Mongrels

Mongrels has been described as a puppet show for adults - a worrying phrase, less for the "puppets" bit than the word "adult", which usually means exactly the opposite. It's a kind of soft-toy sitcom, centred on a group of inner-city animals, which include Marion (an overweight cat with an accent who wanders around the southern Mediterranean), a ghetto-talking pigeon and a sensitive fox called Nelson, who has problems with confrontation. The "adult" bit turns out to mean swear words and a slightly strained determination not to play safe with the comedy. There were jokes here about Christopher Reeve's accident, Harold Shipman and the discovery of Anne Frank by German troops (she's exposed because she shouts "Yahtzee" at the wrong moment). It does have its laughs, though, because the script isn't entirely about crass shock value. Last night's episode, for example, featured a Romeo and Juliet storyline in which Nelson the fox fell in love with a chicken (they'd both been economical with the truth on an online dating site). "There's a Nando's around the corner," he suggested, when they first met. "Oh... sorry... I didn't think." Puppets, yes. Funny, yes. But not really for grown-ups.

I'm wondering how much of my amusement at Mongrels (BBC3), of which there is a considerable amount, has to do with the fact that cuddly children's toys are saying things you wouldn't normally expect cuddly children's toys to say. Like "You are such a cock-end". And doing things you might not expect them to do. Like the three starving cats, who tuck into Margaret, their pensioner owner, who's been lying dead at the bottom of the stairs for a few months.

Quite a lot, probably. And though it is funny, it won't remain unexpected for long, the novelty will wear off at some point not too far away. It's not just Muppets with Tourette Syndrome, though. Mongrels is a thing of great imagination in its own right, a surreal world where pigeons are jewel thieves, minor celebrities makes surprise appearances, and chickens date foxes (the attempt at a snog is lovely: beak on muzzle, it just doesn't work). The fox ends up inside a microwave, spinning on the spinny dish, while his brain melts from the inside. And Marion the main cat is castrated. But, as Destiny the Afghan (hound) says, you can achieve a hell of a lot without any testicles.

I still don't know how long the joke will last, whether it's got the legs to run and run, but like Margaret's moggies, I'll go back for seconds.

Maybe there is a way to spin a line such as 'most people have to fly a plane into a building before they're surrounded by this many virgins' without making it sound cheap and nasty. But this ham-fisted animal puppet sitcom missed the mark by an unholy distance. A kind of X-rated Creature Comforts, Mongrels revolves around the sexual misadventures of a bunch of inner-city animals and birds. It's a neat idea but the shine dims pretty quickly when the humour is scraped from a mangy cat litter tray. A gag about battered wives? Just no. These Mongrels need to be put down.

Last Night's TV - Mongrels

Of the offerings from BBC3's comedy store, Mongrels ranks as one of the best, but to be honest, that's not necessarily saying much.

Mongrels on BBC Three review

As a puppet show for adults, Mongrels fails in its attempts to deliver shock humour with its dated references and pointless Family Guy asides.

I'm reviewing Mongrels because it is the most radical take on furry animals since The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Its twin jokes are to imbue animals with the worst rather than most charming human attributes and, second, to challenge the convention that puppets are fit only for children. Mongrels, which began an eight-part post-watershed run last night, is the dirtiest puppet show since Zippy made a foreskin joke on an in-house Christmas edition of Rainbow.

Actually, Nelson, the fox, was one of the gentler beasts among the creator Adam Miller's dark menagerie. A lonely Boggle cheat, he was a gentle soul whose greatest crime, initially, was to pretend on a dating site that he was Toby Anstis (a former star of CBBC, you know). But then his date, Wendy, lied too. For one thing she was a chicken. For another she was married - she claimed to a "wife-pecker" who abused her so badly that she mislaid. "It was," she said, "like giving birth to an omelette." Intimacy becomes an issue for these DNA-crossed lovers. When a fox and a chicken kiss it looks like the fox is having supper. In the end, tiring of her lies, Nelson cuts off Wendy's head with a plastic knife in an inner-city Mississippi Fried Chicken restaurant.

Nelson is still nicer than the bitchy Afghan bitch Destiny who at a Strictly Dog Dancing session with her widowed owner remarks that most people have to fly a plane into a skyscraper before they are surrounded by this many virgins. Meanwhile, Marion the cat is well on the way to becoming a serial murderer of old ladies. Harold Shipman got a mention, as did Anne Frank. Mary Whitehouse once complained about an episode of Pinky and Perky. She would have had a field day with this. Best taken with a couple of pints of lager, Mongrels is a hit even if you're sober. Surely, though, it should be called Creature Discomforts.

Mongrel puppets had me howling

We're used to seeing muppets on television -- Big Brother, Oireachtas Report, anything featuring Piers Morgan -- even if they're not the official, Jim Henson, capital-letter-M variety.

New comedy about a group of urban animal puppets voiced by Katy Brand, Lucy Montgomery, Dan Tetsell and Rufus Jones. It calls to mind Top Cat and Basil Brush but with added adult content. Tonight, a fox goes on an internet date with a chicken and they encounter a familiar problem on a boating lake. Meanwhile, our feline hero goes in search of a new owner when his elderly one drops dead and gets partially eaten by her other cats. The bad taste stuff is nicely judged and the jokes are good - it might just have furry little legs.

Meet Nelson, the metrosexual, chicken-dating fox, spoilt Afghan bitch Destiny, cynical pigeon Kali and tomcat Marion who's about to be neutered. At first glance this knockabout comedy with puppet animals interacting with humans smacks of CBBC, but a barrage of rude words and black situations soon swing it firmly into adult territory. With Paul Kaye and Katy Brand providing voices, a brief homage to Only Fools and Horses, and despite some tasteless jokes (about Harold Shipman and Anne Frank), this is utterly beguiling.

Take a TV executive at random (easily done) and ask them their favourite comedy. After saying "I don't actually have time to watch TV", they'll then look up an answer on Twitter and say Family Guy. Gosh, they love Family Guy.

The people who made Mongrels clearly had the Griffin family in mind. The set-up is some urban puppet animals (best is Rufus the rather metrosexual 'urbane fox') sitting around and having adventures. But that's an excuse for some sketches, songs and low-rent celebrity appearances. As such, it is a bit hit and miss. (It might just be us being prejudicial but the worst bits mainly come from the voice of Katy Brand.)

But, the hits are genuinely funny and even the laugh-free moments have a well-written sheen. Time and effort have been spent on the jokes - and it shows.