Press clippings Page 3
Graham Norton may have been made more family-friendly of late, but the dildo-brandisher of the past still capers somewhere at the back of his consciousness; his chat show remains peppered with arch humour, and sycophancy is earned by guests rather than doled out to all, as with Jonathan Ross. Tonight's instalment is a best-bits clip show, in case you missed his sparring with Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Amy Adams and Will Smith, plus UK talent such as Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Ben Beaumont-Thomas, The Guardian, 5th July 2013There have been some proper magic moments during the most recent run of the peerless Graham Norton Show, and you can relive them all in this compilation.
Probably the biggest moment was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion when Will Smith, with son Jaden, introduced Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton in the show, to dance to "It's Not Unusual". It became a monster YouTube hit. And Star Trek: Into Darkness stars Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch were good value when they hugged devoted audience members who'd travelled from as far as Japan just to see them on the show. Now that's love.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 5th July 2013The best guests sit on Norton's sofa and tonight's line-up is all Hollywood glitter. Big, smiley Bradley Cooper is a Norton regular who's always great fun - who can forget him flirting outrageously with Jo Brand? He's with Heather Graham to promote another of his Hangover films.
Will Smith did the unimaginable and eclipsed Sir Tom Jones last time he appeared when he did the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air rap with Gary Barlow. Tonight he's with son Jaden (the pair star together in After Earth), while Michael Douglas will be talking about his latest role as Liberace.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 24th May 2013Though its fourth season has been its least impressive, Armando Iannucci's political satire will none the less go down as one of the best ever British comedies: sharp and cynical. Tonight, after last Saturday's excellent Leveson and Chilcot-inspired special, it finally bows out, with an instalment overflowing with delicious duplicity and inventive insults - not least from Malcom Tucker (the ever-wonderful Peter Capaldi) who gives Ollie Reader (Chris Addison) a hilarious dressing down.
The episode picks up with the Home Office having cut police numbers, which in turn has created a huge backlog of arrest paperwork. Cleverly, however, they've managed to shift the blame onto the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship for the burgeoning queues at police stations. "I doubt there are any major criminals on the loose," says Phil Smith (Will Smith). "This is about paperwork; it's not Con Air." Elsewhere, Dan Miller (Tony Gardner), at Malcolm's suggestion, is sent on a fact-finding mission to a police station in an attempt to make the Government look unresponsive. To say any more about the plot would give too much away, but viewers can expect a climax that is as poignant as it is amusing.
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph, 26th October 2012Ronna and Beverley must be hilarious live, because that's surely the only way they managed to bag a Sky Atlantic chat show that can pull in guests of the calibre of Jon Hamm and Will Arnett. Despite the duo's best attempts at outrageous sexual humour, this lukewarm comedy offering ends up being as shocking as an announcement of delays on the Northern Line. In spite of attempts to sex her up, Sue Perkins remains well within her comfort zone. And the X-rated revelation they bamboozle Will Arnett into: 'I have never had sex with Will Smith.' In between guests, one of their skits sees them upset unwitting Women's Institute members by talking about blowjobs. Isn't good comedy only meant to skewer people in positions of power?
Alexi Duggins, Time Out, 17th September 2012I recently attended a Graham Norton Show recording, so I can bear witness that it's a brilliantly slick operation and Norton is a master of audience-wrangling, winning us all over immediately and making us feel a big part of the show - though not bigger than the array of guests, who we'll see again in this end-of-series compilation.
Remember Madonna, being her usual steely and scary self, despite Norton's efforts to try to get her to loosen up a bit? And what of the great Sir David Attenborough, all soft and mooning, not over a gorilla, but a comely young woman - actress Cameron Diaz? Just watch his face as he hangs on her every single word.
We also see again Dame Judi Dench, Hugh Grant, Katy Perry and the voluble, unstoppable force that is Will Smith.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 6th July 2012Graham Norton's best bits are trotted out for another viewing in a compilation episode, and there are plenty of them. The BBC's king of chat (and Telegraph agony uncle) has managed this series to enjoy light-hearted badinage with an increasingly impressive array of A-listers. He even managed to loosen Madonna up. Also worth revisiting tonight are chats with Judi Dench, Hugh Grant, Will Smith, Cameron Diaz and Katy Perry. It's a long time and a lot of sport until October, so enjoy the banter.
Vicki Power, The Telegraph, 5th July 2012Comedian Will Smith's self-penned starring role in this sitcom about a young married couple has gone from a hopeful but wobbly pilot in August 2010 to an impressive, well-written and smartly observed new series in 2012.
The scenes are split between a counselling session for the couple with an oleaginously smug therapist and glimpses into events at home that have led to these heart-to-hearts. It's unashamedly middle class and Middle England, but that does not stop it from being funny.
Jane Anderson, Radio Times, 24th January 2012Radio 4's It's Your Round, hosted by Angus Deayton, is another show that tests the knowledge of a group of eager-to-please comics, and is so aware of its shortcomings that this week's episode began with the disclaimer: "Any similarity between this and other panel games either past or present is something we hope you don't notice." Guests are asked to think up questions based on themes of their own choosing, thus saving producers the bother of hiring writers. This week, Will Smith, the stand-up rather than the Oscar-winning actor, masterminded a series of questions about his birthplace of Jersey, while the Australian comic Celia Pacquola got fellow contestants to pitch a charity through which they might rid themselves of their greatest irritations such as flip-flops or Jennifer Aniston, with Deayton audibly arching his eyebrows throughout. For the guests on the show it was doubtless filler for their CVs; for us it was mere filler.
Fiona Sturges, The Independent, 19th January 2012This is the penultimate Comedy Lab pilot, and stars Tom Davis as Iain Bodkin, a "comedian" (in the loosest sense of the word) whose main job is doing warm up for a TV programme... but he's actually a total failure.
This is something of a cringe comedy, as you continuously watch Bodkin trying to be funnier than he really is. His lack of success is made clear when he is forced to work in a supermarket, where his continued attempts to make people laugh always bring him down - as well as his supervisor's trousers.
Eventually Bodkin finds some work on a panel show, albeit dressed up as a penguin, kicked by a martial arts expert into an inflatable swimming pool of chocolate. This results in a pointless rivalry between him and the warm up guy for this panel show (played rather well by Will Smith).
This pilot's definitely got legs and would probably make for an entertaining series if given the chance. Yes, Bodkin isn't a love character. In fact he is something of a bastard, but he is a funny bastard...
Ian Wolf, Giggle Beats, 14th November 2011