Snuff Box

It works when you think of it more as a demo reel, a proof-of-concept of the style and humor Berry would end up perfecting in Toast of London six years later by adding premise, characters and pathos. After all, you'll notice music, character names and even actors from ToL appear here first. Its a fascinating exercise to watch.

This show has some of my favorite running gags of all time. Matt Berry kills it as always.

There is a darkness in this humor that is hard to shake off. If you are already familiar with and enjoy the work of Berry and Fulcher then jump right in. They are at their peak here.

I love British comedy, everything from "Fawlty Towers" and "Are You Being Served?" to the Boosh, "the Office", and "League of Gentlemen". Snuff Box probably leans more towards LOG in terms of menacing atmosphere and milking hateful interactions for laughs. It definitely is not as episodic as Mighty Boosh or those other shows mentioned. Plot and defined story lines are more incidental than anything else, but there are a number of repeating jokes and/or obnoxious characters which become funnier as you come to anticipate what's going to happen. Berry is not as strong an actor as Fulcher (who has one setting; crass obnoxiousness), and sometimes his delivery is a little flat, but it almost becomes charming after a while. I laughed out loud a few times but mostly found myself smirking internally. I also like the music and catchy theme tune, and it's fun when all the characters start going into a song and dance routine. My favorite sketches are the ones with Berry smooth talking random ladies until he finds out they already have a boyfriend, at which point he performs some violent act of property destruction. I do find myself returning to this show over and over, mostly late at night. There's only 6 episodes anyway so you've not wasted much time in watching the whole series.

This show is a high point in the British tradition of sitcoms which give the most oblivious, selfish and lewd male characters free reign to inflict hurt upon the world. The boors also suffer but there is little justice or fairness to be found. More often the cruelty just mounts and no one escapes some awful fate. I am reminded of absurdist theater but with better jokes. I agreed with dschmeding that Mr. Show and the Tim and Eric Awesome Show from the USA are comparison points. But those shows exhibit some sense of balance and compassion. Perhaps dschmeding's low rating reflects his desire for this sort of ethical balance in a comedy story. That is a more popular approach, certainly in feature films. As for me, I find the laughs in Snuff Box harder for their sheer offensiveness and unfairness. The lack of ethical logic keeps the jokes from being predictable. In real life no one could never get away with doing anything that happens on this show. If you weren't killed on the spot you would be quickly locked away. Lovers of Peep Show, the original British The Office and Extras will enjoy this show though they should expect a heightened level of offensiveness. I call it offensive because I realize it is often seen as offensive, but I have not been offended by anything on Snuff Box. I haven't seen anything from American television that can compete for sheer low taste. But if you go out and watch stand-up groups like New York City's UCB perform live without censorship and advertiser pressure, you'll find some of the same type of funny, and it's more shocking and satisfying live.