Steve Bennett (I)
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 28
Martin Fishback review
Fergus Craig stuck viral gold during lockdown with his alter-ego Martin, the worst kind of middle-class, self-important boomer, making shouty video calls to his student son. Now wise BBC executives have commissioned this 15-minute taster to bring this socially inept twerp to a wider audience.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 9th February 2022This Is Going To Hurt review
Given just how many dramas and comedies are set in hospitals, it's surprising that there hasn't been one quite like This Is Going To Hurt before.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 8th February 2022The Curse review
They don't talk in slick zingers or gaggy jokes; but that only makes it easier to root for these out-of-their-depth clods as the pressure of living with what they've done ramps up.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 7th February 2022Spike review
This affectionate and spirited tribute similarly lacks surprise - although it will serve as nostalgia for those who remember the show, as the age demographic of the audience attests.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 2nd February 2022Nish Kumar: Your Power, Your Control review
Vehemently ranting against the evils and chaos of the Tory government, Nish Kumar could be the angriest man in comedy. But his fury is as nothing compared to that of his ideological opponents.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 27th January 2022The Mind Of Herbert Clunkerdunk, series 2 review
The second series is as absurd as the first: a tightly-packed stream of zany inventiveness, attaching distinctive visual gags, off-the-wall singalongs and non-sequitur asides to a flimsy plot.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 26th January 2022Toast Of Tinseltown review
With no great change from the Channel 4 series, Toast Of Tinseltown might not win this bonkers, larger-than-life creation many more fans beyond its original devoted, but cult-sized fanbase. Nonetheless, it's good to see mainstream TV still has space for this thick-skinned self-centred oddball.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 4th January 2022When live comedy was illegal... 10 memorable gigs of 2021
Twelve months ago it seemed uncertain whether it would be possible to produce this annual list of my ten most memorable gigs. But lockdown eventually eased, and the resilience and sprightliness of the comedy world meant live gigs sprung back instantly. Even the Edinburgh Fringe took place - albeit in a slimmed-down version, more chilled and friendlier than normal, barely recognisable without its usual intensity.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 29th December 2021Ghosts Christmas special review
Charles Dickens knew ghosts made the perfect Christmas characters... and now the spookily successful BBC sitcom has followed suit.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 23rd December 2021Mark Thomas: An Extra Plate review
If you can't do sentiment at Christmas, when can you do it? In An Extra Plate, Mark Thomas again puts his campaigning political comedy on pause to focus on his family, via selection of personal memories range from the seasonably gladdening to the achingly bittersweet. For, he explains, like all Christmas good stories, his comes with 'a whiff of death'.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 16th December 2021