]

I have been watching "That Mitchell and Webb Look" since it premiered on BBC2 in 2006 and had been really enjoying it. Its witty and vastly original comedic style, its incredibly memorable characters, perfect comedic acting and razor-sharp script had helped the show become one of the most enjoyable British sketch shows of recent times and, along with the perfect "Peter Serafinowicz Show", one of many great alternatives to the more-commercialized sketch shows "Little Britain" and "The Catherine Tate Show". But the episode that broadcast on BBC2 on 13th March 2008 was quite simply, a disaster of a show.

Nearly everything that made the show so great was either forgotten or done totally wrong, with the end result showcasing what a lack of imaginative and original writing, depressingly unfunny subject matters, misshapen sense of comic timing and obnoxious ah-what-the-hell blurts of excessive sexual and overall strong language (mainly the "f" word and in one scene, an excessive use and literal mean to the "w" word) can seriously damage the potential for an already near-perfect show and totally turn an audience off.

This episode would get just 1 star but there was a sketch that out of all the other, worse sketches didn't falter on the first part. It was a sketch that took place in a very early time in British TV history where the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation, of course) was introducing "Elevenses Television", a spin on modern British daytime TV and was introduced in true Monty Python-style by the then "King of England" and by a BBC announcer (both played by Webb) who was announcing "another chance to see live coverage of Hitler's corpse". This is the funniest and most likable moment in the entire episode, the second part of the sketch had an idea full of potential but was very clumsily delivered and was the first sketch of many to needlessly blurt out "f" words and the like.

The worst sketch of them all involved an extremely rude and abusive librarian and a woman bringing back a Shane Richie biography, to then have an onslaught of strong, needless verbal abuse thrown at her by the librarian (played by Webb). This is not just the least funniest scene in the entire series but possibly the least funniest scene I've seen in any comedy show for as long as I can remember. I have been a victim of heavy bullying at secondary school with pretty much no help and support from staff so watching the entire sketch was an incredibly uncomfortable experience and was overall a very depressing and extremely unfunny sketch. In fact, I hope the laughter track was totally canned during the scene because I just can't understand how anybody would find a scene like this funny due to how depressing and needless the nature of the scene is.

So, all in all, weather you're a fan of the show, a long-time viewer (like me) or a newcomer to the series, I suggest you stay as far away from this episode as possible. All I can hope now is that the next few episodes of the series will learn from this episode's mistakes, otherwise thanks to this episode the show that had so much huge potential to be one of the finest sketch shows of the decade would become the shadow of its former self.

I rate this episode: 2/10

Reviewer: Eric B.