Mock the Week

Mock the week started back in 2005 and gave us a panel show that was more about the comedy and talent of great comedian's like Frankie Boyle and Russell Howard getting together and Mocking the weeks news instead of analysing it and depressing us they made us laugh and relax instead of worry. The show still continues today and if you see it on TV give it a watch a enjoy.

In a mix of Have I Got News For You and Who's Line is it Anyway this topical news quiz is entertaining but is far from being as clever as it thinks it is. In essence it is a quiz with questions relating to the news given to the panel made up of two teams but it also features rounds where individuals step forward to make jokes on a topic given them by host Dara O'Brian. The two aspects work as well as each other although personally my preference is for the panel format more than the "stand-up" format.

And maybe that is why I enjoy the show but am not a massive fan of it. You see, to me, it all does seem very much like everyone has prepared their lines and their routines and at times it does seem like they are delivering their stand up routines in response to questions that they aware of long before the show began. Of course I know that with all panel shows they are aware of the questions and subjects to some degree but here it is consistently more evident as the various panellists seem pretty separate in what they are doing.

The effect of this is to delivery some funny lines but for the show itself to feel a bit disjointed and fragmented. Of course it does depend on the panellists involved but recently they have been stand-up performers who are used to delivering alone rather than jamming off others.

Overall though, a topical news quiz that aims for a lower end of the market but is still enjoyable and entertaining. The stand-up nature of it produces plenty of good laughs in each episode but does have the downside of fragmenting the banter and making it feel like everyone queuing up to deliver their lines rather than genuinely sparking off one another.

This is one of the funniest programmes on TV. It doesn't matter that some parts are scripted, the delivery of the lines is timed perfectly and anyone with a sense of humour will be laughing out loud. The guests have a brilliant banter going on, and the stand-up challenges are hilarious.

The guests aren't the same every week, adding variety and all the panelists have a different type of humour to offer the audience. Dara O'Brain is brilliant, he seems to fit the part of a host excellently, and the panelists who are there every week (Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle and Andy Parsons) are amazingly funny, with humour that should cater for everyone's tastes.

This incredible programme that has been aired on the BBC over the past three years combines the hilarious satirical comedy of Have I Got News For You with the witty improvisational skills of Whose Line Is It Anyway? to create what is - in my opinion - the ultimate panel show - Mock the Week.

The regulars are some of the finest comedians in the country at this moment in time; Frankie Boyle is simply a comic master, generating hysterical laughter from his frequently funny cracks at the leaders of the country; Hugh Dennis is a very skilled impressionist who comes up with unbelievably quick improvisations; Andy Parsons is probably the best satirist on TV; and Russell Howard happens to be one of the brightestup-and-coming talents around.

David Mitchell, Ed Byrne and Jo Brand make regular appearances, and Dara O'Brian is the perfect presenter for a show of this quality.

Tune into Mock the Week next time it's on Dave or the BBC to watch the funniest thing you've ever seen. Trust me - you'll be dying with laughter.

Panel shows have been a been a stable for British television, mainly because they are cheap to run, popular and can be very funny if the right people are involved. Have I Got News For You has been the gold standard in the UK because it is extremely funny with great captains, and often excellent guests who are sharp about the current events of the day. Many shows have tried and failed to copy their successful formula.

Mock the Week on BBC 2 is the closest show to rival HIGNFY. It has a similar focus to HIGNFY, the news of all things, politics, economics, popular culture, etc... But unlike HIGNFY which is a straight panel show, Mock the Week has elements of Who's Line is it, with comedians testing their stand up skills, very successfully. There are also other fun moments when Hugh Dennis has to play what there are really saying. What also makes Mock the Week work is the fact that it is more willing to make darker, more outrageous jokes compared to HIGNFY. If done right it's a masterclass of comedy, especially from Frankie Boyle.

When Mock the Week started it was weak. Most the comedians didn't have their confidences. Changes were needed, and they were done quickly. Frankie Boyle and Hugh Dennis found their feet, Frankie Boyle was allowed to do what he does best, Dara O'Briain, and Frank Parson (excellent comedian) and Russell Howard were brought in. There are many good guests, the best are the ones who have appeared on HIGNFY, e.g. David Mitchell, Lucy Porter, Ed Byrne.

Mock the Week is not as good as HIGNFY but it is the closest you are going to get to that show. It's worthy entertainment.