That Mitchell and Webb Look
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| That Mitchell and Webb Look | |
|---|---|
| Image:That Mitchell and Webb Look title card.jpg | |
| Format | Comedy sketch show |
| Starring | David Mitchell Robert Webb |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 (to date) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Kenton Allen, Jon Plowman |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC2 |
| Original run | September 14, 2006 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
That Mitchell and Webb Look is a BAFTA award winning British television sketch show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, that has currently run for one six-part series. The first episode originally aired 14 September 2006 on BBC Two.[1] A second series was commissioned later that same year.[2] The new series, consisting of six episodes, is due to be broadcast in early 2008.[3]
It is directed by David Kerr, who also directed Mitchell and Webb's previous television sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Situation. As well as Mitchell and Webb themselves, the writers include Jesse Armstrong, James Bachman, Sam Bain, Mark Evans, Toby Davies, Chris Pell and John Finnemore. It is produced by Gareth Edwards. The other cast includes Olivia Colman, James Bachman, Mark Evans, Abigail Burdess, Gus Brown, and Paterson Joseph.
Contents |
[edit] Recurring sketches
Recurring sketches seen in the first series included:-
- Ted and Peter - A parody of television snooker commentary. Ted and Peter (Mitchell and Webb respectively) are a pair of jaded ex-players, who are generally more interested in getting drunk than actually commenting on the match. Their commentary comprises mainly revelations of bad habits, infidelities or crimes committed by players, mixed with mildly homoerotic praise of the players' style and looks. Ted also frequently says "Oh, and that's a bad miss". Peter recently came out as a homosexual after "living a lie for 42 years".
- Numberwang - A parody of complicated quiz shows based on maths with elements of Countdown and Lucky Ladders, with a presenter played by Webb and mainly involving two contestants yelling out apparently random numbers until one reaches "Numberwang!" which is also seemingly random. Part way through the game the area where the contestants sit rotates (a reference to the old quiz game Blankety Blank) briefly revealing something strange before returning to where it started. Episode 5 featured a German version with Mitchell as the host. In Episode 6, Numberwang appeared as "Wordwang", essentially the same game but with words and letters instead of numbers.
- The Party Planners - Mitchell and Webb prepare a party guest list, and realise that one of the guests will bring along a famous literary or historical figure. In one episode, they complained about their friend Moneypenny's annoying boyfriend, James, and his habit of attacking other guests for no reason. Another featured them inviting Velma, Freddie and Daphne along, but worrying that they will bring "the scrawny one who doesn't wash and his dog".
- Big Talk - Host Raymond Terrific (Webb) shouts at his panel of "boffins", demanding they solve the world's problems. The experts try to solve these in a calm-headed way, while Raymond yells at them to get results faster. Big Talk has tried to solve the crisis in the Middle East, the AIDS pandemic and the issue of whether there is a God. Raymond also chaired (extremely unwillingly) a spin-off called Small Talk, in which a panel of mindless celebrities discussed 'matters of no importance', such as "What is your favourite flavour of crisp?". Raymond visibly detested taking part in this version.
- The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar - Sir Digby (Webb) and his sidekick Ginger (Mitchell) believe that they are a pair of detectives in the style of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson when in fact they are drunken tramps. They are so poor that they have to hum their own theme tune (Devil's Gallop), which is usually sung as the intrepid duo are escaping from a crime scene, and regularly fight each other for loose change. They believe that plots are constantly being hatched against them by their "nemesis" described as "some bastard who is presumably responsible". Henchmen of their nemesis turn up in the shape of the police or whoever stumbles in front of them. Sir Digby first appeared on radio in the show's precursor; "That Mitchell and Webb Sound" but was known then as Sir Digby Caesar-Salad. When they are in a prison cell, Ginger decides to hang himself with his tie, so they can get away, claiming he survived it because his father did it frequently in the "good old days"; and sexually abused him when it was "bad".
