I was surprised to find out this is Mark Watson’s first DVD release, he seems to have been a good performer for years. Some things are worth waiting for though, so how does he do?

Please note although I don’t tell his jokes in this article, there are some spoilers so please leave if you don’t want to know a thing about it!

Ok now I’ve got the spoiler alert out the way…The gig begins in an excellent engaging way. Mark sitting quietly at a laptop on the stage, typing on a big screen things about people as they walk in. Loved this start and had those who go in early already laughing.

Once everyone had made their way in he still doesn’t appear on the stage, but somewhere else, I won’t spoil it where, you’ll just have to watch and see! Once again more off the cuff comedy engaging the audience.

Moments later and he finally makes his way to the stage to begin his stand-up routine. 1 minute in and it is a stark reminder this boy talks fast, and mumbles quite a bit. However I do like this, it is a different style to the clear cut Jimmy Carr’s and Sean Locke’s who never misplace a word. Mark’s stuttery delivery makes him even funnier!

If you haven’t seen him before, his stand-up is one of story-telling. With no props, no stupid dances, no crazy voices. Some of his gags to drag on a smidgen but generally his timing is good, and the laughs flow nicely. During the DVD I did laugh out loud constantly. He is a very good stand-up comedian.

Another thing I like about his style of comedy, is that it is often mocking himself and self deprecating. Rather then cracking jokes about minorities he goes the other way, and takes the piss out of his own personality and life!

The performance was 70 minutes long, a reasonable length I felt. It could have perhaps done with being broken up in the middle though as it is just pure talking, and it can make it begin to feel like a slight drag towards the finish. Which, on that topic, wasn’t his strongest point. His finishing joke really needed to be funnier, it was good, but it wasn’t the grandest of finishes.

There are quite a few extras including a tour diary. Randomly, their is also a clip of a man proposing to his girlfriend at the live show! Of all the extras the best one by far is a 20 minute video of Mark performing at the Bloomsbury Theatre a few years back, very funny and a nice addition to the DVD.

Overall I really enjoyed the DVD. Mark Watson’s performance was very funny, he is a top stand up comedian, it’s a good length feature, and a nice few extras to boot. Recommended. 8.5/10.

It is available to buy now from Amazon for £6.72.

Release date: November 28th 2011
Studio: 2entertain

The one-line master is back with another DVD, it is from his latest tour ‘Joke-amotive’. His previous releases have been well received, so how do this one do?

I pop the DVD in and the menu quickly loads up, it feels like a kids program. Very cheesy graphics with corny background music, this is certainly a Tim Vine creation!

The set follows on the corniness, carrying on the theme, it looks good though, a small but interesting set. He opens with a funny song, as he brings us all aboard the punaway train. This is definitely like something from a kids show!

Through-out the performance the catchy songs reappear, often completely random and pointless, which is what makes this style of comedy funny.

As for his one-liners – he throws them out a great speed! Even take a sip of your drink and you can find you miss a gag. His jokes are aided with lots of stage props also. Some of his jokes I found myself literally with my head in my hands saying “oh my god, that joke is so bad”, the sort of one-liner your dad would come out with at a party. But somehow I still chuckle. Plenty of other gags though are genuinely good and I felt more respectable and comfortable with myself for laughing at them! I have no idea how many jokes he told in total in this performance, but I know it was a huge amount.

No random shouts from the audience, or any kind of heckling in this gig, not that sort of performance. If you are after something fun and harmless for a laugh, perhaps around Christmas, this is ideal for all the family (it is only classified PG so is safe for all ages).

On the DVD you do also get a few extras, which include 3 short-flims made by Vine, their is also a tour movie and another song from the gig not in the main feature.

Conclusion
This certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. If you like edgy comedy about adult subjects this certainly won’t be for you, the fact it’s a PG says it all. But if you are after some family-friendly fun and are a fan of one-liners you will love this. And with some many gags this is good value for money. I rate it 7.5/10.

It is available to buy at Amazon UK for £6.99. Watch the trailer below.

Release date: November 21st 2011
Studio: Spirit Entertainment Limited

Stand-up American comedian Reginald D. Hunter has taken his live tour to DVD with this release. It was recorded at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London.

This is the first time I have seen any of this comedians solo work. So I went with an open mind, although having seen him on various TV programs I do like his uniqueness, quite a stumbley (I appreciate that is not a real word!) delivery, he’s not smooth talking but it works well. And he’s came across as a nice guy. I looked forward to this.

The big man strides onto the stage and says his hellos. After only about 30 seconds of being on stage a member of the audience shouts something. It was a quality reply from Reginald which earned some major laughs, a very good start I felt.

On with the gig then as he begins his stories. Starting with race. Then continuing on with race, for what seemed like a long time. I checked the time on the DVD and I been watching for over 20minutes. I got a tad worried that was the only topic he would talk about! I expected some but perhaps not this many. However the material was essentially quite funny, just perhaps a bit ‘all at once’ rather then being spread through the performance.

My worries on race proved unfounded as he moved on to some funny observations about British people, and also his own American people. He then moved on to the topic of sex, once again I felt he stayed on it too long. Funny material but the same topic gets annoying after so long. In fact during the performance, more of his material was about sex rather then race!

His topics of choice weren’t quite what I expected. Having seen him on the television before on programs such as ‘Have I Got News For You’ I anticipated him being more political and perhaps slightly thought provoking whilst still being funny. Turns out he just likes to talk about black people and sex! Slightly disappointing, as I did find the Reginald D. Hunter I saw on the TV slightly funnier.

One thing I was impressed by was his willingness to say stuff that many comedians wouldn’t. Some of the responses from the audience (notably the female members) were brilliant, one woman’s jaw almost hit the floor at one point her mouth was so wide! However I didn’t feel he was saying the things he was just to be controversial, Frankie Boyle says stuff purely to be as gross and shocking as he can, whereas I felt Reginald used the shock factor moderately and didn’t over cook it. This aspect I really liked.

Conclusion
Overall I would recommend this DVD. Don’t expect the Reginald you may have seen on shows like ‘Have I Got News For You’ though. I do wish the topics were a bit more mixed up in the gig, and he perhaps covered slightly more topics. However I did find the material he had funny, and I like the few ‘gasp’ moments he produced. Overall I would rate it 7/10.

The DVD is available now, it costs £6.81 to buy from Amazon UK.

The veteran comedian is back once again with yet another release, this one is called ‘Cornish Ambassador’. The release date is November 14th 2011, just in time for Christmas. It is available to order from all good online retailers, at Amazon UK it is currently priced at £13.16.

So is it any good? And up to the usual Jethro standards?

The gig starts off in very typical fashion, with a filthy joke, involving his testicles and a female nurse. Typical Jethro! No mucking about, straight in with the smut.

The DVD is broken up with Interludes of Jethro reading out funny letters. I like the format as it breaks up the gig and makes it feel like it all goes so quick.

The gags throughout the DVD are as you’d expect, a lot of smut and sleeze, often involving his wife. It is all very similar to his previous work, same style, topics and wording. Although the jokes I hadn’t heard before, they are similar to past ones. But I guess this is what happens when you have released over 20 stand-up DVDs!

The show finishes off with Jethro singing a nice Cornwall song, living up to the title of the tour.

This was up there as possibly the best I’ve seen of Jethro. Admittedly I’ve not seen all of his performances (so many to watch!!), I know he has a lot of DVDs so I can’t say this is his best work, as I’m not in a position to compare them all, but of what I’ve seen this was by far my favourite gig of his. I had a lot of ‘laugh out loud’ moments, rather then just chuckles.

Unfortunately it is only just over an hour long, which I found disappointing, would have like to have seen closer to 90minutes. I guess they do say always leave them wanting more. The extras are also thin on the ground, their is one called ‘Classic Camborne’ which is just Jethro listening to some of his past work on an old style radio, and also some bloopers. But that’s it.

Due to it’s shortness and lack of features I can only give it 7/10 overall, but the actual gig will have you in stitches.

If you’re a loyal Jethro fan this is another must to add to the collection. You can order it now from the Amazon website.

Official release date: November 14th 2011
Studio: Universal Pictures UK

If you didn’t manage to catch any of the new comedy ‘This Is Jinsy’ on Sky Atlantic, you can now see it all in your own time thanks to the release of the DVD.

If you haven’t seen any of the program, here is the original trailer:

Jinsy is a fictional island, full of weird and wonderful characters. The show follows the islanders through their adventures, focusing on Maven and Sporall who look over the island and try to ensure all remains well for the inhabitants.

I really enjoyed the series. In my original review of the first couple of episodes I described it as:

Original, funky, funny, unpredictable and well produced

And it lived up to this throughout all 8 episodes. If you are in to oddball funky comedy, such as Mighty Boosh or The League of Gentlemen then you will love this, as it is similar, however if you hate those programs I would recommend you steer clear of this one too.

My favourite episode was 3, closely followed by 7. Both absolutely brilliant, and stood out for me even above the others despite enjoying the whole series. I won’t put any spoilers here though!

Extras you also get are; Never before seen clips, Jinsy karaoke and in-character comedies. The extras are a bit thin on the ground for me, would like to have seen a few more. I think when buying a DVD you should be given plenty of extras as a thanks for paying your money for the DVD, because in actual fact most programs are now repeated and if you have Sky you can just throw it on series link, and job done, you have all the episodes and no reason to buy the DVD. So I feel its a shame there are so few extras.

Overall I rate the first series 8/10, if you are a fan of this sort of comedy you will love it, if you don’t like this style of humour, it’s one to avoid!

The DVD is available now from all good retailers, such as Amazon UK, and plenty of rubbish ones too.

On November 2nd 2011 I saw Craig Campbell live at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Here is my review.

Having already supported the likes of Rich Hall and Frankie Boyle this Canadian comedian is now embarking on his own solo UK tour. On the night it was a fairly small audience – at a guess perhaps 200 people – in the Legends Lounge at the Ricoh Arena. Intimate comedy, always the best, much better then these huge NIA gigs you get!

Beforehand I’d seen him described as a ‘Canadian Billy Connolly’ and I can totally see why, he has a similar eccentric personality and also has a similar storytelling style of comedy. He came bounding out dressed in typical shorts and sports t-shirts, on arriving at the stage he glares with his beady eyes and brushes his long hair and beard, I think a few cheeks sucked in tight at that moment thinking “there’s a nutter on the stage”, and indeed their was, Craig Campbell.

The gig began with a bit of light audience interaction, the usual asking peoples names and what they do. A solid start, which certainly served to make a few people nervous! All good fun. Then he moved on to begin his story’s, he likes to tell story’s, but not long drawn-out ones, and they are intertwined with gags. The topics surrounded heavily on his experiences and views towards Britain, as a Canadian who has now lived here for over 10 years. Some excellent observational humour.

The first part of the show lasted an hour, then a short interval for beer top-ups, before cracking on with the second half. It started at 8, and finished at nearly 11, a good nights entertainment. I don’t want to put any spoilers here but he ended the night well with a big joke (as all comedians should!) which seemed to go down incredibly well and probably got the biggest laughs of the night.

We bought our tickets on the night for only £8, for well over 2 hours of quality stand-up comedy, this is cracking value for money. I’m not sure what prices at other venues will be but they shouldn’t be far off that, in all honesty I’d have happily paid more for the ticket. He will be all over Britain, including a couple of London dates, you can check his tour dates on the Ents24 website. Well worth going to see.

Image used as a category thumbnail is a screenshot from his appearance on Comedy Roadshow. See it below.

Last night (October 9th 2011) was the eighth episode in series six of All Star Family Fortunes, based on the hit TV series we have all come to know and love ‘Family Fortunes’.

About the show
Hosted by Vernon Kay, two celebrities and their families battle it out to win the top prize of £30,000 for their chosen charity. Each team nominates a member of their family to answer a question in which 100 people were surveyed. The first person to hit their buzzer gets to answer what they think would be the most popular answer would be and if it is not the top answer, it gets passed over to the other contestant.

My thoughts on the show
Battling it out this week to win the top prize was bronzed Adonis Peter Andre and the ever smiling TV presenter Kate Thornton. The show kicks off with each contestant’s family giving some interesting and slightly embarrassing facts for us to all have a laugh about and it did make the celebrity guests more personable.

Kate Thornton and her family were the first to win the top answer and went on to win a two night break as one of the great prizes on offer this week. I did find myself shouting the answers out at the TV and the Thornton clan almost has to pass the question over to the Andre’s.

I did have a good giggle when Vernon and Kate took to the floor and did a short waltz, with the Bolton presenter stumbling around. All Star Family Fortunes is a light hearted show that all the family can watch together. It reminds me of sitting around with my family every Saturday to settle down and have quality family time. By introducing a celebrity version of the original show it keeps it fresh and does give younger viewers something or someone to relate to.

This week the Thornton clan stole the top spot and went on to try and win top prize. The great thing about All Star Family Fortunes is that whilst it is fun to watch and play along, any money that is won goes to charity.
What did you think of All Star Family Fortunes? Tune in next week for more celebrity fun.

About the author: Anna is a writer on the Redbus Bingo team. In addition to her regular duties, she is an avid fan of reality TV, and you’ll often find Anna discussing the latest episode of X Factor and her predictions for who will win it all. Be sure to check out the rest of Anna’s reviews!

Another new comedy on Sky began last night (Sept 20th 2011), this time on channel Sky Atlantic – it goes by the name of This Is Jinsy. The series kicked off with a double bill of episodes, here are my thoughts (with no spoilers).

First off a bit of background info. The cast includes appearances by big names such as David Tennant, Harry Hill, Jennifer Saunders, Catherine Tate, Simon Callow and Peter Serafinowicz. It is directed by Matt Lipsey (Psychoville, Little Britain, Saxondale).

The series follows the residents of Jinsy. And in particular, Arbiter Maven and Operative Sporall who keep a close eye on everyone from the Great Tower in the parish of Veen.

My Thoughts

Only a couple of minutes in and you know this is one wacky show! Obvious comparisons will be made with the Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen as the style is much the same. If you loved/hated those shows, odds are your feelings will be similar towards this.

I enjoyed both the first and second episodes. No breaking in slowly required here, straight up and running with the freakiness. Even after the first 10 minutes I loved the quirkiness. I also love the way it is produced, it is a visual treat to watch with the strong colours, outfits and effects.

I am a fan of oddball comedy, it’s unpredictable, stupid but yet when it works is brilliant. And in these first two episodes they’ve achieved that.

The Mighty Boosh has always had a very cult following. I think this will go much the same way, whether it can replicate such success we will have to see.

Overall I thought it was great. Original, funky, funny, unpredictable and well produced this show can certainly go a long way. However, on an individual basis, if you don’t like this sort of comedy – perhaps one to steer clear of.

Trailer:

What did you think to This Is Jinsy? Share your thoughts below.

Image owned by Sky.

Last night (August 24th 2011) the first episode of the new comedy drama series ‘Mount Pleasant’ aired on Sky1. As with ‘Trollied’ this new show comes with an impressive line-up of people involved, including being written by Sarah Hooper from ‘Shameless’.

Background Info
The show is set in a suburb of Manchester focusing on the lives of a 30something couple, Lisa and Dan. Sally Lindsay plays the part of Lisa, and Daniel Riley plays the part of Dan. The strong cast includes actors such as Lisa Tarbuck, Angela Griffin and Bobby Ball.

My Review of the first episode (no spoilers)
Having seen the trailer a couple of times beforehand I wasn’t expecting a huge amount from the show, the trailer didn’t exactly leave me tingling with excitement, so my expectations weren’t too high. By the end of the first episode, my expectations for the rest of the series are now very high!

Overall I thought the episode was brilliant and a really strong start for this new comedy. I instantly felt like I knew the characters and even at the first ad break I felt good about the program already. The humour was at times subtle, other times obvious, which worked well. The writers haven’t resorted to too much toilet humour either which is pleasing as I feel this could kill it. The storyline flowed nicely throughout whilst providing good opportunities for big laughs.

Some of the acting at times was a bit suspect, and a few aspects of it felt a bit tacky, but these are minor gripes. Initially I was unsure if a 1 hour episode was wise, but it flew by and still left me wanting to see more. They got it spot on.

Here is an excellent clip from the first episode:

General Public Reaction – Social Media

When I searched twitter the reactions from people watching was very good, below is an example of some of the tweets posted. A friend on my Facebook stream also enjoyed the show. Looks like it wasn’t just me that really enjoyed the episode!

When to Watch
You can see the series on Sky1 on Wednesday nights at 9pm. If you have registered you can also watch it on SkyGo.

Overall Mount Pleasant is shaping up to be an excellent comedy. The first episode was strong so roll on the rest of the series!

Last night (August 4th 2011) was the first ever episode of the new Sky1 comedy series ‘Trollied’. It is shown at 9pm on Thursdays, and all times on SkyGo.

The show has good pedigree. Produced by Ash Atalla of ‘The Office’ and ‘The IT Crowd’, directed by Paul Walker of ‘Shameless’ and ‘Casualty’ and headline actors including Jane Horrocks and Mark Addy – all sounds like a good team to me!

About the show

Based in the fictional supermarket of Valco, on the outskirts of Manchester, ‘Trollied’ follows the workers in their day-to-day jobs as they go about their duties and deal with irritating and often bizarre customers.

My Review (no spoilers)

Having watched the opening back-to-back episodes last night overall I thought it was a strong start! You can certainly see the influences of the makers and director, it has strong undertones similar to that of The Office.

Personally I felt the second episode was much more funny then the first. Often openings can be a bit dull as the characters are being introduced and you are getting accustomed to them, this was definitely a case of that. So if you’re yet to watch the show, don’t expect fireworks from the off, I felt the first episode was a tad slow and in parts simply not funny. It’s still important to watch to learn about the chartacters – but I would rate the first episode 6/10.

However, the second was far more funnier, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, yet still staying on track of learning about the characters and getting used to the show. I can throw in loads of spoilers here, as there are lots of funny scenes, but I’ll resist! The episode flew by and I would rate it a good 8.5/10.

Expectations for the full series

I think the beauty of the show is it’s simplicity and the fact everyone can relate to it. And those who work in supermarkets (spent 4 years working at Tesco myself when I was younger!) will relate even more, in fact it’s a must-see for those who do work in a supermarket.

Because it’s easy to relate to and has a good cast and crew I think this is going to be a winner. The first couple of episodes have been good, yet it feels like their is plenty more to come. Definitely one to watch.

UPDATE: 16/09/2011
The first series has now finished. Overall it was good and I enjoyed it. The cast was excellent, and some of the scenes very funny. However, I do feel the storylines are very slow, it feels like very little has happened. Many characters (such as Colin, Leighton, Sun and Linda) all have no-depth and just keep popping up with the odd line, not really sure where these characters are going as they have no storylines whatsoever. Certainly something that needs to be addressed. They have the cast, tone and style spot on though. So at the moment it is a ‘good program’, and with more series to follow I hope they can get a shift on and develop real plots. If they do it will move it on to the next level and could become a real top comedy.

I’ve also created a look back at the series with a quotes and clips article.

When can I watch it?

Thanks to the awesomeness of SkyGo you can watch it their if you miss the shows on the night. The episodes are aired on Sky1 on Thursday nights at 9pm. They are also repeated most nights. If you have Sky+ then series link is your friend! Visit sky1.sky.com/trollied to read more about it.

Meet The Cast

Want to see who else is in the show? Check out the video below:

What do you think of Trollied?