TV Burp

I'm rather sad that tomorrow (27th November, 2004) is the end of the current series of Harry Hill's TV Burp. Now, I can't call myself a great fan of Harry Hill, but I classify his comedy as a bit hit and miss.

In this show, he takes moments from TV shows (in Britain) and makes fun of them. For instance, Hill might say, 'Let's see the man who chews his coffee.' an then we'd see a clip of a man from some soap opera taking a sip of coffee and then chewing away as if he was eating rock cakes!

On the other hand, some things don't appeal to me. But I do find TV Burp a great Saturday tea time thing. It ranks quite highly on my list of current comedy, and if you are a fan of Harry Hill or TV bloopers style things, you will enjoy this unique blend of humour.

This is one of the few jewels in the ITV schedule. Not known for doing anything other than a total banker this little gem popped onto ITV screens several years ago and has quickly become a weekly staple of people who are fans of all types of comedy.

The format of mostly, just Harry sitting and giving glib comments of the weeks T.V. showing the clips concerned is simple enough, but the delivery and timing makes the interaction between viewer and presenter into a 'conversation in the pub' arrangement. This appears effortless but must take huge preparation.

Harry Hill's ability to get a bizarre angle on something which passed everyone else by is key to the comedy.

Most of all it is truly funny family entertainment, and let's face it, family comedy is usually only funny for the younger generation.

Great news - Harry Hill's has finally begun another 13-episode series! He kindly watches all the soaps, 'reality' TV and dramas so we don't have to watch them ourselves to find out how bad they are. Hopefully his prime-time slot will win him some more fans, so we can see him on the box more often. I miss the Harry Hill Show a lot, but this comes very close and is a much better use of his talents than "You've Been Framed." This show is a beacon among all the Saturday 'entertainment' that has clearly run of ideas in recent years. It is also one of the few real comedies that ITV produce, although they have a few coming up that make me cringe just from the trailers. How much you enjoy TV burp will depend almost entirely on how much you like Harry's sense of humour as it can be an acquired taste, but if you are a fan you should find this show priceless.

The quality of the show is somewhat dependant on what has been on television in the UK in the week running up to the show, but his delivery and the fact he is very imaginative in the way he uses the clips can usually overcome any shortcomings in the material. He is also good at spotting things happening in the background or noticing parallels between shows. An example of this is where he showed two car crashes - one from US drama CSI with high production values where a car smashes into a restaurant at high speed, people, tables and glass flying everywhere - and the other from soap Emmerdale where a car ploughs into a haystack at about 5 miles an hour. However there are too many examples to give a real flavour here and besides the jokes just aren't the same without his trademark deadpan delivery.

A good deal more original than other clip shows which usually focus on television advertisements or 'bizarre' foreign television programmes. This feels fresher because it is so topical in comparison. Besides which all the advertisement shows end up using the same old clips eventually, whereas TV Burp gets new ones every week.

Once a rich source of popular television comedy, I.T.V. seems to have thrown in the towel. The jewel in its crown in recent years has been 'Harry Hill's T.V. Burp' in which the eccentrically attired Mr.Hill pokes fun at the week's television. He would not be the first person to do this; the B.B.C.'s 'Saturday Night Clive' had Clive James up to the same kind of mischief in the early '90's.

Harry Hill is the nearest we have right now to a Spike Milligan or a Kenny Everett in that he also uses surrealism as the basis for his humour. Of course he is helped by the sad fact that British television in the Noughties is a bad joke, and thus a perfect target for comedy. Try watching a soap opera with the sound off ( the grimaces and leers of the cast are hilarious ) and you'll see what I mean! Quiz shows and documentaries also come in for similar ribbing.

One of my favourite moments was when Harry did 'If...British television continues to get worse' in which he led an assault force against the television studios where much of the pap we have to endure is made. There's an unmistakable anger lurking behind the gags. Rather than get mad, Harry has decided to get even. He has fashioned a good show simply by laughing at the bad ones.

On ITV there is almost no comedy output. That is except a few 30 min latenight comedies. One of which is this gem. Each week Harry Hill casts a eye over what has been on TV. By using his unique brand of humor he does it in a very funny manner. Highlights include comparing everyday objects to the appearance of a TV star and fights to decide topical issues. This has caused me laugh out loud a number of times. Though this is not for everybody's taste if you like comedies, which tend not to be mainstream then this is worth a gander.