Hang Ups DVD review

What a surprise when an American concept gets reworked into a British series and actually works.

Hang Ups episode 1 review

With a strong core cast, an impressive roster of guest stars and an interesting style unlike anything else on British television, Hang Ups is an enjoyable watch.

Famalam (BBC3): a sublime achievement of satire

Sean O'Grady enjoys another great BBC3 comedy.

I don't think there's been an interesting new sketch show since Cardinal Burns. The genre itself is tired; so that if one is to work, to be original and fresh, it needs something more - sketch plus. CB brought surreality, a glorious bonkersness. What does Famalam have that most others unfortunately don't? Black talent in its cast, that's what, including Tom Moutchi and John Macmillan. And a lot of the subject matter of its sketches is about black Britishness too.

It's hit and miss - of course it is, it's a sketch show. I haven't seen enough Nollywood for pastiche Shola Settles the Score: Part 29 to mean a lot, even though I enjoyed it and it made me want to see more Nigerian cinema.

Sometimes it hits a nerve, like a (laughable) attempt to improve the diversity of Midsomer Murders. And all the black characters getting killed off first in an alien movie. Sometimes it's just hilarious, like Black British History, brought to you by Scribbler P, in a UK garage style. "And this started time ago / when brothers were still in black and white / and places like Jamaica hadn't developed yet / like no Buju, no Sean Paul, no Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, no dancehall full stop ... "

Oh, and I love the real Nigerian prince, who really does have $44m worth of gold bullion, which he really does need to transfer. And yet none of the people he emails believe him, oddly. Poor Nigeria, it gets a bit of a kicking.

Preview - Famalam

The latest comedy pilot from BBC Two is a sketch show, which these days is somewhat rare. A sketch show with an all-black cast is even rarer.

One of 12 new comedy pilots commissioned this year by the BBC, Famalam's focus on black British culture will remind over-30s of the much lamented 90s comedy show The Real McCoy. A committed cast, including Vine star Tom Moutchi and John Macmillan, ensure Famalam is frequently fresh and funny (especially the history lessons in a "UK garage stylee"), but it is also hit and miss in that way that sketch shows invariably are.

TV preview: New On Two - Famalam, BBC2

After a lot of fairly trad sitcoms the latest pilot in the BBC's current raft of newbies is a sketch show. And although it is new Famalam feels like it has been around for a while. In both a good and bad way.