c4countdown

If you didn't catch it, Jo Brand's new comedy Getting On is well worth watching. Several laugh-out-loud moments in the spoof fly-on-the-wall format, with sharp writing and good acting. I'll be following this one. Did anyone else see it?

Gave up after 10 minutes, didn't like anything about it and yet I usually like anything she does.

I really enjoyed the whole show... spot-on target humour (I've worked in the NHS), and very dry. Brilliant writing!

On at the same time is Taking the Flak which, while more slapstick in style, has some great insight and clever humour. The scene with the two BBC reporters in the minefield is hilarious!

kevin manthorpe wrote:spot-on target humour

It got a good review from the Independent's brilliant TV critic, Tom Sutcliffe.

But was he a bit harsh on TTF?!! Someone thought so...

What's your opinion?

I watched it all and some bits were quite funny but I laughed out loud at 26 minutes when talking about the colour of the shit.

Cleverly written with a very original style. Bit of an overreliance on toilet humour but I suppose that's fair game for a hospital. Will definitely keep an eye on this.

Charlie Reams wrote:Cleverly written with a very original style. Bit of an overreliance on toilet humour but I suppose that's fair game for a hospital. Will definitely keep an eye on this.

I agree that it is cleverly written but the style is similar to 'The Office'

kevin manthorpe wrote:But was he a bit harsh on TTF?!! Someone thought so...

What's your opinion?

I just watched Taking the Flak, and thought that Tom Sutcliffe's review is spot on. The dialogue feels too contrived, and the acting too actory, which is the opposite of Getting On, IMHO. Guess I'm disagreeing with a Kevin and a Kev. Sorry, both of you.

Don't apologise! They're two different types of show, so are naturally going to garner differing reviews. I'm just happy to be able to enjoy both.

BTW, had to laugh at the fact that Jo Brand's character's name is Kim Wilde! JB has written the ideal role for herself!

kevin manthorpe wrote:Don't apologise!

OK, I'm not sorry in the least.

Getting on Jo Brand makes me think of hiring a team of Sherpas.

Episode 2 ... hmm, not as many lol moments, and less toilet humour, but I think it's going to be worth being patient. Peter Capaldi appeared for about three lines, and I can't imagine his talents won't get more time later. There doesn't seem to be an episode formula set up yet, though it's starting to weave in some ongoing storylines. It's quite a brave programme - the black humour really is black, and it's not afraid just to kill the laughs ... not one to watch if you have an elderly relative in hospital, I suspect.

Brian Moore wrote:I think it's going to be worth being patient.

Good one.

Dunno if anyone caught the second series... still enjoyable, but the end of the last episode was a stand-out for the blackness of the humour: the slow death of a mother (having been protracted through this series), with the daughter juggling her life and her mother's decline, culminating in the clash between caring for the living and hospital 'turnover'. Superbly funny and horrible. It reminded me a bit of the end of Blackadder.

Not that Jo Brand's been on Countdown lately, unless I've been very unobservant.

Very funny in an uneasy sort of way.
Some nice understated performances.
But I loathed the wobbly, jerky, zoomy, panning, unsteady camera.
I didn't find the camera-work realistic; I found it very irritating.