We Are Klang

Halfway through the first episode I was questioning my own sanity about watching this nonsensical show, but the thing is I was enjoying it!

We are Klang are three comedians who have been "klanging" on radio and on stage before breaking into TV. I hadn't actually heard of them although I did recognise Greg from Mock the Week.

They are council workers in a fictional town. Greg is deputy mayor and a buffoon, Steve is health and safety and is verbally abrasive, and Marek is minister without a portfolio and is, well, just slightly odd that you don't know if you should be laughing at him or calling social services. There is also the audience ministry deliciously breaking the 4th wall as the camera pans to the audience clapping.

This is a surreal comedy and utter nonsense but it is so funny. The cast members know exactly what you are probably thinking and they pre-empt it themselves. Greg is constantly being ridiculed for either being a fat Rik Mayall, or (my personal favourite) a fat Giles from Buffy. In the first episode Greg says "You know what i've just realised?" and Steve jumps in with "That this is a poor imitation of The Goodies?"

The cast play other characters as and when they are needed but to be honest it is when they are all in the office together that it is at its best.

This won't be for everyone, it is very odd and childish in a grown up kind of way, but I would urge you to at least give it a go. I'm really glad I did

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.

I think this show is utterly nonsensical and anybody who says the word excrement in their comment is rubbish but not rubbish. There's nothing wrong with the song in the first episode about the jews. It is an informative song listing folks that are jews. I never knew doctor who was a jew until this show. My eyes have been opened! Anywho, this is excellent. It makes no sense and has no plot line. It doesn't need one, i say more shows like this. More shows on BBC three that aren't American dad! I laughed hysterically, especially when there was a squirrel a ferret and some sex meat involved. It's awesome, if you don't find it awesome i shall quote you this.. "you are a giant porridge faced tool and if you don't get it sorted i will spin you off the end of my cock."

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.

I recently found this series on youtube an must say, i loved it. There are references to the Goodies, but since i never saw the Goodies i cannot comment on that. This show is an excuse for silly one-liners, bad puns and TV-violence like we've seen in Bottom.

The story line is just an excuse as a set up for short sketches, or skits, as they were called on Monty Python. The actors take up several recurring roles and in true British comedy tradition dress up as women.

Not the intelligent banter from Blackadder or a bit of Fry and Laurie but more in the line of the young ones, Bottom. It will appeal more to the younger generation but as an adult I did laugh several times while watching,