Telly Vision: Watson & Oliver, Parks and Recreation
Watson & Oliver
This week saw the return of the BBC sketch show starring (and primarily written by) Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver. Mostly filmed in front of a live audience, Watson & Oliver take on everyday life and familiar characters.
I enjoyed the series premiere, but felt a little like the show fell into the sketch trap of letting a scene go on too long after the strongest punch line. I can’t help but think that if the editing was more brutal it would have tightened the whole thing up.
Watson & Oliver are obviously very talented comedy performers and writers, having three sell-out Edinburgh shows under their belts, and the supporting cast, though fairly sparse, also offer strong performances. It’s not going to break any boundaries or change the way you think, but if you are looking for an entertaining and varied half hour then do give it a go.
The next episode of Watson & Oliver is on BBC2, Thursday 2 May, at 10pm.
Parks and Recreation
If you have read the last two editions of Telly Vision you may have spotted that I am into my American sitcoms. Well observed. Carrying along in the fashion of talking about US comedies being aired on the rainier side of the ocean, I’d like to talk to you about Parks and Recreation. As what is arguably one of the best of the current crop of the NBC comedy output, Parks and Rec does not disappoint.
The show revolves around the, you guessed it, Parks and Recreation department of the less than glamourous Indiana city, Pawnee. It follows the day to day activities and lives of the workers, in particular the one woman Government superhero Leslie Knope (SNL’s Amy Poehler). At first, you might want to write this off as ‘The Office in small Government’, but it is much much more. My particular favourite, and personal hero, is Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman), an anti-government, Libertarian man’s man with a rigid moral code and huge moustache.
Parks and Recreation has heart, a fantastic range of characters (which gets even better in from season three), which never feels done or repetitive. More importantly, it is genuinely incredibly funny. If you are not familiar with this sitcom but are fond of other modern US shows such as 30 Rock, Modern Family and the US Office then I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Series 2 of Parks and Recreation is currently showing on BBC4.
What’s next?
Coming up this week we have the launch of two new ITV sitcoms: Vicious (starring Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian McKellen), and The Job Lot (set in a West Midlands Job Centre).
