This is one of the best satirical impression shows I've ever seen, especially because the animation and voice talents combined both make the impressions work. The voice talents include (from Dead Ringers) Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens. These two are probably my favourite of the series of impressionists. Basically they listen to latest news and make it into the joke with the help of the animated celebrities. Jon Culshaw does some of the best characters including: President George Bush, Tony Blair, Bill Gates, David Beckham, Mark from EastEnders, Robbie Williams, George Michael, Hugh Grant, Michael Barrymore, Dale Winton, Liam Gallagher and many more. Jan Ravens basically does all the females, these include: Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Dot Cotton, Barbara Windsor, Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Cheri Blair, Sigourney Weaver, The Queen, Anne Robinson and many more. It was nominated The British Comedy Award for Best New TV Comedy. It was number 52 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. Good!
11 Reviews
A Pleasant Surprise
maxypaw4 December 2019
~Note this is only based on the best-of DVD~
I often put aside DVDs for later viewing, and I wasn't in any hurry to watch this particular one anyway - if anything, it was a pity-buying as it had been sitting at the start of the shelf of CeX's 50p section for a month by the time - and I've probably had it for two months since, but I finally got around to watching it. Now, I had mixed feelings going into this - I love Spitting Image with all my heart and while this was another of the very niche selection of satire sketch shows the designs and apparent crudeness really put me off. However, watching it, I can say these are remarkably good. Yes, the show is much cruder than Spitting Image ever was but the sheer absurdity of most of the satires made this feel welcome perfectly. Furthermore the voice talent, as is expected, is brilliant, and even the animation grows on you after a while. If you're more interested in just having a laugh at the 2000s celebrities than having jokes based on current affairs, then this is your show, but the more political-oriented viewers would much prefer Spitting Image.
8/10, highly entertaining.
Wonderful animated comedy
GarethJThomas28 April 2002
This show is a must see! It's a satirical review of the week's news and has a great cast of characters, including George Bush and his best friend, a sock puppet; the Beckhams; the Blairs and big John Prescott and many more. Animation's great, voices great, show - GREAT!
Dated but still very good & a blast from the past!
10086cn22 July 2021
I think this programme served its time and feels like the sort of humor you'd expect from the time when this show was released. Obviously 2 decades later a lot of the jokes are feelin quite dated, but that's ok! It would at least bring you right back to the past, and for that purpose, I certainly recommend it.
I also found the custom ITV1 idents based off 2DTV to be quite cool too - that's the sort of thing you'd never expect to see from ITV these days. STV on the other hand, maybe, probably, as they have custom idents for some shows.
I also found the custom ITV1 idents based off 2DTV to be quite cool too - that's the sort of thing you'd never expect to see from ITV these days. STV on the other hand, maybe, probably, as they have custom idents for some shows.
2dtv
pombearking24 June 2011
2dtv is a series of episodes that don't really catch on they aren't particularly great but do have there little highlights but to be honest you probably would be better off watching something like family guy or south park. The show relates to taking the Mic out of celebrities and well known people witch is sometimes done quite well but in sometimes it is a bit childish watch this if you are really bored and don't really have anything else to do but there are numerous over series to watch that are way more funny. over all i rate is 3 out of to for its slight comical humour.and its unique way of noticing key things that celebrities have or do but it isn't very funny with is a downfall.
The future is animated
wellthatswhatithinkanyway14 June 2002
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
This show is on every weekend on TV,and looks set to carry on for much longer.It's quite simply an imaginative and hilarious animated satire of the weeks events around the world,and the sketches themselves are very accurate.Great entertainment.****
This show is on every weekend on TV,and looks set to carry on for much longer.It's quite simply an imaginative and hilarious animated satire of the weeks events around the world,and the sketches themselves are very accurate.Great entertainment.****
Good but slipping slowly
iag8510 February 2005
When 2DTV came to our screens it was fresh and satirised all the weeks major events as well as a few misc sketch's' as fillers. the voices were great, although that should have been expected since 2DTV used the voices of the great team from dead ringers.
