Telly Vision: 8 Out of 10 Cats & Louie
This week sees Shaun Spencer join the Giggle Beats team for a new-look TV column…
8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown (Channel 4)
If you haven’t seen or heard of 8 Out of 10 Cats before then you probably don’t have a television and have no need to be reading this. It’s your straightforward celebrity panel quiz show where the questions are based around various surveys and statistics, as is explained at the top of the show by host Jimmy Carr.
This week they aired a second episode of the show where the host and guests are, for no explained reason, playing a game of Countdown. I can only assume that the initial C4 mash-up was a big hit and they thought, “Aaah why not, eh?” As usual, Jimmy rattled off a number of scripted gags, ranging from fair to poor, and Jon Richardson was his usual dour self, taking the role of team captain.
Notably missing from the line up was Sean Lock, which was a big loss to the show. Sean usually adds a nice eccentricity with his obvious lack of ego, never afraid to pick up on jarring absurdities of ‘celebrity’ guests on the regular weekly edition. Lee Mack was a fair replacement though, quick witted as usual, with a number of nice one-liners. He even managed to score a nine-letter word early on leaving the ever competitive Jon Richardson with plenty of room to play up his comically-angry persona.
Lee was joined by Rob Beckett and Jon by Rhod Gilbert, both of whom were funny and likeable. Tim Key was in Dictionary Corner and although enjoyable, he didn’t have as much of a chance to shine as I would have liked. Joe Wilkinson appeared around the halfway point to “assist” Rachel with the letters, however he had no real reason to be on the show. Wilkinson is undoubtedly a funny man, but the number of appearances he makes on the show is somewhat diluting the hilarity of his “crazy antics”.
An entertaining and fun show, then, providing you’re not put off by the odd Savile joke or sexual objectification. Just saying.
Louie (FX)
Louie is the second ‘sitcom’ (I use this term very loosely) from US comedy superstar Louis CK. It’s currently being aired in the UK on FX, and if you haven’t already seen it then you’re really missing out in my opinion.
Louie is written, directed and edited by Louis CK himself; it is his own vision that he has kept tight creative control over. If you enjoy his stand up routines, or enjoy amazing and creative television shows, I heartily recommend that you give this show a go and sit down to watch a few episodes with an open mind, and possibly an open bottle or two. Just don’t expect the usual sitcom affair of setup and punch-line; each episode is a string of events that sometimes connect to each other, but in most cases do not.
Season two of Louie is due to start on FX shortly.
