Most fans of Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish's groundbreaking 'Adam and Joe Show', which played to the student population in the late 90s, were, I'm sure, fully aware of the pair's limitations. Their sets were cheap, their impressions even worse, and most of their skits were performed by poorly animated teddy-bears.
Neither of the pair seemed set to foray into the world of TV drama, so I was surprised to see Adam Buxton taking the lead role in this ho-hum sitcom about a deluded, past-it office worker who despite his years of worthless gigging, a lacklustre fan base, and a band-name that is easily confused with a toilet cleaner, still pines for rock super-stardom.
I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this, so I'll let it fly. Firstly, why are so many music-minded sitcoms so drastically unfunny? The comedy in this show was very, very gentle - the televisual equivalent of easy-listening - and completely missed out on the irreverent, exaggerated spoofing of rock music that made movies like 'This is Spinal Tap' or 'Still Crazy' so enjoyable. Adam Buxton wanted to pull off a David Brent or Alan Partridge-like loser, whilst still maintaining a relatively pleasant character. It didn't work. Secondly, it pains me to see first rate TV-presenters convincing themselves that they can act, when they clearly have no more experience than operating the lighting board for their school nativity play. Adam Buxton's performance was decidedly un-charismatic - an Alan Davies without the charm, an Angus Deayton without the ham. And seeing that he was the leading man, I found this a bit of a turn off. Still, he was five times better than Jamie Theakston. And five hundred times better than Paul Merton. Anyone remember the Paul Merton show? Stick to what you do best, Adam. Just be yourself.