- The British Broadcasting Network - An old fashioned black and white broadcast. The two characters constantly talk about the wonders of the new medium of television, and how it enables people to see them talking to each other. They use very large cumbersome microphones at the side of their face, so they are mostly shown in profile
- Barry Crisp - Barry (Mitchell) runs a range of attractions which are all unsafe, including charging £2 to jump off a cliff, or offering the chance to swim with a great white shark but with the shark inside the cage along with the diver. His middle class customer (Webb) who assumes everything is "fine" as Barry has a sign, so it must be legitimate, seemingly oblivious to the obvious danger, always eventually agrees to take part, much to Barry's surprise.
- The Honeymoon's Over - Mitchell plays a rude, mean, condescending man who takes a variety of different jobs, in all of which he does his best to demean his customers (Webb and Colman) and make them feel uncomfortable and inferior. Past jobs have included being a waiter, a priest and a shop assistant in a clothes shop.
- The Helivets - First appear in series two. A pair of heroes clad in pink jumpsuits who claim they can rescue any animal in trouble.[4]
There are also "Behind the Scenes" sketches in each episode where Mitchell and Webb play themselves, on the set of the show.
[edit] Production
The show follows on from the duo's earlier TV series The Mitchell and Webb Situation, and is an extension of their Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound. The show's producer Gareth Edwards commented that the show's pitch to the BBC "was the shortest pitch I've ever written", citing that the show "has worked on the radio, just like Little Britain worked on the radio and Dead Ringers worked on the radio, and they transferred successfully to TV, so why don't you [the BBC] transfer this one to TV as well?"[1]
A pilot for the show was filmed on 27 January 2006 at BBC Television Centre,[5] with a full series being later commissioned.[6] Preview nights for the show were held at The Drill Hall in London on 11 January 2006 and 20 March 2006, and at Ginglik in Shepherd's Bush in London on 14 May 2006 and 21 May 2006. These took the form of a radio recording, with verbal prompting to the audience for any visual element that would be required. The series was shot on location in June 2006 and three audience recording sessions were held in Studio 4 at BBC Television Centre on 14 July 2006, 21 July 2006 and 28 July 2006.
A preview night for the second series was held on 18 May 2007 at The Drill Hall in London. This series was shot on location in June/July 2007 and three studio recordings with an audience were held at TC8 in Television Centre on 3 August, 10 August and 17 August 2007.
Following the series, the pair went on a tour of forty-four UK venues between October and December 2006, entitled The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb, featuring many of the same sketches as That Mitchell and Webb Look.
[edit] Reception
The show was nominated for two British Comedy Awards in 2006, in the categories of "Britain's Best New TV Comedy" and the "Highland Spring People's Choice", it won neither of the awards.[7] The show also received a BAFTA in 2007, in the category "Best comedy programme or series".[8]
[edit] DVD release
The first series was released on DVD in the UK on 29 October 2007. Extras include Outtakes, Behind the Scenes footage and a Mitchell & Webb documentary.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mitchell, Ben (August 27, 2006). Masters of comedy, The Observer. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ Ross, Deborah (2006-11-18). Peep Show's David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The Independent. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ That Mitchell And Webb Look series two. BBC Press Office (2007-12-19). Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
- ^ That Mitchell And Webb Look series two episodes. BBC Press Office (2007-12-19). Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
- ^ Mitchell and Webb bring critically-acclaimed radio sketch show to BBC TWO. BBC (2006-11-24). Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ That Mitchell and Webb Look. BBC (2006-08-29). Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ The Nominees 2006. British Comedy Awards. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ "Victoria Wood scoops Bafta double", BBC News, 2007-05-20. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
[edit] External links
- That Mitchell and Webb Look at bbc.co.uk
- That Mitchell and Webb Look at the Internet Movie Database
- That Mitchell and Webb Look at TV.com
- Numberwang at UKGameshows.com
Mitchell and Webb | |
|---|---|
| Members | David Mitchell • Robert Webb |
| TV shows | The Mitchell and Webb Situation • Peep Show • That Mitchell and Webb Look |
| Radio shows | That Mitchell and Webb Sound |
| Tours | The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb |
| Films | Magicians |
| Notable sketches | "Imagine That" • "NumberWang" • "The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar" • "Ted and Peter" |
| See also: | Get a Mac • Olivia Colman • James Bachman • Paterson Joseph |
