Review: That Mitchell and Webb Look Series 4

(I guess my New Years Resolution to update this blog fairly regularly hasn't got off to the best of starts... Anyway, here is a short review that I wrote a while ago and forgot to upload.  Enjoy!)

Recently completing its fourth series, ‘That Mitchell and Webb Look’ remains as fresh and relevant as during its initial run at a time when channels are becoming increasingly saturated with second-rate sketch shows.  Normally, if a comedy sketch programme even obtains a third series, it has become a cliché of its former self with an over-reliance on tried and tested material, usually by repeating its catch-phrases ad infinitum.  Unlike ‘Little Britain’ or ‘The Big Impression’, Mitchell and Webb have long had a proven track record at firstly knowing when to discard material that has become stale and secondly (and more importantly) at being able to introduce new sketches and characters that are actually funny.

Whereas ‘Little Britain’ repeated the same old formula until it ended, Mitchell and Webb chose to retire perhaps their most well known sketch, Numberwang, much earlier.  They refused to become over reliant on old material.  As a result, this sketch only returned fleetingly, albeit in a thoroughly revised format (hysterically, as Numberwang: The Board Game).  They continuously refuse to be pigeon-holed.  In the pilot episode, the BMX Bandit was killed off in memorable, hilarious fashion rather than becoming just another ongoing, weekly chuckle.   

They have become increasingly adept at maintaining a balance between recurring serials and one-off sketches.  The material doesn’t tire and is often firmly rooted in pop culture so the jokes are understood by a diverse audience.  The majority of their sketches are therefore instantly relatable.  Celebrity cameos are few and are actually relevant.  Furthermore, as well as being distinctive, the material can be topical.  A recent sketch featuring an Oxford don of the near future who copes with an increasing number of students getting ‘A’ Grades by “falling back on good old fashioned nepotism” was funny but also surprisingly thought provoking.  In recession hit Britain, perhaps the future of higher-education won't be too far removed from satire that manages to be as perceptive as this...