Lunch Monkeys - Series 1 Page 7

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 11 2009, 1:18 AM BST

No sitcom critic, it's not bad that you liked it. After all, you might work in a post room for a legal firm and this might be a mirror of truth into your world.

Living in London, I see Asian people everyday and to me, the actor just didn't look Asian. If they hadn't called him Asif or shown a piece of paper with Asif written on it, then I never would have guessed in a million years that he was meant to be Asian. He looked more Mediterranean / Middle Eastern / Turkish to me. I'm not saying that he should have been wearing a turban and making cups of tea for Windsor Davis but surely, the casting people could have found someone a little more authentic.

Before I'm accused of some sort of bizarre racism, the writer made his character educationally sub-normal. So although 'whitey' granted an ethnic character to actually exist in his sitcom, he made him a retard, so I don't know where that leaves us.

But really, these are minor points. Lunch Monkeys is bland, derivative, unimaginative, charmless drivel.

Tim, you are the comedy writing equivalent of a crack whore. That was a truly shameless display of arse licking toadyism and it made me feel physically sick.

Oh well, when your snorting lines off of some producers' cock and living in your huge mansion with Baftas, you can laugh at me from your Bentley as I steal change out of wishing wells to buy soup.

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I found out the actor actually is full blooded asian. But I do see your point, but I guess he did everything else for the role that was given apart from be browner lol. (not racist)

I reckon the true test in a few weeks down the line. Everyone slagged of How Not To Live Your Life when that first came out, however quite a lot of people have since warmed to it.

Quote: sitcom critic @ September 13 2009, 3:33 AM BST

I found out the actor actually is full blooded asian. But I do see your point, but I guess he did everything else for the role that was given apart from be browner lol. (not racist)

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To paraphrase Tropic Thunder, maybe they didn't want to to 'full Asian'. It just seems a bit of shame that they found the most 'honky-fied' Asian actor they could for the role.

Even American shows, which have less of a connection with the Asian sub-continent have more authentic looking actors. Chuck and Big Bang Theory spring immediately to mind.

I suppose I should be thankful they didn't go the Spike Milligan / Peter Sellers route and have someone in brown face.

But as I said in my earlier post, it is a minor point. Lunch Monkeys left me with that feeling which can only be described by that most overused of Internet expressions - 'meh'.

I'd seen it all before but done to a much higher standard. I can put up with poor production values but poor writing, poor characters and poor imitations of other, more successful sitcoms isn't really what I want to watch.

How disappointing

Pretty shit to be honest.

Nothing new, all too predictable and for some reason BBC Three have this annoying habit of dropping in a quick guitar riff after every other little scene.

Does this appeal to its intended demographic? Probably, and if that be the case then I doubt BBC Three will give a Lunch Monkeys about the rest of us who yearn for something else.

Quote: random @ September 13 2009, 12:58 PM BST

Nothing new, all too predictable and for some reason BBC Three have this annoying habit of dropping in a quick guitar riff after every other little scene.

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I did find that music particulary irritating. Wasn't it sort of calypso for no apparent reason? I didn't like the little screen art between scenes either.

They put that it in to allow other networks that buy the show to insert commercial breaks.

Quote: Godot Taxis @ September 13 2009, 2:32 PM BST

They put that it in to allow other networks that buy the show to insert commercial breaks.

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Good luck to them...

403, 000 viewers which is pretty good for BBC Three. If it keeps that kind of share it'll get a second series.

Off The Hook only got 144, 000. I'd forgotten t was on so it's partly my fault.

Quote: YesNo @ September 14 2009, 10:08 AM BST

403, 000 viewers which is pretty good for BBC Three. If it keeps that kind of share it'll get a second series.

Off The Hook only got 144, 000. I'd forgotten t was on so it's partly my fault.

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Off The Hook did seem like it was on at an oddly early hour, so maybe that goes some way to explaining it's poor figures.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ September 14 2009, 10:28 AM BST

Off The Hook did seem like it was on at an oddly early hour, so maybe that goes some way to explaining it's poor figures.

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It was repeated on Saturday afternoon as well. On BBC2.

Quote: YesNo @ September 14 2009, 10:08 AM BST

403, 000 viewers which is pretty good for BBC Three. If it keeps that kind of share it'll get a second series be extremely surprising.

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Quote: YesNo @ September 14 2009, 10:08 AM BST

403, 000 viewers which is pretty good for BBC Three.

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It was quite heavily promoted on the back of Nigel Havers involvement. I saw an interview where he commented on how difficult it was to tell if comedy is working when there is no studio audience. He sounded a little desperate.

Quote: Timbo @ September 14 2009, 11:25 AM BST

It was quite heavily promoted on the back of Nigel Havers involvement.

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Odd thing to do since most BBC Three viewers have no idea who Nigel Havers is. Hell, even I struggle.

I still think this was alright. I'm not surprised it got lots of viewers and wouldn't be surprised at all if it gets a second series.

I agree with Chip though - I thought he was good, but I doubt he pulled in the kids like Horne and Corden.

Quote: Timbo @ September 14 2009, 11:25 AM BST

It was quite heavily promoted on the back of Nigel Havers involvement. I saw an interview where he commented on how difficult it was to tell if comedy is working when there is no studio audience the production crew are openly weeping and slashing their wrists off-camera. He sounded a little desperate.

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