Channel 4 Comedy Presents: Them From That Thing

By "them" they mean those people, and by "that thing" they mean several different things, or programmes, that have been funny on Channel 4. They (the people) include Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker), Sally Phillips (Smack the Pony) and Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners). But they were upstaged in Them from That Thing, a two-part sketch show with a hit-rate of, I'd say, about 40 per cent, by "proper" actors such as Simon Callow, Bill Patterson and Denis Lawson. The highlight: a libidinous Callow in a satin dressing gown receiving his order of one banana from a supermarket as a ruse to flirt with the delivery boy, saying: "I've been running short of these yellow bitches."

Them From That Thing - Episode 1.1 review

I can only presume that everyone involved thought, 'Sod a good quality script, so long as we have this lot on board and Simon Callow making an appearance, that'll see us through'.

The "Them" of the title refers to comedy stalwarts like Sally Phillips and Blake Harrison. But what's startling about this patchy sketch show is that it also features comic cameos from serious actors such as Denis Lawson, Jane Asher, Bill Paterson and even Simon Callow. The sketches, ranging from unhinged to downright surreal, come thick and fast, so when they don't work so well (the talking blancmange man), there's a better one round the corner, like the stretched-head boy whom doctors diagnose as being born at the wrong aspect ratio). Continues tomorrow.

Kayvan Novak, Sally Phillips, Morgana Robinson and Blake Harrison take turns to spoof a series of generic dramatic set-ups (the crime scene, the politician's mea culpa, the workplace) in this promising new sketch show scripted by a team including Charlie Brooker and Ben Caudell. A quality supporting cast of 'serious' actors, including Simon Callow, Ewen Bremner and Bill Paterson, provide the essential foundation of gravitas - it's worth a look just to see a poker-faced Denis Lawson ask, 'What kind of trousers does a cunt wear?' - while someone has also taken the smart decision not to risk trying the audience's patience with catchphrases or recurring characters. The result is fresh, funny and, impressively, even springs the occasional surprise. Better still, there's more tomorrow.

Funny Fortnight charges on with a sketch show with production values higher, unfortunately, than its writing quality. Still, the sheer range of actors who appear in it is appealing: Sally Phillips, Denis Lawson, Inbetweener Blake Harrison - even Simon Callow.

Channel 4's Funny Fortnight continues with this ultra-starry two-part sketch show. A crack-team of comedians including Smack the Pony's Sally Phillips, Facejacker's Kayvan Novak and impressionist Morgana Robinson all appear, aided by cameos from Jane Asher, Simon Callow and Denis Lawson. It's a pleasure to see them at work together, even if the material doesn't always tally with their talent. Highlights include Novak as a manic Scots auctioneer and Robinson and Asher as frustrated policewomen desperate for a meaty murder to solve. Part two follows tomorrow night.

New sketch show enlivened no end by the prodigious talent of performers like Simon Callow and Kevin Eldon cranking some laughs out of the hit-and-miss material. It doesn't help that every routine is punctuated by the sort of hideous synthesiser riff a junior manager of Dixons would demonstrate on a Casio keyboard circa 1988. Worth it, though, for Charlie Brooker's input and the professionalism of those on show.

Considerably less impressive [than Toast Of London] is C4 Comedy Presents: Them From That Thing an almost entirely mirthless sketch show that wastes 
a core cast of able comic performers such as Sally Phillips and Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak on weak, strained material (some of which was apparently written by the usually reliable Charlie Brooker).

Its gimmick, such as it is, is casting straight actors such as Bill Paterson and Sean Pertwee in comic roles, but that just comes across as a desperate attempt to give it some identity. This is committee-formed comedy, lacking in 
singular vision.