Look Around You

I didn't realise this comedy series spoofing the golden era of TOMORROW'S WORLD was first broadcast in 2002 and looking at this site's info on the show it originally started off as a series of nine minute sketches . This was probably the right format for the show because watching the 2004 series with episodes that last for 30 minutes I instantly became aware that the novelty out stays its welcome as a large chunk of an episode's running time is taken up with say an operation on a presenter by medibot ( Don't ask ) which drags pace wise and stretches a one trick pony into an unnatural length

A lot of people have spoken on the flaws of DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY especially the point that the show may have been a good idea as a five minute feature in a sketch show . These flaws are identical to the ones seen in LOOK AROUND YOU which bizarrely started off in a format that suited it best . I have to repeat that 30 minutes an episode is too much time for this comedy series to be successful

I've written reviews for each season of "Look Around You", as they are very different.

I did watch bits of Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper's cult series when it first aired but having seen it mentioned as being on the iPlayer, I decided to give it a proper go. Whilst I think it had its moments, this first season wasn't quite as funny as I was hoping it would be.

A series of ten-minute episodes, affectionately mocking the educational television shows produced for schools in the 1980's. Each episode is themed on a particular subject and contains "facts" about that subject and a series of experiments around it. The episode encourages students to make notes on certain sections and to hand in their workbooks at the end.

This second season is a spoof of "Tomorrow's World" a science and technology show that aired in the UK in the 1970s and 80s. Hosted by Peter Packard (Peter Serafinowicz), Jack Morgan (Robert Popper), Pealy Maghti (Josie D'Arby) and Pam Bachelor (Olivia Colman), the show introduces modern marvels of the technical age, whilst working towards the live finale, and the Invention of the year competition.

So, there's lots about the episode that I did like. It's very authentic to the period it's aping - so much so I wonder exactly how much is stock footage from the time and how much is new. Serefinowicz and Popper appear in the episode as the scientists undertaking the experiments and various disasters befall them, depending on what the experiment is about. Those and the occasionally nonsense fact put forward can be funny - but what I was hoping for was more playing with the form as the series ran on. It doesn't unfortunately, and the standard elements of each episode remain the same throughout.

The shift to half hour shows, and to spoofing a slightly more recognisable format was, for me, a good one. It's all slightly more traditional in its comedy, with character work and running gags, though still with a surreal twist that is right up my alley. I felt that this season was much funnier overall than the first. Aside from the four principal presenters, each episode has guest stars and those are a litany of comedy royalty. Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Benedict Wong, Matt Lucas, Sarah Alexander, Paul Putner, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost all appear. The parody extends a bit beyond the show, with spoof idents and trailers.

I'd have certainly watch another season of the show in this format, although this was all she wrote for the show and I hope that it finds a wider audience with it's new home on the IPlayer.

For those of you that haven't ever seen any British schools' TV, especially that of the golden 1970's-1980's period, Look Around You is a send-up of some educational programmes that were, and still are, shown to school children in the UK in order to augment their classroom experience. In the 1970s-80s, having the treat of a TV show to break up the day was a looked-forward to experience for most, as it meant you didn't have to actually do any work whilst the programme was on, not to mention it was about the maximum interactivity availbale at that time (no PCs in the classroom until about 1983!) others seem to think it's an OU send-up actually it's probabaly closer to a 1970's/early 80's school's programme called "Experiment", dangerously close in fact. I think the guy who narrates the series may even be the same one that narrated the proper educational programme.

Look Around You is superb, keenly observed from its source material and surreal in execution. Well worth a watch, especially in the 25-40 age group who witnessed it all for real, but others may well enjoy the silliness of it all as well.

Although Series 2 was a large let down, series one contains all you need, whether it is the largest number so far, intelligent calcium's death, the Jean Grey making whisky, igloo building ants, brain flakes and the fact that Imhotep is invisible you can't go wrong with stupid science. To watch this series is to listen to the nineteen forbidden notes with the sound up, only your ears will bleed with stupidity and comedy. If you thought you knew all about water you were wrong, I mean what is water? We ask the same about birds, what are birds? The only thing that we can learn easily is that if you are to do an experiment with iron, in which a pound of it weighs about tonne, than you need to use AC/DC as it is heavy metal.

With the United States churning out more garbage per minute than ever before by way of TV and cinema, this debut from Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz is a refreshing change.

Some might call it the greatest show of the last few years. Others might say the greatest show of the decade. I would say this is the funniest show ever to air on BBC2. Ever.

Eight ten-minute episodes in the style of the Open University programs we all know and love serve as nostalgic reminders of 'the way things were', sticking to the dean-pan formula to provide constant entertainment and never-ceasing hilarity.

Popper and Serafinowicz, who will no doubt continue to flourish, provide excellent comic timing, with this perfect parody.

With a second series in the works, things can only get better!

10/10, *****/*****, fabuloso!

------------------------------------------------------ Review by Sam Baron.