Chief_Watches-Many

Not sure what episode the other reviewer saw back in the day, but the one with Brigette Nielsen is on Youtube and she is in the whole episode. Every episode of FF is there and many of the earlier episodes of this great show. I personally preferred the earlier ones due to the competition factor of the actual Fantasy League, but this is still very funny. I thought that also due to their being no league for the guests to be involved in there meant less statto featured which was also a shame. I'm not sure what they all do that is so great these days that doesn't see this come back. Why not play another Fantasy League with a new batch of managers? It's cheap TV and would give many old fans a treat and generate some new ones also. The Premier League doesn't have the players with such character as it did back then to make fun of, but I'm sure they could manage it. Come on Bring back Fantasy Football LEAGUE!!

Having just watched the first two episodes, I have mixed feelings but there are some actual positives to this show.

I have always loved Skinner's brand of humour and he is always very good at interacting with his audiences. Here is no different. The format of the show is on one hand interesting and has some potential, but on the other maybe too lightweight. If you haven't seen the show, Skinner is joined by two 'celebrities' and amongst them and the audience they discuss topical current events - Just saying it makes it sound lame I know. It's all very light-hearted and easy to watch though.

My initial thoughts were that I really wasn't interested in the views of the general public on things they often don't actually know anything about ("Like.... I think this....and like it's really rubbish cos like.... ETC), but thankfully this isn't one of those morning chat shows with Jeremy Kyle & the 'like'. Often the person that speaks from the audience is somebody who is there for a reason. For example, discussion about the recent Volcano saw two Volcano experts (whilst looking a bit uncomfortable amongst the pleb's), offered some actual expertise on the matter. It's not all nerdy scientists though, and has a mix of experts, normal people 'in a position' to actually offer insight, and THEN the odd average Joe who wants to get involved. Skinner hosts this forum extremely well and offers up plenty of laughs.

Often these things do depend for me on the guests, and if I like somebody then it will make the show more enjoyable. There are some good people around the circuit who I feel can really produce some good episodes of this. Not necessarily the same faces who do the rounds (although that will be hard to avoid), but I have a few favourites who I would be very happy to see here. Unfortunately the standard so far has been a bit weak. Episode 1 had Al Murray who was a total bore, and Miranda Hart who I generally am not a fan of (although to be fair she was quite tolerable here). It improved in episode 2 with Dave Gorman who fitted in well and some girl who I don't really know but she was OK. They could do better though. There are some funny people out there who do actually have some intellect and ability to do the topical thing very well, so I wait and see who they use in the following episodes with interest.

Ultimately it seems a reasonable watch. I much preferred episode two and laughed quite a bit. I can see this getting some stick (not everybody likes Skinner for example), but in all fairness if you do like him or at least can tolerate him then there is far worse on TV than this to relax to. It's quite good fun, is very easy going and if they can have some strong guests on then it has some potential.

As a massive fan of Charlie's Screenwipe & Newswipe, at first I wasn't too keen and was fearing the worst for this, but it has grown on me. Immediately hearing jokes just to make the studio audience laugh had me shaking my head and feared a very poor attempt at a mainstream Screenwipe, but by episode 3 or 4 I was warming to it and mainly became interested and was enjoying it for much of what I like about Screenwipe, which is the fact that I don't watch television in the traditional sense. I generally find out about & watch TV shows online, as the way TV has gone there is very little for me nowadays and the set is only switched on for football and specific shows airing new episodes. So this serves a similar purpose to Screenwipe for me in that I get to see what I'm missing, but with Charlie's distinct take on things. This alone makes it an enjoyable watch for someone like me. In addition, I was pleased to see certain guests such as Frankie Boyle & Frank Skinner (and the always delightful Victoria Coren) and whilst it may not be the best thing ever or even on a par with Screenwipe, I still found it worthy of watching every episode. Any complaints I may have are minor and borne out of the fact that it's just Screenwipe for the masses, but that doesn't instantly make it awful. I've judged this on it's own merit and 6* may not be a great rating (it's just my crazy scale) but I did like the show and hope for more.