Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,377
edits
That Mitchell and Webb Look: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
(tropelist) |
No edit summary |
||
| (8 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 4:
{{quote|''That's numberwang!''}}
'''''That Mitchell and Webb Look''''' is a [[The BBC|BBC Two]] [[Sketch Show]] starring [[David Mitchell]] and Robert Webb, best known for their characters Mark and Jeremy in [[Britcom]] ''[[Peep Show]]''. Run from 2006 to 2010. Recurring characters tend to be limited to one series, although some (such as [[The Full Name Adventures|The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar]]) have run for longer. The sketches are occasionally intercut with [[Faux Documentary]] "[[Two for One Show|behind-the-scenes footage]]" of the comedians, featuring much [[Lampshade Hanging]] and [[Self-Deprecation]], and [[Zig-Zagging Trope|zigzagging]] between mocking and playing up their respective [[Smart Guy]] & [[Man Child]] personas.
The series was [[Sound to Screen Adaptation|adapted from the radio show]] ''That Mitchell And Webb Sound'', and the pair had previously made a short-lived TV [[Sketch Show]] called ''The Mitchell And Webb Situation''.
Line 11:
{{tropelist}}
* [[After the End]]: The Quiz Broadcast takes place after "The ([[Apocalypse How|vaguely defined]]) Event" which caused [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. (Remain indoors)
{{quote|'''Host''': God, imagine The Event happening again...''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Beat]]]''...'''NO! DO NOT IMAGINE THE EVENT HAPPENING AGAIN. IT WILL CAUSE DISTRESS. THE EVENT IS IN THE PAST.'''}}
* [[
* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: See [[Playing Cyrano]] below.
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: The "Dinner Party Guests" sketches play this for laughs [[In-Universe]], revealing why people such as [[James Bond]], [[Scooby Doo|Scooby and Shaggy]] and [[Gandhi]] would be a nightmare at a party.
** They also suggest that [[The Scrappy|Scrappy-Doo]] would be an absolute delight, if a little bit boisterous (which can be forgiven in a small talking dog, let's be fair).
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents]]: ''Fatally'' so - the kid was literally [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QO5aPAmTKg embarrassed to death.]
Line 28:
{{quote|"If this show's going to mean anything at all, somebody has got to die!"}}
* [[As the Good Book Says...]]: One ''The Quiz Broadcast'' sketch has the Test Card Girl writing "Revelation 6 13 15" [[Freeze-Frame Bonus|on the blackboard]].
{{quote|'''[[The Bible|Revelation 6:13-15]] reads:''' "and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains."
(remain indoors) }}
* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: The doorbell replacement product, a cannon that fires small dogs at your window with a note attached to their collar. If you visit multiple people in one go, you may need to carry more than one dog.
Line 40:
** In one of the 'Behind the Scenes' segments, Robert was implied to have been in a long term relationship with a man before marrying his wife.
** Also, in an earlier episode, he tells David that he 'tried the gay thing... remember my earring?'
* [[Bitter Wedding Speech]]: A sketch has a best man slowly screwing up a wedding speech and disparaging the wedding, and then trying to fix it ineffectually
* [[Black Comedy]]: All the Quiz Broadcast segments, and a few of the one-offs too.
{{quote|"Pre-Event sources talk about "hope". What was hope?"}}
* [[Bond One-Liner]]: Parodied in one of the [[Camp Gay|Party Planners]] sketches, in the middle of an extended [[What the Hell, Hero?]] aimed at Bond.
{{quote|'''Mitchell:''' Everyone's in shock, except for [[James Bond|James]], who strolls over to the window, glances down, and says "What a piercing bore"
'''Webb:''' "A piercing bore"? There's no such expression!
