Change Your Image
CaptainElfman
Reviews
Steptoe and Son (1962)
60 years on; still a dirty old man
I love this type of simple comedy. No complicated stories or phrases or lines. I'm a young'un myself, growing up in such a degraded and unfunny society, so it's nice that a show that's pushing 70 years old is perfectly capable to make me genuinely laugh. As I said before, this level of simple comedy keeps me coming back, and I'm often quoting the show around people who have no idea what I'm talking about. For it's time, Steptoe was the most vulgar, offensive show on the box, yet is now considered the "elder statesman" by some today. I find it's not repeated on TV enough, with Divided we Stand being repeated on BBC Four only last October. Yet BBC Three is ok with repeating Bad Education's Christmas Special three times in one night. In conclusion, Steptoe was ahead of its time, portraying a very grim and off-beat picture of working class life.
Dead Set (2008)
Nail "biting"
Let me just say, I love Dead Set. The level of detail within; from the correct fonts on the C4 branding to the E4 screen bug in the corner when the Big Brother live feed is shown on screen. I adore the light blemishes of humour, especially when the production crew is running to Grace Kelly. It would have been interesting to see how the show would look if there were shambling Zombies hobbling about, however it would be less tense. I would find myself shouting "get to shelter" when someone is being chased by a zombie. The ending, whilst dissatisfactory, is probably the most realistic. I also love how the show is basically one big metaphor; the audience watch Big Brother like zombies; those with a shorter attention span than a goldfish. Brooker is an absolute legend if I've ever seen one.