Patrick Smith (I)
- Director of photography
Press clippings Page 4
Log on watch this: Hoot Comedy
Patrick Smith on the launch of an experimental new comedy website called Hoot Comedy.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 21st January 2010Popular though it may be, Benidorm, the sitcom starring Sheila Reid, can be distasteful. In tonight's penultimate episode of the third series, dishonesty pervades the Spanish seaside resort: Gavin (Hugh Sachs) learns that Troy (Paul Bazely) is apparently cheating on him, while the elaborate stories of the Oracle (Johnny Vegas) land him in a spot of bother with the local police. Elsewhere, Diana (Una Stubbs) arrives to help her recently conned son Martin (Nicholas Burns) get back on his feet.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 30th October 2009Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller's comedy sketch show features the sort of quotably amusing characters that made Little Britain such a success. The street-slang-talking Second World War pilots, in particular, may well be remembered in the same breath as Little Britain's entertainingly verbose Vicky Pollard or Catherine Tate's snappy "Am I bovvered?" schoolgirl in years to come. In tonight's episode, the pilots are aggrieved that one of their "homeboys" has been talking behind their backs ("Oh my days, that's like, er, so two-faced"). Other highlights include Divorced Dad giving his son some frank - and rather crude - sex advice, and Terry Devlin, the Ulsterman Royal Correspondent, talking about the intricacies of the Royal Family's lives.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 30th October 2009This series of the madcap quiz show may not have struck the same irreverent chords as it did in its Nineties heyday, but it's been entertaining all the same. Concluding the current run, this episode sees The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding, DJ Tony Blackburn and presenter Zoe Salmon join team captains Jack Dee and Ulrika Jonsson and regular guest Angelos Epithemiou - the curmudgeonly alter-ego of comedian Dan Skinner - for more surreal tomfoolery.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 30th September 2009After a seven-year hiatus - aside from last year's so-so Christmas special - the madcap quiz show returns for a sixth series. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are once again at the helm, while Little Britain's Matt Lucas returns as the ever-excitable George Dawes, the man with the scores. Joining team captains Jack Dee - who replaces Will Self from the last series in 2002 - and Ulrika Jonsson this week are The One Show's Christine Bleakley, 21-year-old pop star DJ Ironik and comedians Paddy McGuinness and Dan Skinner, the latter of whom appears in the guise of a Greek burger van owner called Angelos Epithemiou.
The show, which first aired in 1993, has always divided opinion: many have found it refreshingly quirky, while others believe it to be just annoyingly bizarre.
Certainly, the aficionados will be pleased to hear that its basic format is staying true to its roots. Sadly, though, the surreal, frenetic humour which characterised Shooting Stars in its heyday now feels a little stale - and perhaps slightly forced. Nevertheless, the show still has its moments. Reeves's shameless leering and harassment of a game Bleakley, in particular, will draw a smile. The highlight of tonight's series opener, however, is the appearance of comic newcomer Epithemiou, whose lugubrious style is such that it makes the cranky and deadpan Jack Dee seem comparatively sprightly.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 26th August 2009Jennifer Saunders's light-hearted WI sitcom is Sunday night whimsy at its best. Tonight's episode has a touch of Miss Marple about it as Sal (Sue Johnston) decides to snoop around the construction site with a camera and notepad in the hope of finding some evidence of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Caroline (Saunders) plans a dinner party for her husband's London friends. However, things inevitably go awry when she accidentally invites Rosie (Dawn French) and the vicar.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 15th August 2009Interview: Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar is back with a new sitcom - but how come we still see so few other Asian faces on British TV?
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 30th May 2009"What a guy!" says Anthony (Jim Howick) of Martin Clunes's curmudgeonly yet likeable character, Reggie Perrin, in tonight's penultimate episode of the series. As Reggie takes up cycling to work, his marriage with his perennially preoccupied wife continues to feel the strain in this improving sitcom remake.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 22nd May 2009