'''Mitchell:''' Well, right ''next'' to the railing was a rock crusher. It's pretty clear he'd wanted to say "what a crushing bore" but missed and was making the best of a bad job... }}
** The 'Agent Suave' sketch revealed that all of the titular superspy's quips and [[Double Entendre|Double Entendres]] came from a pair of lazy comedy writers sitting in a van outside reading from a book called '1001 Super Spy Jokes'. {{spoiler|They were also providing this service for the villain. This backfired on them.}}
Line 76:
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: In character. There's a series of strips about writers who do no research whatsoever for their various projects. They tend to be [[Crowning Moment of Funny|the funniest sketches in the show]]. For example, ''The Full Number of Overs that are Scheduled to be Bowled That Day''.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: One sketch featured a man who [[Grammar Nazi|shot anybody who made a grammatical mistake dead.]]
* [[Double Entendre]]: A doctor working at a typical [[Carry On|'bawdy 1970s hospital']] has a bit of trouble grasping the nature of Double Entendre, with unfortunate results ("Shall I rub them against my cock?").
* [[Downer Ending]]: Played with in the "Sod Cancer" sketch, and played straight with [[Sherlock Holmes]] suffering with dementia at the end of season four.
** With a [[Credits Gag]] -- [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtiIpIJ5J2Q "Meditation"] from the opera ''Thais'' by Jules Massenet instead of the normal theme song.
* [[Drama Bomb Finale]]: Discussed in Series 4 ep 5 as a way to shoehorn some depth and maturity into the program -- they finally go with [[Tonight Someone Dies]], with a [[Really Dead Montage]] involving a minor player who makes the mistake of showing off his [[Fatal Family Photo|beloved girlfriend's Facebook page]].
* [[Electric Torture]]: One of the contestants on the Remain Indoors quiz show is taken away to be "voltage-calmed".
Line 84:
** Given the nature of the Numberwang board, we could have been looking at frilve hundred and neeb, or even Nova Scotia, for all we know.
* [[Embarrassing Slide]]
* [[Epunymous Title]]: [[Comedy Duo
* [[Everybody's Dead, Dave]]: Twice in the [[After the End|Quiz Broadcast]] statements - first when everyone but the main three has simply succumbed to the harsh conditions of the collapsing society, then, after being found again, when [[Zombie Apocalypse|They]] kill everyone but Peter and the host before inexplicably disintegrating, leaving the two of them alone and extremely disturbed.
* [[Evil Is Sexy]]: A woman gets progressively better hair & make-up, and more cleavage, as she confesses to murder. This is, [[Deconstructor Fleet|of course,]] lampshaded and invoked.
Line 93:
* [[First-Name Basis]]: The final sketch of the show, which features Dr. Watson visiting an aging, senile [[Sherlock Holmes]] in a nursing home, Holmes addresses Watson as "John" in his final speech, [[Tear Jerker|where he admits that he knows his mind has gone, but he can not do anything about it.]]
* [[First Name Ultimatum|Last Name Ultimatum]]: HENNI''MOOOOOORRREE!!!''
* [[Genre Blindness]]: Hennimore's boss never seems to learn to either stop making his instructions to Hennimore so confusing, contradictory and overlapping or just get someone other than or as well as Hennimore to do it instead.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: In the SS sketches, and again in the Hercule Poirot sketch in series three.
* [[Germanic Efficiency]]: Parodied in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylz-uUIBuqY Reports Mode] - a Bavarian entertainment show centering around graphs and charts, even featuring a break from all those reports so we can take a look at how the show is doing in terms of efficiency.
* [[Going Native]]: In a garden center.
* [[Government Conspiracy]]: Parodied in a series of sketches which deconstruct conspiracy theories around Roswell, the Moon landing and Princess Diana's death, lampshading the inherent ludicrousness of them by having a trio of government spooks play them perfectly straight.
{{quote|'''Agent 1''': So we're all agreed, that's the best way to do it.
'''Agent 2''': Absolutely. [[A Simple Plan|It's so simple]]. No messing around with [[Professional Killer|poison-tipped umbrellas or snipers]] -- [[British Royal Family|we just get a chauffeur drunk]].
'''Agent 1''': ''Slightly'' drunk.
'''Agent 2''': And just assume he crashes the car. }}
* [[Grammar Nazi]]: A boss who [[Disproportionate Retribution|shoots his staff dead]] when they make errors. Ironically, his misuse of the word "acronym" goes unnoticed.
