Chuckle Ar La
A gag isn't out of the question
Paul Nolan, 09 Dec 2009
COMEDY SHOW OF THE YEAR
The Inbetweeners
Somewhat surprisingly, adolescence has never been really been properly portrayed on television. Skins, while watchable, is just too hyper-cool to approximate reality, whilst at the other extreme, I could never look at Dawson’s Creek without asking, where are the Trenchcoat Mafia when you need them?
This deficit in quality shows about teenage experiences has been decisively eliminated by The Inbetweeners, Damon Beesley’s and Iain Morris’ brilliant sitcom about four blokes caught between the polarities of adolescence – they’re too nerdy to be cool, insufficiently geeky to be actual nerds. In short, it was the space most of us occupied during that tumultuous phase twixt childhood and adulthood.
Older fans of the show could scarcely watch without cringing at the awful truth. It was all here: the ecstatic feeling when you managed to get your hands on booze of any description; the routine social embarrassments; the all-consuming obsession with the opposite sex; the constant fretting about one’s social status.
But perhaps what The Inbetweeners did better than any other show was illustrate the sheer strangeness of the behaviour that arises among groups of adolescent males. This was apparent in what was possibly the highlight of the second series, when Jay leaned out the window of Simon’s car and yelled “Bus wankers!”, for no other reason than they happened to be passing some people who were, y’know, waiting for a bus.
For this and other such laugh-out-loud moment of insight into the teenage psyche, The Inbetweeners takes the 2009 Golden Giggles Comedy Show of the Year Award. We’re already looking forward to the planned feature film.
HBO PICKS OF THE YEAR
Hung and Bored to Death
In recent years, HBO has deservedly won a reputation for quality drama, having given us shows of the quality of The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood and True Blood, to name but a few. However, the network has also traditionally been a home for great comedy: The Larry Sanders Show kick-started its winning streak in the early ’90s, while latterly they have enjoyed another big hit with Curb Your Enthusiasm (which returned this year with another cracking series).
Page 1/3 <Previous 1 2 3 Next>
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy