Radio Times

Review by:

Alison Graham

There’s no getting around the fact that this is a monumental feast of backslapping: a two-hour, self-loving parade where Channel 4 tells itself just how wonderful and influential it is. Which is pretty insufferable if you think about it. Luckily for Channel 4, it does have a lot to cheer about.

This was the channel, after all, that gave us Green Wing and Spaced, Peep Show, Brass Eye and Father Ted. And we should be forever grateful to C4 for giving Harry Hill his TV debut with The Harry Hill Show (1997—99), which figures in the foothills of the top 30, voted for by members of the public.

Elsewhere Dom Joly, from Trigger Happy TV, bemoans the albatross of the giant mobile phone gags, where he yelled “HELLO!” into a fake mobile (“I really hate it [now]. I hate it with a passion uncontested. It’s my Emu”),
and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer reveal they filmed their Big Night Out 20 minutes after leaving the pub.

About this programme

A countdown of some of the most impressive British comedy series that have been shown on Channel 4 since the station began broadcasting in 1982, examining how they caught the imagination of viewers and exploring their impact on the country's entertainment industry. The programme features insights into the creation of shows including Father Ted, Spaced, The Inbetweeners, Desmond's, Fonejacker, Peep Show, Green Wing, Phoenix Nights, Brass Eye, The Comic Strip Presents, Smack the Pony and Friday Night Live, and includes contributions by Simon Pegg, Al Murray, Charlie Higson, Jessica Hynes, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Sally Phillips.

Cast and crew

Cast

Contributor

Simon Pegg

Contributor

Al Murray

Contributor

Charlie Higson

Contributor

Jessica Hynes

Contributor

Vic Reeves

Contributor

Bob Mortimer

Contributor

Sally Phillips

Crew

Director

Ali Lynch

Executive Producer

Mark Robinson

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