Cunk on Britain

In 2018 post-Brexit world, Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) decides to look into something called history. She certainly has her own opinions and her unique understanding of history. For some reason, this also includes the special Cunk on Christmas which aired on 2016 Christmas.

Diane Morgan delivers a deadpan performance of the clueless fake historian presenter. She is using the style of all those British presenters of history and nature docs. It is funny and slightly informative unless you start believing some of the ridiculous ideas. I really laughed out loud. That by itself is enough to recommend this show.

I watched this show not knowing much about the show or the character of Philomena Cunk which apparently had appeared in sketches on other shows. I had just seen a clip of the now famous (or perhaps infamous) interview about King Arthur and Camelot and managed to find the full episodes online. Oh man am I glad I watched the whole thing.

The writing is absolutely flawless. This show has the highest jokes per minute ratio of anything I've seen in recent memory. The send up of BBC historical documentaries is perfectly executed, and what a performance by Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk. It's perfection. Countless times I had to pause and rewind because I missed jokes due to laughing too hars.

I like that the interviewees were trying their best to keep a straight face, although I'll never understand how they weren't roaring with laughter. I would love to see the outtakes.

In fairness, it is laugh out loud funny albeit a very guilty pleasure! Am not so sure I agree with other reviewers about the 'gotcha' interview comparisons with (the also wonderful) 'Brass Eye', 'The Day Today' et al. A sweeping generalisation I know, I'd wager virtually all the prominent figures interviewed would be entirely familiar with "1066 and all that" and I suspect they would have quickly cottoned on to what was happening - so fair play to all involved!

Less sensibly, the only negative is that there was no interview with Lance Armstrong - the first man to play trumpet on the moon for a 'Nescafé Advert' in 1995 (the first two words became half of what NASA is now named even to this day) - just four years after the last episode of Brush Strokes aired on UK TV.

Diane Morgan's hilarious Charlie Brooker-scripted alter ego gets a series all to herself, as she narrates her own very personal history of Britain. 'Cunk on Britain' follows in the traditions of 'Brass Eye' is skewering television conventions, and of 'Ali G.' in positing the existence of a most unlikely presenter and interviewer (though in this case, one strongly suspects the interviewees are in on the joke). What makes this unique, however, is the degree of Cunk's stupidity, anchored in the silliest of wordplay but all uttered with a stright face. Does it really merit five episodes? Possibly the appeal palls a little by the end, but there are few other comedies that make have made me smile with the same frequency.

Diane Morgan is possibly the funniest actor alive right now. She's brilliant in this series, a parody of the self-important BBC history documentary. Well worth your time.