Press clippings Page 9
Upstart Crow review
Review of the Christmas special set during a plague lockdown.
Carol Midgley, The Times, 22nd December 2020Upstart Crow: Lockdown Christmas 1603, BBC Two review
A certain flatness goes with the territory here.
David Nice, The Arts Desk, 22nd December 2020Upstart Crow, review: Is Covid comedy a plagued format?
Despite some good topical gags, the smug tone made this Ben Elton farce a tiresome turkey.
Anita Singh, The Telegraph, 21st December 2020Upstart Crow, Lockdown Christmas 1603, BBC2, review
The two-hander lacked the usual rollicking ensemble and was based on a single joke.
Barbara Speed, i Newspaper, 21st December 2020Comedians accuse Big Fat Quiz Of The Year of sexism
Comedians have denounced Channel 4's Big Fat Quiz Of The Year as sexist. Acts have taken to social media to point out that the Boxing Day episode of the panel show features no female comedians.
British Comedy Guide, 18th December 2020Upstart Crow to return for Christmas special
BBC Two has confirmed that Upstart Crow is to return for a Christmas special this December.
British Comedy Guide, 24th November 2020Essential episodes: Peep Show
Choosing what is essentially the best ever episode, one that is perfect to show to someone if you want them to become a fan for life, was fairly difficult to do and led to lots of ummming and ahhhhhing and various other strange very British noises. But in the end I chose season two's second episode, "Jeremy Makes It", as it contains the characters at their funniest, is a great introduction to their various neuroses, and features a number of extremely memorable moments.
Alex Finch, Comedy To Watch, 19th November 2020The brilliance of Peep Show (2003-2015)
It's been five years since the 'El Dude Brothers' last graced our TV screens. Written primarily by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain with David Mitchell and Robert Webb spearheading the project, it is justly Channel 4's longest running comedy show in its history. Famed for its ambitious use of the first person perspective and interior monologue, this cult classic proves to depict the glory of British humour and British sitcoms generally.
Keith Mulopo, The Boar, 20th July 2020Netflix remove Peep Show scene containing blackface
The scene, which appears in the season two episode "Dance Class", first aired in 2004 and sees Jez (p]Robert Webb]) try to impress love interest Nancy (Rachel Blanchard) by breaking "sexual taboos", including wearing blackface. Jez questions the ethics of wearing blackface, saying that it "feels almost wrong" before asking: "Are you sure this isn't racist?", leading Nancy to reply: "We're breaking a taboo, of course, it feels wrong" and later add: "Jeremy, I come from America. I've seen the problems race brings up." The scene has been cut from the Mitchell and Webb sitcom on Netflix, but is yet to be removed from Channel 4's own catch-up service All4.
Isobel Lewis, The Independent, 29th June 2020David Mitchell: Total number of aliens?
Astronomers at the University of Nottingham announced that we're not alone in the universe. In fact, we're not even alone in the Milky Way. They've calculated that there are between four and 211 alien civilisations in this very galaxy and that the actual number is probably about 36. Great! Good to know. How do they know?
David Mitchell, The Observer, 21st June 2020