L - R: Jack Dee, Vic Reeves, Angelos Epithemiou, George Dawes, Bob Mortimer, Ulrika Jonsson
This year saw a welcome comeback for cult favourite Shooting Stars. But what has changed since the programme's last on-screen outing? Former regulars author Will Self and potter Johnny Vegas were replaced by Jack Dee (respected comedian and star of Curb rip-off Lead Balloon) and Angelos Epithemiou (an award-winning burger van owner from the North East). The pair were pivotal in the success of this series; Dee, ever sour-faced, and deadpan Epithemiou constantly claiming that he dislikes the show as it is at odds with his own sense of humour.
Other than the line-up tweaks, nothing much is different. The challenges are still outlandishly strange, the questions and club singer round are still impossible to answer and Reeves and Mortimer still exude a mischevious nature. Brilliant.
Series highlights:
- Reeves and Mortimer attempting to cheer up "grumpy midnight turtle" Jack Dee by playing drainpipes.
- Angelos' minimalist rendition of The Cat Crept In.
- Paddy Considine throwing footwear into the mouth of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
- Reeves taking Liz McClarnon on a date consisting of the original Star Trek theme and information about bulb Wattages.
- Seeing Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace dipping his forensic nuts into various desserts.
During the 1990s, Shooting Stars was a regular feature of BBC2's 'comedy night' schedule, where all of one weeknight's prime-time slots were occupied by The Fast Show, Red Dwarf and a number of other decent comedies currently recieving heavy rotation on Dave. In this instance, Shooting Stars didn't really stand out as anything special. Arguably, however, standards of comedy on the BBC have slipped, making Shooting Stars seem incredible this time round, even though it's no funnier than it used to be.
I'm unsure as to why the BBC no longer structures its comedy schedules in this way, but I'm willing to bet its due to the arrival of digital. This forces any show that isn't aimed squarely at the Coldplay-listening blandoids who make up prime-time's key demographic to be shifted onto a more 'suitable' channel. For example, the excellent first series of The Mighty Boosh was considered too left-field to feature on BBC2 and thus was shown on BBC3, (a 'yoof' channel aimed at cretins), where it went almost completely unwatched.
It seems illogical to believe that this generation's comedy writers and performers are any less amusing than the last. In the age of digital, Sky+ and thousands of channels, it appears that the quest for ratings and revenue means that TV networks are only willing to comission populist comedy, as opposed to something brave and challenging like Brass Eye.
Don't give people what they want. People voted for the Nazis.
Give me more Shooting Stars though.
Greg
n.b. A long overdue Shooting Stars DVD is scheduled for release next month.
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