Line 117:
'''Host:''' Yes, the world would be a different place... if some of the children had survived... }}
* [[It Never Gets Any Easier]]: word for word, on a [[Did Not Do the Research]] medical show, when a doctor has to... [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|pull off a plaster]].
* [[It's Been Done]]
* [[I Want My Jetpack]]: Both the attitude, and the concept of jetpacks, are spoofed in-universe [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDIojhOkV4w&feature=channel here].
* [[Just Think of the Potential]]: Professor Death made a Giant Death Ray and an Armoured Scorpion of Death for peaceful purposes, damnit!
Line 130:
* [[Laugh Track]]: Surprisingly, it doesn't kill the humor as it would on a programme like ''[[Peep Show]]''.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: Subverted with Professor Death, who doesn't want his Giant Death Ray, Armoured Scorpion of Death, or Doom Melon used for military applications.
* [[Magical Defibrillator]]: "Nurse, fetch me the electric paddles that can make you better if you're really sick but can make you sort of ill if you're fine!" Moments later: "Oh no... he was fine. [[Narm|And now he's poorly]] [[Stylistic Suck|from too much electric]]."
* [[Magic Music]]: The Green Clarinet and the aforementioned Red Tuba.
* [[Maximum Fun Chamber]]: "[[Tempting Fate|Come on, what's the worst torture story you've got?]]"
Line 143:
* [[Noble Bigot]]: Of all people, ''Jesus'' is called out on this for his racist attitude to Samaritans.
{{quote|"The fact ''you'' wouldn't expect goodness from a Samaritan belies your inherent rascism!"}}
* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: deconstructed with the [[Evil Genius]] trying to persuade a contractor to disregard the impracticalities of his plans.
{{quote|''Muahahaha! I think you'll find that neither Health nor Safety are among my primary concerns...''}}
** Later on, the fully-compliant [[Trap Door]] (complete with flashing red light, warning alarm and fencing off of the area) gives the [[Board to Death]] guy in the chair plenty of time to escape.
Line 157:
* [[The Other Darrin]]: Played for laughs with Speedo, in which the actor playing the white main character died, only to be replaced by an African American actor. The (fictional) writers were too lazy to rewrite the scripts, resulting in the now black Speedo [[Crowning Moment of Funny|telling a young black client he knows he doesn't want a "big white guy in a suit" like him defending him.]]
* [[Our Zombies Are Different]]: Them, from the Quiz Broadcast. It's never made clear if these cannibalistic former humans are zombies or just atrocious mutants, but they are unquestioningly [[Nightmare Fuel|terrifying.]]
* [[Overshadowed by Awesome]]: Deliciously [[Exaggerated]] in the sketches about the Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit duo.
{{quote|'''BMX Bandit''': "Well, we're supposed to be a partnership, but, to be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit overshadowed here."
'''Angel Summoner''': "Oh, right... Why is that?"
Line 170:
Speedo: Did you rape this woman?!
Perp: Yes, yes, whatever you say! }}
* [[Playing Cyrano]]: A sketch revolved around Cyrano himself popping up to help a man woo a woman in the modern day. However, the man in question is a [[Dogged Nice Guy|sensitive, good-natured fellow]] and the woman is, well, a slapper. Cyrano's advice is to be brash and offensive, and downright insulting, which the man in question takes only grudgingly -- [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|but it works perfectly]]. As the scene progresses, he realizes that he has absolutely ''no'' interest in going out with a woman who actually likes being treated that way. Cyrano convinces him to go on anyway, since at least he can sleep with her tonight. Eventually the man refuses to continue, but Cyrano keeps shouting out the lines for him, and jams a bag of cocaine into his hands, which the girl mistakes for his continued efforts and she drags him inside.
* [[Please Don't Leave Me]]: Ginger to Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar when he is 'poisoned' by a cloud of poisonous gas (read: candyfloss).
{{quote|'''Ginger:''' Don't leave me, sir! Don't leave me...}}
Line 192:
{{quote|Because I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to help you have standards! I'm trying to make you know that the world ''isn't'' pleased to see you, you ''aren't'' needed or included or loved! You're ugly! And superfluous! And ignorant! And you should be frightened. And meek. And grateful. That's better. Now, first things first; [[Nice Hat|let's get you a hat]].}}
** Also, the "Little Date" man, who gives these to women, reducing them to tears so they'll go out with him to feel better.
* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: The cannibalistic "Them" in the Event sketches have glowing red eyes.
* [[Reed Richards Is Useless]]: Monsieur Garnier (who is inexplicably a [[Oop North|North-of-England]] mill owner rather than a French guy) suppresses the invention of a cure for Alzheimer's and a perpetual motion machine because he doesn't want his scientists to get distracted from hair products.
** Also, whoever built a ''sentient supercomputer'' and used it to determine what is, or is not, Numberwang.
Line 215:
* [[Superpower Lottery]]: [[Reality Warper|Angel Summoner]] and [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|the BMX Bandit]].
* [[Surreal Humour]]: Numberwang's hilarity derives from the complete lack of sense, not just in the rules, but in ''everything''.
{{quote|'''Host''': Joining me tonight are Julie, who's from Yorkshire, and Simon, who's from a factory and [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|made of a special metal]]. So, Julie, ever killed a man?
'''Julie''': No.
'''Host''': Simon?
'''Simon''': ''Yes''.
'''Host''': Great! Let's play [[Spin-Off|Wordwang]]! }}
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylz-uUIBuqY Reports Mode]
Line 229:
* [[Tear Jerker]]: After discussing the ending of [[Blackadder]] in the penultimate episode, the series 4 finale ends with a heartbreaking "sketch" featuring an elderly [[Sherlock Holmes]] with dementia.
{{quote|Sherlock: I can't get the fog to clear.}}
** Made all the worse because it starts off amusing before becoming increasingly depressing and ending with Holmes and Watson in tears
*** The "Remain Indoors" Quiz Broadcast sketches have quite a few as well, as things become increasingly hopeless and the host's [[Stepford Smiler]] act starts to slip more and more. The finale has him quietly holding the blind last surviving contestant's hand as they face the possibility there's no one else left alive ANYWHERE after having seen the formerly-human cannibalistic Them all die for no apparent reason.
{{quote|'''Blind Contestant''': Are you here?
'''Host''': (Takes his hand) Yes. }}
**** Also "[[Blatant Lies|Sheila's fine, Peter. Sheila's]] ''[[Blatant Lies|safe]]''".
* [[Techno Babble]]: Subverted by "Now he's poorly from too much electric"
* [[They Fight Crime]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbzUfV3_JIA BMX Bandit and Angel Summoner].
Line 248:
* [[Wham! Line]]: "I know, John. I do know."
** "Yes... they used to be... us."
* [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]] - Get Me Hennimore!
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]] - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF_uOgyBK1c&feature=related So That's The Football Coming Up Watch It Watch The Football Watch It IT'S GONNA MOVE!]
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?]]: In a 'behind the scenes' conversation discussing [[Drama Bomb Finale|Drama Bomb Finales]], [[Mood Whiplash]] and [[Tonight Someone Dies]], Mitchell and Webb reserve their greatest venom for [[Commercial Pop-Up|announcers who talk over the credits.]]
Line 268:
* [[Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo]]: The revolving table. A murderer's worst enemy.
* [[Seinfeldian Conversation]]: About religions, fairytales and the human reproductive system.
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** The poisoning sketch is a parody of ''Suspicion'', a movie directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] in the 40s.
** In the German version of Numberwang, the host wishes one contestant "Good luck!" only to furiously disqualify her when she responds in English with "Thanks very much!", a reference to how one of the escapees blows his cover in ''[[The Great Escape]]''.
Line 281:
{{reflist}}
{{BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series)}}
[[Category:British Series]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Sketch Comedy]]
[[Category:That Mitchell and Webb Look]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
| |||