Pompidou

10 of the worst UK comedies that need to stay buried

Trawling the archives of the last 30 or so years of British comedy has, for the most part, been a pleasure. I've discovered shows I didn't know existed, unearthed gems which were completely side-lined by the cultural mainstream, and reintroduced myself to the glory of the likes of Nathan Barley and Marion And Geoff. I haven't seen sunlight in days and I think I've started to develop rickets, but overall, the search has been worth it. The problem is that while pigs may become adept at snuffling for truffles in the comedy forest, they're also prone to unearth the odd heaving turd whose obscurity is likely merited. That said, these are the 10 British comedies which really need to stay buried.

Pompidou heads to Netflix

This month will see the launch of Pompidou, a visual sitcom from British comedian Matt Lucas, on Netflix thanks to an agreement with all3media international.

Like Rowan Atkinson's annoying creation, Matt Lucas's down-at-heel aristocrat is a man of no words other than yelps and grunts. Maybe that's why he's called Pompidou because, apparently, the French simply adored the Atkinson twaddle and might go for this, too - but then, have you ever seen French TV comedy?

The pratfalls and shameless mugging here are painful to behold and Lucas chews the scenery throughout, perhaps thinking all the while about how his former partner, David Walliams, is making zillions from writing children's books. But then I always thought this duo overrated, just as I never got Reeves and Mortimer or most other recent British comedy pairings.

Pompidou: why the critics are wrong

Disappointing audiences and a critical bashing have made Pompidou look like a failure. But this difficult, admirable experiment deserves better.

It is almost impossible to exaggerate how awful was the thing entitled Pompidou. I might be a little biased, because this pompous-bloke-fallen-on-hard-times sitcom featured three of my very least favourite things - slapstick, deference and the inexplicably beloved Beeb pet Matt Lucas. Even on an objective reading, however, this misguided and ill-disguised attempt to flog to the BBC Worldwide and children's market a sub-Bean, definitely sub-Hulot, half-hour lash-up of silly voices, snobbery and painfully telegraphed misunderstandings made me yearn for the comparatively Shavian sophistications of that exaggerated, whistling, carefree saunter Norman Wisdom would adopt six seconds before falling into a manhole. Insulting to children, insulting even to French people, who seem to like this kind of stuff, and you could find more intellectual creativity in 10 minutes of Bananas in Pyjamas.

This will come as a comic relief to many. Comedian Matt Lucas has given up writing in the English language. Well, at least he has in his latest offering, Pompidou (BBC Twop, Sunday).

Indeed, the only uttering of the Queen's English was "good afternoon". After which, it was a half-hour of boggling gibberish which made an episode of Jamaica Inn sound like a Shakespeare soliloquy recited by Mark Rylance. I do sincerely hope that BBC Worldwide release the scripts of this show in a leather-bound volume. Or did a script even exist?

The set up was quite promising. It centred on the toff Pompidou (Lucas) who cannot afford to live in his rundown stately home, so has decamped to an ugly caravan in the grounds with his butler Hove (Alex MacQueen), and a dog (Dog). After establishing this, it was a slide into befuddlement, as Pompidou and Hove first went fishing, then ended up in the local hospital after the manservant swallowed a bird. No, the feathered variety.

There were moments when I did laugh, but they may have been involuntary spasms upon realising that someone had commissioned this "silent movie". Although, of course, there was speech, just not in a language we recognised.

Was this comedy turned down by CBeebies, because it sounded like everyone, excepting the pooch, had received elocution lessons from In The Night Garden's Igglepiggle? The great surprise was the credits, showing five writers, including Lucas, were responsible for the show. So, that is one to put the kettle on, two to find the cups, and two more to open the biscuits.

I am desperate to say that it was the worst comedy since Amanda Holden's breakthrough role in Big Top, but I am going to hold that judgement until I see a foreign sub-titled version of Pompidou. A version dubbed in Swedish would be my pick, introduced by the chef from Sesame Street.

The original Pompidou & brief history of visual comedy

Multi-award-winning comedy scriptwriter/performer Julian Dutton started as an actor, then became a comedy scriptwriter for radio, but, he says, "I always made sure I performed in the things I wrote." He appears in a later episode of Pompidou.

Pompidou: why are we so snobbish about silent comedy?

The BBC's new sitcom, like Mr Bean before it, has been called cynical and childish - but family entertainment shouldn't be dismissed as unsophisticated.

Pompidou, BBC Two - review

Few laughs in Matt Lucas's almost silent sitcom.

Review: Pompidou, with Matt Lucas

Maybe Matt Lucas can take solace from the fact no one liked Paris's now iconic Pompidou Centre when it first opened. For his new physical-comedy namesake is not an obvious initial hit either.