Murder in Successville

This show is all about the concept - putting an unsuspecting TV celeb in the position of solving a murder mystery. Throw in exaggerated character impersonations, a bit of humour, a touch of awkwardness, a bit of improv (this is where it really comes to life), and great end credit songs, and you've got a gem.

Rarely do I feel the need to watch something twice when it comes out, but this programme has that affect as it is full of nuances and little bits of information that are good for a second viewing.

DI Sleet, the chief (Gordon Ramsay) and Ciarad Lloyd deserve special mention, though the celebs each play their part.

It's nice to see something different from the usual panel show/sitcom based comedy. Hopefully there's more to come.

I think the idea for this show is great. It's a mix of scripted and improv with the guest playing the role of the PC assisting the DI investigating a murder. The guest is on their own and tries to play the part without laughing at the numerous funny situations and dialogue, at the end they have to choose who they think the killer is. It's often funny but varies by episode, some barely are, others I laughed quite a bit. It's also fun seeing the same few character actors try to play a lot of different celebrities, often ones from the US. Overall, I enjoyed it and wish they made more episodes.

That said, a consistent flaw in the show is the murder mystery aspect. If you're hoping to be able follow along and try to figure out who it was, the guests often do not gather enough clues, getting distracted by the humorous parts and the DI, and little details in a scene are hard to notice due to the darkness (going for a classic crime noir look but went too heavy on it) and camera angles. The characters being investigated also tend to be overly eccentric and uncooperative though at least 1 thing will make it seem like it could be them. This results in the guests being wrong most of the time at the end when they have to choose the killer.

Murder in Successville is a silly mish mash of genres whose success depends on how much effort the celebrity of the week makes an effort to fit in and do some detective work.

Somehow each week a real celebrity is introduced as a new recruit at a police station where he is paired with hard boiled DI Sleet and investigate a murder of a celebrity. Last week it was Bruno Tonioli and this week it was Reese Witherspoon.

During the course of their investigations they come across celebrity crime scene investigators (Taylor Swift for example) and celebrity suspects. Last week we had the Carr twins (Alan and James Carr.) This week Gary Barlow was among the suspects.

There are shades of Stella Street here where we had celebrities living in an ordinary street and it was noticeable that Phil Cornwall was a celebrity impersonator here as well.

It is ridiculous and its more enjoyable if you know the C list celebrity of the week. There are actual clues when various suspects are questioned and it is up to the celebrity to call the suspect and we find out whether they are correct.

There is a lot of corpsing as DI Sleet put them in an absurd situation or the suspects make them do silly things. The giggles add a lot to the fun but it is also haphazard as well.

Murder in Successville is a brilliantly funny murder mystery series that i enjoyed immensely. Tom Davis plays his part superbly with an air of incompetence and vulnerability and being a very likable character to boot. The celebrities are the spark for the format to work and they deliver genuinely funny performances. The rest of the cast play their parts competently and with huge amounts of vigour and i really liked the pantomime type of delivery for the show. When unexpected moments happen it is hilarious to see the ad-lib between the celebs and Tom as it is scripted to the degree of the story being played out only, leaving plenty of room for comedy. Series 1 was good but series 2 got even better. I really hope this show runs for a long time as each and every episode is entirely different from the last, using clever use of props and locations. It really has the feel of a cityscape and is filmed and edited fantastically. Top marks........

I'm not a fan of giving these type of celebrities anymore airtime than they deserve, however, I do think this works well. I love the film noir styling, the concept of the show is great, ad lib to a certain degree makes the comedy genuine and you can't help but laugh. It's off the wall approach is fresh a mix of mighty boosh meets sin city... The lead guy (Sleet played by Tommy Davis) is great in his role an obscure giant of a character that keeps the celebs ticking along the process. The celebrity impersonations aren't great but I'm sure it's intentionally rough to keep it edgy. There is also the element of who done it, I know the plots are very random but it's still another element of intrigue and keeps you guessing. I would like to know how informed the celebs actually are, I do hope they are as in the dark as is made out. I'm hooked and hope it continues for a third series.