Quote: Renegade Carpark @ January 28 2010, 10:35 PM GMTthe Armed Robber .
That was a good character, because he was nice and silly. A proper Fast Show type.
I think it's the format more than the content, perhaps, that's making me not fully engage; the constant flipping between the ever growing number of characters.
It's not really working for me. It still seems completely rudderless. And the only character that really made me laugh out loud this week was the Cockney who didn't want anything or anybody to look him in the eye. Nice performances all round, but a real disappointment so far.
Mr Kahn should get his own show.
It's really just a twist on Fast Show - which is no bad thing.
Dressing up and doing voices - loosely tied together by the thin idea of the DJ touring Britain.
Everything about this show feels secondhand - from the character observations to the unifying conceit which is reminiscent of Little Britain - which in turn didn't feel that original - although it was done with panache.
A case in point is the two Army generals. Nothing about their presentation made me feel that Higson and Whitehouse did any research or based their characters on anyone in the Army they'd met - rather they just made up some generals from bits and pieces they'd seen on the news or TV.
And interesting that they parodied Alan Bennet at the end. He's managed to wring real humour and pathos from character monologues. And his characters didn't feel like other people's characters either.
I found the Alan Bennett parody quite funny.
It's unusual for someone (on telly) not to kiss his arse.
And I rather liked Bellamy insisting on asking the Asian boy if he used special Muslim instruments.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ January 28 2010, 10:38 PM GMTI think it's the format more than the content, perhaps, that's making me not fully engage; the constant flipping between the ever growing number of characters.
Agreed. Perhaps a common fault of all things Whitehousian.
This show was made for radio and although mildly amused, the screen added very little to add to Down the Line, which in itself was a bit up and down. Felix Dexter did the funniest characters on radio whereas his TV adaptations haven't worked so far. Also heard Jon Gaunt one morning moaning about how unfunny Down the Line was so they must be doing something right.
Got bored with this just after the army types left me wondering if this was funny, or was it just me? Deleted from planner. What a disappointment.
I didn't catch Bellamy's People this week, but I thought the best thing about last week's effort, by a long stretch, was the 'making of' segment available on the red button.
I really like the show so far. They've done a great job of translating the DTL characters to TV, and created some good new ones too. I'm also impressed by how realistic and authentic it feels, it really could trick someone. Some of the jokes/characters and Bellamy's reactions have been hilarious. Its a more gentle satire I'd say than a series of sketches or jokes, which is perhaps what some were expecting. I also think its going to get better and better as the audience meets the characters and they don't have to spend time introducing them, but can hop between them. My 2 cents anyway!
If anyone is interested me and a few friends have made an audio comedy inspired by Down the Line, which has got good feedback from Paul Whitehouse and Rhys Thomas - see link below. Maybe you will like it if you liked DTL, and Bellamys People...
Quote: William Wogan @ January 31 2010, 6:10 PM GMT...if you liked DTL, and Bellamys People...
I think you're pretty much alone there. 
Down the Line was brilliant, won awards and was very critically popular.
No comedy is for everyone - and I'm sure the Coming of Age fans I noticed posting here won't like it - but I think DTL was absolutely amazing.
DTL may be brilliant, but I was referring to liking both programmes. 
Ah ok. Well I think most DTL fans should like Bellamy's People, I haven't been gauging opinion though. Myself and a few of my friends are huge DTL fans and we all like it.
