Prime Time
- Episode aired 1996
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The pair take aim at chat shows, such as The Late Late Show and Barrymore, as well as travel docs and the comedy of Victoria Wood.The pair take aim at chat shows, such as The Late Late Show and Barrymore, as well as travel docs and the comedy of Victoria Wood.The pair take aim at chat shows, such as The Late Late Show and Barrymore, as well as travel docs and the comedy of Victoria Wood.
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Prime Time Players
Slightly less easy to define exactly what Walliams and Lucas are aiming at in this second episode. They define it as "Prime Time ITV" but it takes the form of gentle ribbing of talk show tropes and slightly crueller jabs at a few other staples of the network.
The first segment parodies "The Late Late Show" with Matt Lucas taking the Gay Byrne role and David Walliams playing George Michael, of whom Byrne clearly does not have any knowledge. Then Walliams plays Michael Barrymore as a flailing buffoon who hides his darker thoughts. The pair then portray two elderly women, who talk over stock footage of their holidays in a loose adaptation of "Wish you were here". Finally, Lucas plays Victoria Wood in a parody of her stand-up routines.
"The Late Late Show" hasn't really aired in the UK for decades, but I do vaguely remember seeing it years ago. They certainly nail the odd mix of a global superstar guest whilst trailing an interview with a local priest. It descends a little bit into what you might consider a slightly racist but perhaps more genuinely silly leprechaun / riverdance scene. This does give us our first look at something slightly more dynamic editing wise, with sharp cuts to the music, but nothing like what Wright would become known for. Michael Barrymore's send up is (deservingly so in my opinion) a lot less warm hearted. Walliams plays him flailing about the stage, stealing his act wholesale from John Cleese but also with a dark undercurrent of internal sadness and also with an abusive side. The show aired several years before the tragic death at his house would effectively end his primetime career and cast a shadow of him that rolls on, even to today.
The short, "Wish You Were Here" sketch doesn't really add up too much. The jokes about old people looking to recreate home in the Spanish/Greek resorts are fine, but it never really operates as an actual parody of the show. Better observed, though perhaps their most savage imitation is the one about the late Victoria Wood, and her standup - including Walliams playing the Julie Walters role and Lucas reappearing as Maxine Peak. It feels crueller after her death, but at the time taking shots at the establishment was fair game.
This episode felt more scattershot than the first one, focusing as it does on several targets, but it did make me chuckle on a couple of occasions.
The first segment parodies "The Late Late Show" with Matt Lucas taking the Gay Byrne role and David Walliams playing George Michael, of whom Byrne clearly does not have any knowledge. Then Walliams plays Michael Barrymore as a flailing buffoon who hides his darker thoughts. The pair then portray two elderly women, who talk over stock footage of their holidays in a loose adaptation of "Wish you were here". Finally, Lucas plays Victoria Wood in a parody of her stand-up routines.
"The Late Late Show" hasn't really aired in the UK for decades, but I do vaguely remember seeing it years ago. They certainly nail the odd mix of a global superstar guest whilst trailing an interview with a local priest. It descends a little bit into what you might consider a slightly racist but perhaps more genuinely silly leprechaun / riverdance scene. This does give us our first look at something slightly more dynamic editing wise, with sharp cuts to the music, but nothing like what Wright would become known for. Michael Barrymore's send up is (deservingly so in my opinion) a lot less warm hearted. Walliams plays him flailing about the stage, stealing his act wholesale from John Cleese but also with a dark undercurrent of internal sadness and also with an abusive side. The show aired several years before the tragic death at his house would effectively end his primetime career and cast a shadow of him that rolls on, even to today.
The short, "Wish You Were Here" sketch doesn't really add up too much. The jokes about old people looking to recreate home in the Spanish/Greek resorts are fine, but it never really operates as an actual parody of the show. Better observed, though perhaps their most savage imitation is the one about the late Victoria Wood, and her standup - including Walliams playing the Julie Walters role and Lucas reappearing as Maxine Peak. It feels crueller after her death, but at the time taking shots at the establishment was fair game.
This episode felt more scattershot than the first one, focusing as it does on several targets, but it did make me chuckle on a couple of occasions.
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- southdavid
- Jan 27, 2021
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