Twenty Twelve

Anyone tuning into this show hoping it to be a match for W1A, forget it. This has none of the wonderful casting of W1A, missing essential components Hugh Skinner's Will and David Westhead's profane under-the-breath pronouncements that spoke for us, the audience. The rapid fire idiocy around the table is stilted, having none of the hilarity of its successor. But all is not lost. Hugh Bonneville is as expected, wonderful, although his character is much more refined in W1A, here more abrupt and a bit mean. And Olivia Coleman is wonderful as always.

I received the boxed set edition of this "spoof" series as a birthday gift and am pleased to say that this is one collection that won't sit on the shelf unwatched. It's a droll, if not laugh- out-loud comedy satirising the doings and undoings of the team set up to ensure the smooth operation of the then impending London Olympic Games of 2012.

Peopled by just-exaggerated-enough characters all too believable in their ineptitude, it gently mocks their blundering officiousness with fly-on-the-wall scrutiny, pieces to camera and occasional interaction with them by an unseen interviewer. Heading the team is the bumptious Ian Fletcher, played by Hugh Bonneville, the archetypal 24-7 workaholic, whose private life is foundering under the strain, while carrying an Olympic-size torch for him is his super-efficient P.A. Sally, forever plying him with massive portions of fast food, played in best scene-stealing fashion by Olivia Colman.

Of the remainder, Jessica Hynes as Siobhan Sharpe, the domineering on-the-go "Head Of Brand", with her catchphrases "Cool" and "This is the thing" and Karl Theobald as the crisp-munching but out-to-lunch Head of Logistics are particularly funny while for added realism, real life bigwigs Lord "Seb" Coe and London Mayor Boris Johnston are happy to put in cameo appearances too.

The format of Ian arriving for the daily hot-air group-meeting does grate a little after a few episodes while some of the supporting characters lack definition but I think the humour improves when the scenarios are opened out, for example the crazy coach-trip with the Brazilian Olympic delegation or the unveiling of the bizarre backward-counting Olympic Clock complete with its artistically-temperamental creator. The actors cope very well with the demands of their supposedly off-the-cuff, overlapping dialogue although as the DVD-extra cast interviews make clear, not a single line is improvised.

All in all, I think this fresh take on the "mockumentary" concept is a winner, not quite gold-medal standard, but certainly on the podium somewhere.

Twenty Twelve

This was comedy gold from start to finish. I would of course caveat that by saying that to really understand it you needed to be a Gamesmaker or other employee at the 2012 games.

Either way it was Not entirely unintelligible for those that weren't.

This is perhaps a near perfect mockumentary and as the show progressed the situations really morphed into farce, it was brilliant.

The timing and casting was award winning and this continues with W1A. I think maybe GCHQ would be a good next step lol

I cannot give the single reason that makes this series is so perfect . Sharply observed narration by David Tennant is superb and each of the actors were superbly cast . Understated stereotypes all contributed in perfect measure to execute this really witty script . The ending with Hugh Bonneville and Olivia Colman is the best ending I have ever seen, bar one (Blackadder). Please give this a watch ! So that's all good.....

They've tried to take the functionality of office(UK) into this. But the storyline is boring. Characters are mediocre, plotl ine is meh. Overall nothing great to watch tbh.

I only watched this for Jessica Hynes, came here from watching Spaced. But this is really disappointing.