British Comedy Guide

Steve Bennett (I)

  • Journalist and reviewer

Press clippings Page 45

Frankie Boyle review

For the master of the savage one-liner, stomping on sensibilities, Boyle remains deeper than his vicious reputation, with complexity of thought and a surprising variety of material, of which the nastier lines are but one part, crucial as they are.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 24th July 2020

Jack Whitehall: I'm Only Joking review

During a mini-rant about vegans in his new special, Jack Whitehall acknowledges that he's going after 'low-hanging fruit'. But it's not just one throwaway line about meat-deniers being physically weak that fits this category, but large swathes of this uninspiring show.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 21st July 2020

The Young Offenders, series 3 review

Much of the comedy comes from a naturalistic slapstick, and although the gags are often relatively unsophisticated, 'dumb but endearing' applies the show as much as does to its lead characters. Charm will out.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 20th July 2020

Jack Whitehall's Sporting Nation preview

He does a decent job, an amusing and buoyantly positive host without pushing the comedy too hard, always good company if rarely laugh-out-loud funny. (though a wry comment about 'those who can't, host' is winningly self-deprecatory). It's a stepping stone to him being a bone fide presenter, rather than a jester on the sidelines.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 10th July 2020

Mark Watson's Carpool Comedy review

'This is not a perfect way to do comedy,' Mark Watson admits during the first of more than two dozen of his Carpool Comedy drive-in gigs.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 10th July 2020

The Kemps: All True review

The show packed in so many offbeat scenes that will lodge in the brain, that The Kemps: All True is surely the stuff of cult longevity. It's comedy Gold.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 6th July 2020

Review: Behind The Filter

If you're a young, white, middle-class female comedian making a TV show with a frank scene about sex, you're going to be compared with you-know-who. Especially if your first name happens to be Phoebe.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 30th June 2020

Review - Michael Spicer: Before Next Door

There is always the risk a comedian-led mockumentary like this will tip into self-indulgence, especially when the central character is so insular and inward-looking, but there's a big enough dollop of quirk in Before Next Door to make it feel fresh and funny. Even the meta moments - acknowledging a flashback or the artifice of a sound effect - are done with a light, deft touch.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 18th June 2020

Staged review

After a languid set-up in the first episode, things do pick up a bit in the second which might help Staged succeed for those seeking mild entertainment away from the intensity of the news. But it feels like an understudy for a comedy show rather than the real thing.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 10th June 2020

Review - Alan Partridge: From The Oasthouse

He's just been named Britain's top comedy character, and the preview episode of his first podcast gives more evidence why Alan Partridge has the well-rounded subtlety to be worthy of the title.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 5th June 2020

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