But recently with the four series the writing has gone down hill. while still scathingly in its satire some sketch's seem half thought through and lacking any sense of the situation, with particular reference to the Arnie sketch's. also the lose of the dead ringers team of voices has meant that the near perfect impersonations that the dead ringers team brought are gone and replaced with voices which still sound like the characters yet never as good as the previous teams take on the characters. the parts of both Tony Blair and George W. Bush are 2 great examples of how the new team of voices are not up to the job, Jon Culshaw who used to provide these voices, had them to a t.
yet despite my criticism the show is still great and when on it is the only reason to watch ITV1.
enjoy
But recently with the four series the writing has gone down hill. while still scathingly in its satire some sketch's seem half thought through and lacking any sense of the situation, with particular reference to the Arnie sketch's. also the lose of the dead ringers team of voices has meant that the near perfect impersonations that the dead ringers team brought are gone and replaced with voices which still sound like the characters yet never as good as the previous teams take on the characters. the parts of both Tony Blair and George W. Bush are 2 great examples of how the new team of voices are not up to the job, Jon Culshaw who used to provide these voices, had them to a t.
yet despite my criticism the show is still great and when on it is the only reason to watch ITV1.
enjoy
The cartoon-style animation sits well with the mix of sharp and silly material
bob the moo10 April 2004
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.
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.
started hilariously but growing tiresome
TheNorthernMonkee24 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS In 2001, with a plan to fill the neesh left by the cancellation of "Spitting Image" in 1996, ITV began showing a cartoon series called "2DTV". Originally hilarious, the series continued to evolve. Sadly though that evolution has not always been for the best with bad choices being made in terms of the celebrities being covered. "2DTV" has changed from being a fresh original take on life into an excessively celebrity based inferior to alternative television shows.
When "2DTV" first started, jokes tended to be directed at celebrities like the Beckhams (Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens), Blair and Bush (both Culshaw) and the monarchy. This trend has subsided in recent times however as the series has began to change it's focus to keep with public opinion. The last series shown on television still maintained Blair and Bush, but it introduced jokes about Wayne Rooney and his fiancée, and the breast groping controversy over Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beginning to repeat the same jokes over and over again, the series gradually lost it's freshness and has eventually lost any of the wit and humour that it originally had.
Part of the decline in "2DTV" has been as a result of the thriving "Dead Ringers" on the BBC. With vocal artists Culshaw and Ravens leaving for the BBC production, the standards and humour have plummeted. As "2DTV" has lowered it's tone and lost it's style, "Dead Ringers" has thrived and evolved into something rather wonderful.
On the animation, even the old favourite of George Bush has lost his strength. Originally based around the concept that he is an idiot, the series would insult him in ways so extreme, that one advert for the show was even banned from television. In later series though, this style has gone off the boil as the world has accepted the view of Bush as an idiot and are more concerned about him blowing up the world than being thick.
"2DTV" was genius when it first started. Funny and witty, it provided decent entertainment when you were lucky enough to catch it (ITV never really giving it a proper screening time until too late), and never failed to make you laugh. In recent times though, this animation has self destructed. With main vocal artists leaving and the scripts getting progressively worse, the show has lost all of it's dignity and should have stopped a few years ago. Yet another example of a television programme going on for too long.
When "2DTV" first started, jokes tended to be directed at celebrities like the Beckhams (Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens), Blair and Bush (both Culshaw) and the monarchy. This trend has subsided in recent times however as the series has began to change it's focus to keep with public opinion. The last series shown on television still maintained Blair and Bush, but it introduced jokes about Wayne Rooney and his fiancée, and the breast groping controversy over Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beginning to repeat the same jokes over and over again, the series gradually lost it's freshness and has eventually lost any of the wit and humour that it originally had.
Part of the decline in "2DTV" has been as a result of the thriving "Dead Ringers" on the BBC. With vocal artists Culshaw and Ravens leaving for the BBC production, the standards and humour have plummeted. As "2DTV" has lowered it's tone and lost it's style, "Dead Ringers" has thrived and evolved into something rather wonderful.
