I watched the first and wasn't too keen. I did intend to stick with it but I just couldn't.

Saw most of the last one and was impressed with both Lucas' acting and some very good gags and scenes such as the humbug stealing. Some good quality material I thought, visual comedy's the most specialist form of comedy requiring craftsmen or of course women.

Just get the impression it might be wasted on such an annoying character, as others here seem to think he is. Personally I thought Mr Bean was too irritating to watch for 30mins so maybe Pompidou's the same.

Anyone spot the Vicky Pollard reference?

Quote: DougWonnacott @ 26th March 2015, 4:21 PM GMT

I watched the first and wasn't too keen. I did intend to stick with it but I just couldn't.

View original

Ditto, although I did, as per my usual to give anything two chances and gave up after the second episode - not for me.

Well I gave it 5 episodes to get better, no didn't get better. Matt as Freddie doing Queen songs, if that's what you call it, all the lyrics were Pompidou, Pompidou, etc. I'd like to see what the closed captioning was fumbling with his mumbling.

Errr.....
Who in the BBC commissioned this?

As someone said in this thread:
Execrable.

It has nothing going for it. No redeeming feature.

And no, I love silent comedy.
When done well, it can be incredibly powerful.
This however, is done by someone who doesn't even comprehend the most basic rules of it.

I think one is trying to be all things simultaneously.
Blandings, Bean, Little Britain and the Telly-Tubbies.
As a result this will not hold the attention of anyone above four years of age.

Perhaps asking Paul Merton, who is a silent comedy aficionado, prior to production might have been advisable.

Also, maybe someone ought to have asked if - had Matt Lucas' name not been attached to this - it would ever have been considered suitable for production.

I have a nagging suspicion that comedy in broadcasting is subject to quite a bit of nepotism and cronyism these days.
In a country which once produced 'Porridge' we are now turning out 'Plebs' and 'Pompidou', albeit that the national knack for comedy at ground level seems as healthy as ever.
Something is up in the rarified strata of broadcasting decision makers.

I struggle to rationalise otherwise how it is possible that we can produce stuff like 'Pompidou'.
It is very hard to dispel the impression that here is someone at the Beeb handing a lucrative commission to their pals, the output being irrelevant.

Sure, what do I know about decision making processes at the Beeb? Nothing.

But just who looked at this as a proposal and decided it was worth putting licence payers' money into?

The same genius who decided to finance another series of 'W1A', perchance?
Or the person who has since recategorised 'Bluestone 42' as a 'comedy-drama' (to explain the lack of laughs, no doubt)?
Just the sort of stuff I ponder.

Anyhow, someone ought to be shot for 'Pompidou'. Repeatedly.
Starting at the kneecaps, working upwards.

I hope I'm not being too ambiguous.

I found the first three episodes quite funny in a slapstick juvenile kind of way but as it went on it became very laboured, predictable and solely reliant on catchphrases for laughs but the catchphrases weren't funny so they jarred badly. The whole thing made Matt Lucas look a bit desperate to get another "Yeah but not but" or "Yeah I know" stuck in the nations subconscious instead of going for something a little less broad.

I never came across this show when it was on in March. When it came out on DVD I bought it blind and was laughing straight away even the opening titles were entertaining. It reminded me of The Baldy Man more than Mr. Bean. Yes it's silly, very silly in places and I'm not quite sure if I was laughing with it or at it. If a second series was made I would watch it.

Quote: marac @ 2nd November 2015, 4:22 PM GMT

I never came across this show when it was on in March. When it came out on DVD I bought it blind and was laughing straight away even the opening titles were entertaining. It reminded me of The Baldy Man more than Mr. Bean. Yes it's silly, very silly in places and I'm not quite sure if I was laughing with it or at it. If a second series was made I would watch it.

View original

I thought this fairly awful. Admittedly I was not a big Mr. Bean fan but the quality of Mr. Bean was much, much higher.

A waste of talent of Matt Lucas and Alex MacQueen.

I love Mr. Bean and I love some old slapstick film comedies, especially Laurel & Hardy, Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. So I was hoping this might be good, but sadly, it failed completely. I love Matt Lucas in most he does, but here he just seemed out of place, his acting seemed very forced and tried way too hard. What imho also made it not work, aside from being unfunny and unoriginal, is that it also wasn't as relatable as something like Mr. Bean, The Baldy Man or Laurel and Hardy. These characters, while certainly exaggerated, still felt like people you actually get to meet in real life, and their stories were also relatable, their dilemmas understandable. A character as goofy as Pompidou on the other hand seems way too artificial, over the top and far away from real life to be relatable in the slightest.

I'd never seen this until, encouraged today by positive review from Old Lady Leg, I found it on Netflix and watched the first episode.

I think it's pretty good, actually.

The general view of the nation's critics is that it's not much good at all and their opinion is supported by the public whose ratings make it the least popular original series ever on Netflix.

I can't understand why people don't like it.

It's not trying to be more than it is...a load of nonsense made into a series of silly stories. Their facial expressions and gestures really make it for me...and we're all calling each other 'Norty' now...swiftly followed by 'issny norty?'. I like really silly things and this ticks that box very clearly for me.

I've now watched the first three episodes and I'm absolutely mystified as to why this isn't regarded as Matt Lucas's greatest work.

I think it's marvellous - very original, very funny and leagues ahead of Mr Bean.

I've now watched all six episodes and this, in my view, is a classic sitcom.

I can't understand why it's been met with almost universal disapproval.

The human performers are great and the dog is absolutely brilliant!

Quote: Rood Eye @ 24th March 2019, 9:37 PM

I've now watched all six episodes and this, in my view, is a classic sitcom.

I can't understand why it's been met with almost universal disapproval.

The human performers are great and the dog is absolutely brilliant!

View original

Strong words!!!

What defines a classic, do we think?

It has to stand the test of time, as they say. It has to appeal to multiple audiences. It has to suit everyone.

We're all guilty of calling something a classic when we've just watched it and happened to enjoy it.