Big Train: Difference between revisions

{{work}}

 

''Big Train'' was a surreal and somewhat deranged BBC sketch show, devised by Arthur Matthews and Graham Linehan (of [[Father Ted]] fame), starring something of a British comedy supergroup: Simon Pegg, Mark Heap, Kevin Eldon, Julia Davis and Amelia Bullmore, amongst others, as well as several prominent comedy writers. It delighted in leftfield takes on standard comedy fare in a similar vein to [[Monty Python]], ridiculous pop-culture parodies as well as some fairly uniquely off-the-wall fantasist humour. It ran for two series in 1998 and 2002.

 

----

* [[Animal Testing]]: Inverted in a series of sketches about a man who has second thoughts about his impossible-to-get-out-of situations.

* [[Announcer Chatter]]: Spoofed in the commentary for the World Stareout Championship, a recurring animation from the first series.

* [[Ax Crazy]]: One of Mark Heap's, who interprets everything as a slight about not being married, and cuts off the end of his own finger with a cigar cutter.

* [[Black Comedy]]: A lot of the sketches are pretty dark.

* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Mark Heap's circus training, lots of conversations in [[Gratuitous French]], plus a few musical interludes.

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Fucking Lamp

** There's also film about the war-weary French soldier reminiscing about his teenage love for Une Grande Pomme de Terre (i.e. a large potato), who was stolen away from him by his best friend.

* [[Limited Animation]]: Used intentionally in the Stareout sketches, which were mostly composed of a few static frames, with commentators breathlessly extolling what an exciting match it was.

* [[Obviously Evil]]: Tim the Evil Hypnotist, who appears to have walked straight out of a 1920's movie. Subverted in that he does exactly what his patient wants, except with an echoing "[[Evil Laugh|BWAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It worked!]]" at the end of the session.

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: One of the Cavaliers, prior to a pitched battle.

* [[Pantomime Animal]]: A pet dog the size of (and quite obviously played by) a man. One of the few animals in the series ''not'' to talk

* [[Production Posse]]: All of the actors in the first series with the exception of Pegg would go on to work on the even more deranged [[Jam]], which was Big Train with the blackness of the comedy turned [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[Rule of Personification Conservation]]: Generally ignored in favour of [[Rule of Funny]]. A surprising amount of sketches would play out as drama if all the characters were human.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Pegg's womanising studio executive, who just happens to pick up the [[Idiot Ball]] whenever he tries to open a door.

* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Parodied in one sketch where an editor is finishing up the final cut of a movie. Soundtrack for the funeral scene where a boy and his father are weeping over the grave of their wife/mother? ''Rocking all Over the World'' by Status Quo. The ''live'' version, not studio.

* [[Talking Animal]]: A theatre-loving dog and a French tortoise, among others.

** Also inverted, in a strange way. A number of sketches feature people inexplicably behaving like animals, such as a herd of jockeys being stalked by The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Sketch Comedy]]

[[Category:Big Train]]