On the animation, even the old favourite of George Bush has lost his strength. Originally based around the concept that he is an idiot, the series would insult him in ways so extreme, that one advert for the show was even banned from television. In later series though, this style has gone off the boil as the world has accepted the view of Bush as an idiot and are more concerned about him blowing up the world than being thick.
"2DTV" was genius when it first started. Funny and witty, it provided decent entertainment when you were lucky enough to catch it (ITV never really giving it a proper screening time until too late), and never failed to make you laugh. In recent times though, this animation has self destructed. With main vocal artists leaving and the scripts getting progressively worse, the show has lost all of it's dignity and should have stopped a few years ago. Yet another example of a television programme going on for too long.
Spitting Image for the 21st Century
uknortherner20005 March 2006
2DTV. This, and the Champions League were probably the only reasons why I wasted any time watching ITV.
Funny dialogue, a warped sense of humour and the ability of the 2DTV team to knock these episodes out the same day as major events unfolded is the reason why I made the effort to watch it.
Nothing, it seemed was out of bounds: The US, Iraq War, the British Government, the royal family, The Osbournes, Harry Potter, football, soaps, reality TV, celebrities, Al Qaeda, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... Basically anything that hit the headlines, made it into the show and to hilarious effect.
Although the episodes tended to be only 15 minutes long (and as such, could be easily lost amongst the dreary reality shows ITV usually churned out at 10pm), there was usually never a moment when the show lost it's pace.
The animation was more functional rather than polished, and some of the voices were sometimes off the mark, but neither of these things really detracted from the script itself. The political bias may put some people off, but it's worth persevering even if it's only to see the celebrity gags.
Certainly one to rent/buy on DVD.
Funny dialogue, a warped sense of humour and the ability of the 2DTV team to knock these episodes out the same day as major events unfolded is the reason why I made the effort to watch it.
Nothing, it seemed was out of bounds: The US, Iraq War, the British Government, the royal family, The Osbournes, Harry Potter, football, soaps, reality TV, celebrities, Al Qaeda, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... Basically anything that hit the headlines, made it into the show and to hilarious effect.
Although the episodes tended to be only 15 minutes long (and as such, could be easily lost amongst the dreary reality shows ITV usually churned out at 10pm), there was usually never a moment when the show lost it's pace.
The animation was more functional rather than polished, and some of the voices were sometimes off the mark, but neither of these things really detracted from the script itself. The political bias may put some people off, but it's worth persevering even if it's only to see the celebrity gags.
Certainly one to rent/buy on DVD.
Terrible
mellomeh16 November 2004
I believe I was once a fan of this.
The newest series has been the worst thing I have ever seen. The jokes are extremely poor, they've got rid of the Dead Ringers team and that music played in the background to each animation is embarrassing. Somebody in the production team obviously thought that a low trombone note would increase the hilarity of each animation's 'punchline' no end. They were wrong, very wrong.
The animation is extremely poor, considering the gaps in between the series you would expect some new animating techniques but no, it's the same old animation, same old art.
If you want animated satire then just look at what the BBC has to offer. The excitingly diverse Monkey Dust is being aired on BBC2 on Mondays at 10pm. If Monkey Dust is the Bremner Bird and Fortune of animation, then 2DTV is the Alistair McGowan.
The newest series has been the worst thing I have ever seen. The jokes are extremely poor, they've got rid of the Dead Ringers team and that music played in the background to each animation is embarrassing. Somebody in the production team obviously thought that a low trombone note would increase the hilarity of each animation's 'punchline' no end. They were wrong, very wrong.
The animation is extremely poor, considering the gaps in between the series you would expect some new animating techniques but no, it's the same old animation, same old art.
If you want animated satire then just look at what the BBC has to offer. The excitingly diverse Monkey Dust is being aired on BBC2 on Mondays at 10pm. If Monkey Dust is the Bremner Bird and Fortune of animation, then 2DTV is the Alistair McGowan.
See also
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