Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy

I have to admit, when I watched the first episode of Luxury Comedy (Pele), I was stunned at how bad the show seemed. It was painful to watch. I can sure understand how some of the more negative impressions here have come to be. I almost logged in and left similarly negative feedback. It took me few episodes to become a fan of The Might Boosh, but, after the 1st episode, I could not imagine ever becoming a fan of Luxury Comedy, or even watching it again for that matter.

However, I persevered. A week later, I watched the 2nd episode (The Jelly Fox). Hmm, that was less painful. The lion in the cage was bizarre but the end of the sketch was almost funny - almost a chuckle there. OK, hmm, lets try another episode. A week later, and I watched the 3rd episode (King Tutta), found it better again. Now, all of a sudden, the show didn't seem anywhere near as bad as it first seemed, and it certainly was starting to "grow on me".

I have just finished watching the first three episodes again, and I can say that I'm starting to like Luxury Comedy - quite a lot in fact. Some parts are quite funny. It's actually becoming a pleasure to watch. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

What I recommend to others is to hold off making up your mind about this, or commenting here, until you have given the show a good chance. Keep an open mind. Leave a week between episodes to give yourself time to digest what you have seen - because you will certainly be seeing some crazy and bizarre stuff - and see how you go. At this early stage (only 3 episodes x 2 viewings), I'll assume that the show's appeal will keep on increasing. As such, I'm giving Luxury Comedy a review score of 9 / 10.

To be honest, i'm not sure you can compare this show to The Boosh...to me they are so different in every way. The Mighty boosh has more of a storyline, with crazy characters injected where they need to be injected, Whereas Luxury Comedy is a show about crazy characters with no specific storyline. Like the man himself has described it, it is like a children's show for adults. Of course this style of show isn't for everyone, and if i tried to show this to any of my friends, they would probably throw me into a mental asylum. I believe this programme is for the select few who can deal with the extreme ridiculousness of Noel's imagination. To some it's a strange place where the freaks of the world hang out, but to others (the awesome ones) IT'S A STRANGE PLACE WHERE THE FREAKS OF THE WORLD HAND OUT!!! :') "Got to go now, it's the end of the show"

What a talent, Noel's ideas are fabulous, funny, clever, stupid and most of all original. His art and model making is incredible. It all adds together for a surreal, beautiful romp in a make believe world. "It's all bleedin coming together"

Essentially a children's show for creative adults, Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy is 15% guffaw, 70% wtf and 153% fascinating and unfolds like an engrossing dream.

If Snuff Box and Monty Python's Flying Circus had a baby and paid Richard Ayoade to drop it off daily at Noel Fielding's house where it were regularly pacified with a goat's milk/LSD concoction, in it's 2nd year it would look like Luxury Comedy.

That said, no - it is not hilarious. But the imagery, characterization, story telling and situational comedy are thoroughly entertaining. I'm never bored with this.

Examples of bits that made me laugh outright: Fantasy Man appears in a park after sewing up a crack in the internet that appeared between Youtube and Youporn, Fielding's wrist watch ring tone, Secret Peter - "They're puttin' a tube line in/ does he know I've got brain damage?" Fantasy Man catches a beatdown in an alley after trapping the Dream Tiger.

The Audience (character) is an incredible character - looks as though it were pulled out of Yellow Submarine, processes mashed potatoes and laughs at pretty much everything while being moderated by Doo Rag. My metaphor detector goes crazy when this skit comes on.

Fantasy Man's segments and the French mime segment were surreal and beautiful for it.

This show is/was outstanding.

Luxury Comedy is definitely the work of Noel Fielding. It's overflowing with much of the same surrealism we've seen in The Mighty Boosh, as well as his stand-up. We've heard him talk about himself in absurd terms. We've seen his wistful creations. Every time we've seen his works, we've seen flashes of a bubbling caldera of surreal, outlandish creativity, but always somewhat suppressed, somewhat mired in the interests of making his humour palatable. Luxury Comedy is what happens when the caldera explodes. This is Noel unchained. The show is a sea of glam, paint, and insane creations. This is not just Noel talking about how is unique mind works, this is him showing you, and it's... it's weird.

It's very weird. It's definitely the weirdest show I've ever watched. It subverts, deliberately, just about every convention it can get its finger paint-stained hands on. These conventions, of course, are comforting and are usually there for a reason, and when all of them are stripped so unceremoniously from the show, it can feel genuinely uncomfortable. The humour billed in the show's title is inexpressibly bizarre, typically staying well clear of punchlines, or anything else to make you laugh out loud. Instead, there's generally a haze of amusement that pervades the show. Some sketches in the show, such as the incomparable Jelly Fox sketch, hold our attention for their sheer hypnotic brilliance, even if they're not particularly humorous.

Naturally, it doesn't always work, on the level of art or entertainment, but it never feels forced. It is hypnotic, addictive, and surprisingly more-ish once you give it a generous chance. If you have an above-average tolerance for surrealism, I recommend you give it a go.