Review with Myles Barlow

Dear Myles,

Your show is the worst program to appear on our screens in some time.

There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to your ratings system, and your hand-held "shaky cam" style of filming only succeeds in making me physically sick.

Why not do us all a favour, and find another career.

Sincerely,

David S.

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Reply:

"David's letter, though riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, raises an issue that all of us must face in our lives:

How does one cope with criticism?"

Of course I want to rate this 'two stars'. Miles would have wanted it that way. But that risks putting off new viewers who aren't in on the joke! Ever since this show, I literally cannot see a star rating without intoning, in true Miles form, 'name of thing - two stars'! This show is as intriguing as it is engaging. A so unique, you'll never see anything like it elsewhere. I wish there were more episodes, perhaps that is part of its charm. Like Fawlty Towers, each is a classic and they've made sure the quality didn't drop with the need to keep producing content. My absolute favourite is the drowning review, but each one is comedy gold. Watch it, you won't regret it.

This show first appeared two years ago, it is one of the greatest examples of black comedy and satire to appear on Australian television, and there are always great cameos from local celebrities and actors. The premise of the show is that Myles Barlow (Phil Lloyd) receives problem letters from viewers, and then investigates the merits of an element of their question and gives it a score out of five. Make sense?

For instance, in series one he received a letter that involved the theme of risk, so to test out its' merits he went to Thailand to mule drugs back into Australia. Things that have been reviewed include divorce, racism, addiction and murder, these sequences are shot like short mockumentaries and are always messed up. Another highlight are the ridiculous analogies and metaphors that he uses to describe the experience he has just undergone.

The humor is deadpan and twisted, the direction always note-perfect. Definitely worth checking out if you like black comedy and are not averse to being offended. I can only hope that once production ceases (hopefully not for a while) this show will really gather a cult following and thus reach a greater audience on DVD.