Nathan Barley

I came to Nathan Barley one Friday night totally by accident, as i am usually out and about on weekend nights. I stumbled on it and was immediately sucked in by their world. It may have got the lowest ratings channel 4 have ever received on a Friday night, but its popularity in DVD format shows its cult following. HMV (Leeds)sold out in their first week and had to re-order another 200 or so due to unexpected sales. The comedy depicts an image-conscious world where most of the characters are working in the media spectrum, either in newspapers (Dan Ashcroft), documentaries (Claire Ashcroft) or in websites/music or anything else he can get his idiotic hands into (aka Nathan Barley). The show is the typical 6 episodes. It centres mainly around the 'friendship' between Nathan Barley and Dan Ashcroft. Barley loves Ashcroft and wants to be just like him (e.g. copying haircut, salmon/scrambled egg coffee) but Dan Ashcroft despises him for being 'the King of the Idiots' and for wanting to sleep with his sister. Just as Dan seems to be winning his little personal duel against Barley, things go wrong for him. The comedy is layered and warrants multiple watches. I have watched 'The Mighty Boosh' last week to see what all the fuss was about. I personally believe Nathan Barley to be a far better comedy. More development of characters, better use of language, more money spent on design, interesting take on London society. Futuristic yet still very accessible, i recommend Nathan Barley to anyone. Even my dad managed a few laughs. It has catchphrases and songs, and games (Barley's take on paper, scissors, stones) and slogans (Suga Rape)and a high number of laughs per minute. It is worth buying the DVD just for the booklet of stencils and slogans and 'political comments' which accompanies it. Futures yeah! Would have been nice if Vince Noir (off 'the Mighty Boosh') had been given a better part. If Peep Show was the comedy of 2004, in the words of Ricky Gervais, perhaps Nathan Barley will end up being the new comedy of 2005. Believe.

A lot of people will argue that Chris Morris has gone off the boil. Perhaps he has, but his sense of satire is still sharper than anyone. Before he had great success spoofing media sensationalism of current affairs with the groundbreaking BrassEye and years before that The Day Today (with Steve Coogan). Here he takes it a step further and spoofs London journo scenesters, always trying to stay ahead of the pack with the next trend and fad.

It follows the career of struggling columnist Dan Ashcroft, a semi-intellectual trapped between the idiots he works with and a more astute crowd and a man who epitomises everything that Dan hates about his life - his biggest disciple - Nathan Barley. From the first episode it lays out Dan's dilemma and as the series unfolds shows us why he isn't so very different from the people he hates and is surrounded by, perhaps that he is in some way responsible for them. A philosophical tale that everyone can relate to on some level.

Whether this is an accurate spoof I can't tell, as I don't know anyone of the crowd Morris pokes fun at here so mercilessly. On my third and fourth viewings I still try to decide whether the writing is minimalist genius or just lazy. But for some reason it is humorous and believable... you can imagine tabloid writers sitting round a meeting table surrounded by office toys, desperately trying to "outcool" the next paper by spawning meaningless catchphrases and reviewing supposed artists who are nothing more than shameless fools. Whether it's happened yet, or it's a prediction of the sort of culture we're heading towards, it certainly entertains and forces questions about the way we perceive and are led by mass media. 8/10

Before I watched this series on DVD, I was wondering why there were so many bad reviews by fans of Chris Morris. But now I kind of understood the reason why. Because the story is pretty much about Chris Morris himself; a caricature of what he has achieved and people who appreciate his comedy. Chris Morris's followers are all despised in there. The person who you believe is your 'Preacher Man' now tells you he is an 'Idiot'.....who could instantly appreciate such things? From 'On the Hour 'to 'Blue Jam', he had been making, topical , but more and more excessive humour to the point that no one can really laugh out loud. (Oh, please, is there anyone who's cracked up with the joke about a man who kept committing suicide?) Those jokes are just like Nathan's trashbat.co.ck and what his people find 'COOL'. By watching this sitcom, one could guess a bit about his inner thoughts when he received all those praises and admiration on his works. He might have been in a gridlock because how deviantly he went, no one said no to him and the way out was to ridicule himself in the exactly same way as he did previously. I think Nathan Barley is a natural step for a comic genius like Chris Morris. I really loved it. Glad to purchase this DVD.

Opinions are mixed about Nathan Barley - suffice to say, if you expect Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker to re-hash their earlier work and be satisfied then you've misunderstood their ethos (wheras I'm guessing at it - but at least I'm making an effort!!)

It's not Brasseye or TV Go Home, and why would it be? They're done, they exist and we can watch/read them.

The target for their humour might be narrow, but it works from a city-dweller perspective - and as I recall from my youth, there's always stupid trend-focused fools in villages too!

I loved it - you might? But it's not Jam or Brasseye, or TV Go Home or Charlie's Guardian columns (although I *would* like to see Charlie getting proper spleen-venting exposure!).

People seem to either love or hate this series. I found myself liking some of it, but overall I thought the scripts were underdeveloped. Considering the unrestrained venom that went into the original Nathan Barley character (as realised in the www.tvgohome.com spoof TV listings - which I still find hilarious), this TV series is actually pretty tame (and sometimes lame).

I found some moments of this show funny, but not rolling around on the floor laughing my head off like when watching Brass Eye. Nathan Barley the TV show is just not daring enough. The worst moments are when the shows slip into clichéd sitcom farce, which just doesn't fit the Chris Morris style.

Good, but not great.