"2DTV" (2001) TV series 2001-????

Director:

Tim Searle

Writers:

Jesse Armstrong (writer)
Sam Bain (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

14 October 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot:

Animated sketches satirising the major news stories of the week.

Plot Keywords:

Topical Humor | Politician | Celebrity | Celebrity Caricature | Satire

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kate O'Sullivan	...	All female impressions (1 episode, 2004)
Courtney Webb	...	Tessa (1 episode, 2004)

Runtime:

30 min | 10 min (first series)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Ireland:12 | UK:12

Trivia:

An advert for the video/DVD compilation "The Best of 2DTV" was banned in early 2003, as it featured a sketch wherein President George W. Bush puts his video in a toaster. UK law states that adverts may not be offensive to individuals and that representations of living people can only be used with their permission.

Quotes:

[in the future, Arnie is president]
General: How do you take your coffee sir?
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Milk and two steroids.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

The cartoon-style animation sits well with the mix of sharp and silly material

Tony Blair has his hands full with a cabinet of backstabbers and halfwits. Meanwhile his global action against terrorism and hopes for a new world order are stuttering thanks to the less than helpful help of George W and his new best friend, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I managed to miss the entire first series of this show simply because it's Sunday night screening time more often than not clashed with a film I would want to see. However the second series was repeated later in the week and allowed me to see it. At first I thought that the very colourful cartoon-like animation would mean that the gags would be very childish and silly and, in a way, I was sort of right.

The material is not as cerebral as, say, Rory Bremner, but it is actually more funny for it. Around about a third of the time the gags are quite topical and are reasonably sharp swipes at the week's happenings in the news. However for the majority of the time the comedy is quite broad swipes at basic happenings and basic characters. For example the football Wayne Rooney gets attacked for being a rough Scouse, Bush for being dumb, Arnie for being, well, Arnie. Some of it is clever but most of it is designed to be funny even if you hadn't watched the news for 2 months and only knew about current affairs from reading a tabloid. That's not to say it isn't funny - for it is, but it is not quite what I'd call satire simply because it doesn't make me think - only laugh.

The voice work is very good, although some characters are better than others - Bush is my favourite by far. The series has lost out by ITV giving John Culshaw his own show and thus allowing him to leave 2DTV. However the remainder still do a good job.

Overall this is an enjoyable series but I would prefer if it trusted me enough to make me think or to assume that I'll be aware of what is going on in the world. This is funny but it's like satire for those who don't know a great deal about politics.