So what did you think?
Based on the first half, my initial thoughts are: nice idea <i>but</i> overly scripted (and a complete lack of chemistry).
Get A Grip (Ben Elton's new ITV1 show)
Still watching it - oh it's finished. She wasn't natural enough and he kept laughing at his own jokes. Looks like he's trying to do a Harry Hill type thing - but not so funny.
He was basically trying to slag off people like Geldoff. Really not good enough for its pedigree.
It may look like I'm being fickle - after all he has written some brilliant stuff - but really it wasn't funny enough.
I liked it and i laughed a few times but i wouldn't say it was brilliant. Alexa Chung seemed very nervous.
For some reason, DigiGuide had it down as 'Special Interest' rather than 'Comedy', so I missed it entirely. What's it about exactly?
It's Alexa Chung and Ben Elton sitting at a desk and talking about news and stuff. Feeding over rehearsed gags at each other and having no chemistry. Interspersed with little comedic films that were a bit funnier, with proper actors in (but no one I recognised).
Having the female co-hoat more or less killed the show. She was extremly wooden and given nothing of any worth, let alone mirth, to say. Every time you though Elton was warming up, it stopped dead so an extremely artificial bit of banter could be played out between the pair. This could have been all right if Elton was the sole host, and the show was presented more in the style of that armando iannuci show from a few years back, with Elton wandering through the little filmed sketch bits, delivering his rants to camera and then interacting with the 'comedy characters' who we kept cutting to throughout the show.
Quote: zooo @ April 5, 2007, 4:34 PMIt's Alexa Chung and Ben Elton sitting at a desk and talking about news and stuff. Feeding over rehearsed gags at each other and having no chemistry. Interspersed with little comedic films that were a bit funnier, with proper actors in (but no one I recognised).
One of the guys was in Rush Hour and Pulling and part of the Hollow Men sketch group. I also think he did the "Torn" mime at the Secret Policeman's ball.
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/5/54/200px-David_Armand.jpg
Oh my god, him. I didn't connect him with being that guy that does the mime act at all.
Alexa Chung was like a fish uot of water. She is brilliant on Popworld and T4, but she just didn't come across well at all in this. And that is when next to Ben Elton, which is even worse.
I wonder if ITV wanted to make the fact that ever word was scripted to be so obvious?
This was awful, jokes about 'Tinky Winky been a puff', 'Spam email', 'Princess Diana'...it was like this show was made in 1999.
Hi there I’m not usually the posting type but my angers been growing since Wednesday night and now I just have to unload
This was absolutely abysmal confirming (if confirmation be needed) that Ben Elton is nothing more than an unfunny smug condescending git.
The man may have garbled out a few all right jokes on Saturday Live twenty years ago and yes he was involved with The Young Ones but doses that mean we really have to put up with him intermitting that he jerks of to images of the girl who play Hermione in Harry Potter on national TV?
As for the clichéd drivel Elton wrote for Alexa Chung (she seemed to get about one in every twenty lines by my count, but my hatred may beclouding my judgement) if this is what he considers to be “young peoples” viewpoints then it serves as nothing more than a gross insult to any one under bus pass age.
I seem to remember Alexie Sayle (the man from whom Ben Elton stole his entire act) once did a sketch featuring “Sir Ben Elton” the premise being that it would funny id this once (so called) anti establishment figure ended up as a pillar of the establishment. It’s strange how after seeing his cloying praise of “Her Majesty” on wednesday that just doesn’t seem funny anymore, a bit like Ben Elton
>_<
Elton did use to be good, Blackadder and The Young Ones (although I'm not a hug fan of the latter but I respect it), and is early stand up was good, but yeah nowadays he is awful.
They should bring out a documentary under the title "Does anyone find Ben Elton Funny anymore".
Ha ha, very good, very good. 
He's got a DVD coming out at the end of the year. No doubt we'll be watching the sales of that one quite closely!
FWIW, The Thin Blue Line is by far FAR his crown of glory. Love it. 
Are you serious? Blackadder is his crown jewel by a long shot.