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That Mitchell and Webb Look: Difference between revisions
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{{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
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''.
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=== This show contains examples of: ===
* [[After the End]]: The Quiz Broadcast takes place after "The ([[Apocalypse How|vaguely defined]]) Event" which caused [[The End of the World
{{quote| '''Host''': God, imagine The Event happening again...''[[[Beat]]]''...'''NO! DO NOT IMAGINE THE EVENT HAPPENING AGAIN. IT WILL CAUSE DISTRESS. THE EVENT IS IN THE PAST.'''}}
* [[AI Is a Crapshoot]]: During the "history of Numberwang" sketch, it is revealed that Colosson the Numberwang robot has gone insane and wants to destroy everything that isn't Numberwang.
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* [[Amoral Attorney]]:
** The Inebriati sketch has Webb's character exclaim "Yes! I got that guy off that vicious sex murder, even though he obviously did it!"
** There's also "Speedo", a hybrid of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' and ''[[Shark]]'', a former defence barrister now working prosecution. When asked why he defended known rapists, he replied:
{{quote| '''Speedo''': I don't know. I guess I just liked rapists.}}
*** He does, however, then say that he was only joking.
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* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Parodied in the backstage show:
{{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
{{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.<br />
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." <br />
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** "Henni-MORE!"
** The News live broadcast: ''What's your reckon?''
* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: Episode 5 of Series 4 has a series of "behind the scenes" sketches about the pair trying to create an serious thought-provoking ending akin to the ending of [[
** However, {{spoiler|Episode 6, the series finale, then ends in a [[Tear Jerker|desperately sad]] depiction of Sherlock Holmes with dementia, showing the inevitability of losing one's former glory in old age. This time, it's not played for laughs.}}
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Sir Digby Chicken Caesar. "You mean, you detect the dread hand of my nemesis' henchman, Viscount von Sausageroll?" "No, I can smell sausage rolls!"
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* [[Counterfeit Cash]]: A forger proudly displays his work: "ten punds" scrawled in marker pen on an oversized piece of orange paper displaying the image of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
* [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4zANH21ck4 The sketch] where the Host refuses to accept the correct answers from his contestants... before the reveal that he's got 6 months left to live and he's imprisoned the contestants on a spaceship heading into the Sun. And he's going to drag it out for as long as he can...
* [[Cursed
* [[Dead Line News]]
* [[Deadly Euphemism]]: "'Have him removed'? 'Take him out of the picture'? I thought we agreed that these terms were needlessly ambiguous? We all agreed that when we want someone ''murdered'', as in deliberately killed to death, that's what we were going to say!"
* [[Deconstructor Fleet]]: Just try to count the number of tropes this show parodies, subverts, deconstructs or otherwise [[Playing
* [[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.]]
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* [[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.
* [[Exact Words]]: Numberwang's "Sudden Death" round.
* [[Exactly What It Says
{{quote| '''Major''': One question that obviously leaps to mind, Professor [[Names to Run Away From|Death]], is why on Earth you elected to name this contraption of yours the Giant Death ''[[You Answered Your Own Question|ohIsee]]''.}}
* [[Facecam]]: "The Surprising Adventures of me, Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar!"
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** "It's just all these skulls, good guys don't wear skulls do they?"
* [[Hide Your Pregnancy]]: Averted with actress Olivia Colman, whose prominent belly was visible no matter what sketch she was in. They never talked about it directly, but they didn't really try and hide it either.
* [[Incurable Cough of Death]]: Lampshaded and averted, [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Indecisive Parody]]: Obviously they couldn't end the episode where they heartily take the piss out of [[Sudden Downer Ending]] with a genuine example, so they parody it instead. The ''next'' episode ends with a proper one, with an elderly [[Sherlock Holmes]] [[Ironic Hell|descending into dementia]].
* [[Infant Immortality]]: Averted hard in The Quiz Broadcast when the host asks the contestants what they wished they had learned prior to the event.
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* [[Name and Name]]
* [[Narrative Filigree]]: Parodied by the "realistic director" sketch. His films include ''Sometimes Fires Go Out'' and ''The Man Who Has A Cough And It's Just A Cough And He's Fine''.
* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Parodied in one of the evil genius skits. "This is gonna be 'Let's hope Professor Ritson meets with a little accident,' all over again! We spent nine months ''hoping'' that Professor Ritson would meet with an accident before Leslie made it clear it was an accident we were supposed to make happen!"
* [[Nobody Poops]]: "No one goes for a piss in ''[[Star Wars]]'', you can watch the whole of ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' and no-one brushes their teeth, and in ''[[Lost in Translation]]'', nothing happens. [[Take That|At all]]."
* [[Noble Bigot]]: Of all people, ''Jesus'' is called out on this for his racist attitude to Samaritans.
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* [[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
{{quote| '''BMX Bandit''': "Well, we're supposed to be a partnership, but, to be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit overshadowed here."<br />
'''Angel Summoner''': "Oh, right... Why is that?"<br />
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{{quote| Remember that drinks do I had just before Christmas, Moneypenny brings James along - Oh God, but Christmas spirit and all that. So I said, "hi James there's some mulled wine and I think there's some beer in the fridge." Cock asked for a martini...what does he think it is? 1973? }}
* [[Talking to Himself]]: Played with. In a sketch Mitchell plays both a captain and a [[Hercule Poirot]]-esque detective who are on screen at the same time. Webb angrily enters the set, and demands a role, to which both(!) of the Mitchells answer that David is best at detective and captain kind of roles. As Webb retorts that it is just a bad excuse for Mitchell to fulfill his narcissistic fantasies, another Webb (in drag) enters the set and tells the first Webb that he is ready for [[Screw Yourself|their sex-scene]].
* [[Tear Jerker]]: After discussing the ending of [[
{{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
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* [[Unfortunate Implications]]: Invoked and subverted. "I advise you to march in step with the rest of the white-bathroom loving nation -- [[Refuge in Audacity|REMEMBER, LIKE RACISM!]]"
* [[Villain Ball]]: Parodied in the Conspiracy sketches; when a member of the conspiracy asks ''why'' exactly they're doing this conspiracy in such a convoluted way -- or why they're even bothering at all -- the answer's usually along the lines of "it's just what we government types ''do''."
* [[Visual Pun]]: Numberwang is like [[McDonald's]], [[
* [[Wham! Line]]: "I know, John. I do know."
** "Yes... they used to be... us."
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** Don't forget the [[Badass Normal|BMX Bandit!]]
* [[You Bastard]]: The "Holmes with dementia" sketch goes from funny if very dark humor to the sudden realization that the audience has been laughing at the heartbreaking wreck of a brilliant mind.
* [[Zombie Apocalypse]]: In the later installments of "The Quiz Broadcast," the survivors (who'd been whittled by scarcity and disease down to the host, Peter, and Sheila) are found by soldiers fighting "Them," cannibals who, according to the [[Couch Gag]], know what caused [[The End of the World
=== That Mitchell and Webb Situation contains examples of: ===
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*** In another ''Great Escape'' reference, a chef who loses his keen sense of smell tries to prove he still has it by putting a piece of cheese on the floor, only to end up getting caught out. This is identical to one POW putting a pin at a certain place on the floor to show he's not going blind. Even the dialogue ("You can't smell your hand in front of your face!") is taken from the film ("You can't see your hand ''etc.''")
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Parodied in the farmer sketch.
* [[X Meets Y]]: 'German Dad's Army' is essentially ''[[Dad's Army
* [[Zeerust]]: The iMac G3 and Clamshell iBook used in the abovementioned [[Seinfeldian Conversation]], looking back on the show from the present day.
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