We Are Klang

I fear for the beeb sometimes. They cancelled Peter Serafinowicz and Pulling, didn't let Adam Buxtons MeeBox get past a pilot and turned Live At The Apollo to *shudders* Michael Macintyres Comedy Roadshow. It's hard to forget though that in the last 10 years they've given us The Royle Family, The Office, Broken News, The Thick Of It, The League Of Gentlemen, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, Gavin & Stacey, Getting On, Mock The Week and continued to supply Have I Got News For You and Buzzcocks.

Reading that you'd rightly think I'm a BBC fan (I am, it still makes some of the finest television in the world) but you might have also noticed only 3 of the shows I mentioned (Gavin & Stacey, Pulling *cancelled*and MeeBox *pilot only*) were BBC 3 productions and while my summary might sound like I like this show it's worth remembering that BBC 3 made about 9 series of 2 pints of lager and let the creators of that monstrosity make another series (the terrible Coming Of Age) as well as the so awful you'll tear your hair out, Grown Ups.

This isn't quite that bad but it's basically Chucklevision with ruder jokes. They leave a lot of mistakes/corpsing in and break the fourth wall (perhaps because they're not massively comfortable with the change of format from stage to television) but it's not cleverly done as it has been in shows like Garth Merenghi's Darkplace. I personally think the jokes they make at the expense of one characters mental disability aren't very sophisticated and there's a lot of hamming it up and shouting punchlines, which hurts the material more than it helps.

It's not a total disaster and I can imagine it would appeal to the sort of people who thought Little Britain and The Mighty Boosh were funny (they're certainly marketing it as though Klang are the new comedy troupe to watch). All that said I found the odd joke funny (If you're having facial spasms I feel bad for you son, I've got 99 problems but a twitch ain't one) but if you're looking for really good British comedy BBC 2, BBC 4 and occasionally Channel 4 are still your best bets.

So amatourishly and raw - it's a delight. It's pure chaos and anarchy. I could hate it, but I love it. It's childish, it's so absurd it hurts. Can't stop giggling.

Remember the Young Ones, the short lived surreal sitcom is remembered for the slapstick and over exaggerated performances along with being one of the first 'Alternative' comedies. In the BBC Three comedy We are Klang has taken everything most audiences love about the classic comedies and sitcoms and put it into there own. There are similar characters to sitcoms such as Blackadder and The Vicar Of Dibley. I am mostly referencing Baldrick and Alice Tinker, their 'intelligence' and 'stupidity' is very similar to the character Marek, who is a minister without a portfolio. He is pushed about by the other two characters, and is the victim to slapstick violence such as being hit by a sledgehammer or repeatedly hit by Greg and Steve. One of his characteristics, which shows the audience the level of his intelligence is to lift up his desk only to have everything on it fall of onto the floor and when he puts the desk lid back down he is completely oblivious to where all his belongings have gone.

Well apart from having an actor who looks like Rick Mayall, the actor does surprisingly have the same energy as Mayall along with his loud voice and postures. There are also parts in the show where the plot goes nowhere and its just all about making a laugh, such as the final episode in series one, where the entire episode turns out to be a dram of Marek's. Remember Alexei Sayle as Balowski in The Young Ones and how he would have very random scenes, well the show is kind of like that, for instance the three main characters play a minority of residents of Klangbury, where the show is set, such as a pair of old racist women and other comical stereotypes.

The funny thing is, in parts that make you flinch and think 'Oh my god!' you can tell the actor/writers know that's what your going to think. In episode two 'Crime' Greg is tied to a chair and is told by a juggling criminal mastermind that juggling is a diseases, where Greg responds with 'Are you trying to tell me that juggling is catching' and both break the forth wall by looking in to the camera with cynical looks on their face. Another example is the health and safety officer, played by Steve Hall builds and organises operations around Klangbury, in most episodes where Greg is labelling a point (which is often a joke or a gag) Steve will say the punch line of the joke in a sarcastic tone, as if it was obvious what the joke was. In other occasions in episode five he made the "B.N.P" which stand for "Be Nice to People." If your one of those who likes alternative, slapstick and exaggerated comedies, than this is recommended for you.

Surreal. Brilliant. Wonderful.

Im going to be honest, I love We Are Klang so much because it holds a nostalgic place in my heart. It reminds me of going on holiday and watching it with my family on BBC 3.

However, I enjoyed it for what it is also. Granted it's no Extras or Frasier but its style of humour is completely different. This is more along the lines of Bottom.

The characters are cooky , the music is quirky and the plots are fun for every episode. Ainsley Harriott even appears as a gun wielding version of himself.

Greg Davies , Steve Hall and Marek Larwood work well as a trio and the cast of supporting characters really fit into the world and fictional town of Klangbury.

This series definitely deserves a DVD release, especially when you see the other junk they put on discs. There is a petition on change.org asking for a DVD so feel free to give it a sign if you are a fan.

All in all I would give We Are Klang a solid 10/10.

There's no humour anymore, no comedians. Try this for size!