Ballot Monkeys

Ballot Monkeys: did the first episode get your vote?

The most impressive thing about Ballot Monkeys, though, is that it isn't simply a response to recent events. The characters - who, on most other shows, would be simple joke-delivery systems - are all distinct and well-rounded.

Review: Ballot Monkeys

Comparisons with the The Thick Of It are inevitable. With less swearing and less cynicism, Ballot Monkeys doesn't have savage bite than Armando Iannucci's classic, but can still boast plenty of sharp lines as well as the ability to reflect the realities of campaigning.

'Ballot Monkeys' (Channel 4) review

This opening episode of Ballot Monkeys certainly didn't get my vote in the way that it did other critics.

In an election where the Tories, to use Lynton Crosby's terminology, keep dropping dead cats on to the table, here come the creators of Drop The Dead Donkey. As they did with their 1990s news-com, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have written scripts with gaps, to be filled at the last minute with oven-hot satire. The action flips between various shades of panic on board the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Ukip battle buses. A strong cast is led by Ben Miller, Sarah Hadland and the lord high chancellor of topical zingers, Hugh Dennis.

This election satire promises to be so topical, it will only be written in the hours before it's broadcast.

Wherever they aim their comedy sights, it's certainly bound to liven up what's been a distinctly laugh-free election campaign.

What we do know is the show will be written by those clever bods Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who brought us Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered. A ringing endorsement if ever there was one.

And it will star the likes of Hugh Dennis, Trevor Cooper, Sarah Hadland, Ben Miller and Hattie Morahan. So far, so good.

The trailer features the cast as confused, gormless politicians, all effectively scratching their heads and wondering what to say. So it's all looking rather authentic.

The five half-hour episodes, broadcast in the run up to the May 7 election, will intercut between the campaign buses of the four main parties - Conservative, Labour, Liberal ­Democrats and UKIP, who don't really need to be satirised.

On each bus, cameras follow the staff including analysts, interns, IT geeks, social media monitors, empathy consultants (seriously?) and even bus drivers as they deal with the latest crisis or drama. A crisis or drama that we will have only just heard about in real life.

Radio Times review

Bored and unamused by the election? Well, this new comedy from Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin may cheer you up. It takes you onto the battle buses of the Tories, Labour, Ukip and Lib Dems (the Greens appear to have been snubbed), with key scenes written and performed close to transmission. The idea is to insert highly topical material at the very last minute, something which worked so stunningly in Drop the Dead Donkey.

And with great performers like Ben Miller, Hattie Morahan and Sarah Hadland to call on and a rich collection of characters including press officers, empathy consultants, special advisers (aka "spads"), IT wizards, social media monitors, political analysts, interns and of course bus drivers, chances are this may well get your vote.

Ben Miller interview

"We're in completely virgin territory for British elections, and it's absolutely hilarious. That'' why it's such a good subject to tackle"

Ballot Monkeys review

If any of the writers of Newzoids are paying attention, THIS is how you write a topical comedy show.

TV review: Ballot Monkeys brings decent satire at last!

I enjoyed Ballot Monkeys and it packed a far stronger satirical punch than ITV's Newzoids. Not only were the jokes better but Newzoids dabbled too much in celebrity whereas this was hard-core politics, dealing with spads and PR, which is clearly where the power behind the throne lies.

Ballot Monkeys: all too believable & all the funnier

Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's election campaign comedy lives up to the hype with help from an impressive comedy cast.