David Stubbs (I)

  • Writer

Press clippings Page 3

Years of lugubrious wit are turning Jack Dee's face as saggy as the late Clement Freud's. Tonight's dosage of self-indulgent gripes from an invited audience won't help any. He's joined by Jeremy Hardy, Katherine Ryan, Larry Lamb and Andi Osho to field "first world complaints" about baby Facebook updates, emptying bins when husbands are away and inquiries about where best to shield an iPhone from the sun ("Britain," offers Hardy).

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 5th April 2017

Although as mixed as you'd expect from a sketch show, Tracey Ullman's return to UK screens for her second series has been better than cynics might have expected. Her character acting makes up for some occasionally off-beam sketches. Tonight, we see her star in the world's worst show 30 Years In A Morgue, her Camilla Parker-Bowles does a spot of babysitting while her uncanny Judi Dench is bored at an awards ceremony.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 3rd March 2017

Simon Brodkin makes part of his living as "chav" character Lee Nelson, but he atones for that in his other life as a prankster, targeting the undeservingly rich and powerful. We follow him as he punctures the patriotic puffery of Britain's Got Talent, entering the competition as a rapping rabbi; re-christens Philip Green's yacht the BHS Destroyer; and pulls off a satisfying stunt against Donald Trump involving Nazi golf balls.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 7th February 2017

The return of Paul Abbott's entertaining, comedy-tinged procedural drama sees Joanna Scanlan's Viv come back from extended leave only to be plunged right into, er, the thick of it. As the extraordinary circumstances of an attempted murder at a funeral (an explosion, no less) become clear, a vicious set-to shapes up between rival gangleaders and their families. Paul Ritter's forensics expert is a particular delight amid the carnage.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 4th January 2017

This year would have provided rich pickings for satire if only it hadn't been so hopelessly tragic. The cruel and relentless spate of celebrity deaths hasn't helped much, either. Still, Rhys Thomas, co-creator of 2014 mock docum The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern, is as qualified as anyone to have a crack. In this show, he seamlessly re-edits film and TV footage from 2016 to create an alternative and welcome take on a wretched annus.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 30th December 2016

The Four Candles/Fork Handles sketch, ribald puns and lengthy armchair monologues - such was the stuff of all our Saturday nights. This three-part documentary, first aired in 2013, tells the story of the duo, with tonight's opener recalling how they came to work together, having cut their teeth appearing alongside the likes of John Cleese. Contributors include Al Murray, Clive Anderson and the late Ronnie Corbett himself.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 29th December 2016

This seasonal two-parter takes place two years after Kate's death, with Sarah Lancashire's Caroline taking up a job at an underperforming school in Huddersfield, much to the chagrin of her family. Meanwhile, a nasty accident involving Robbie triggers haunting memories for Gillian, and ever-exasperating Celia (Anne Reid) ropes Alan into amateur dramatics, prompting a memorable protest from Derek Jacobi of "I can't act!"

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 19th December 2016

With the Beeb currently, and in some cases ill-advisedly, reworking classic sitcoms, here's a tie-in quiz show hosted by Ben Miller in which celebrity funny folk test their knowledge of the genre that made them famous. Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Mangan, Jessica Hynes and Lee Mack are among the contestants. As Pointless fans will attest, however, celebrities are useless at quizzes - none of the luminaries get the Reg Varney question, an old pub quiz chestnut.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 9th September 2016

Jack Dee is all over the EU referendum, it seems. Tonight, he stars as volatile former journalist Oliver, now working at the Conservative HQ's Unity Unit, in a spin-off from the comedy Ballot Monkeys, scripted by Outnumbered creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. Written in the hours before transmission to keep the comedy bang up to date, it satirically follows both sides of the debate, and also has an international dimension, with Donald Trump's plane and Vladimir Putin's office among the settings. Claire Skinner and Amelia Bullmore co-star.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 8th June 2016

Joe Wilkinson and Dave Earl's amiable new series - starring Craig Cash and Sue Johnston among others - is set in the clubhouse of lowly football team Redbridge Rovers, whose fans dream of promotion to the Evo-Stik Premier League. It's essentially about the characters who congregate in the canteen to banter and bicker very Britishly, and the rich bathos of their exchanges: "If we win today, we go to 16th. You don't get that buzz at a llama park."

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 24th May 2016

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