Mock The Week Series 7, Episode 1 of
New Outing for the BBC’s other News-based Panel Show
It’s a new record, Frankie Boyle took less than 90 seconds into the first episode of the latest series of Mock The Week to make a trademark tasteless joke – about Stephen Hawking and the London Marathon. Fellow panelist Russell Howard even observed how little time it took, saying: “And so it returns”. And it’s a welcome addition to the Thursday night comedy line-up along with That Mitchell and Webb Look and the brilliant Psychoville making a nice blend of panel game, sketch show and thriller sitcom thingy.
Mock The Week – Not just Another Comedy Panel Show
However, that’s simplifying the situation as Mock The Week has transcended the notion of a mere panel show and has just become an excuse for contemporary comedians to engage in friendly banter and exchange crude jokes with a loose backdrop of news. It’s a cheap cliché to compare it to Have I Got News For You but that too spends more time these days on the talking and gags rather than answering questions.
The rounds consist of one question with the team interjecting with their own witty and pithy replies until someone gets it right and then it turns into a free-for-all gag fest. The aim of the show isn’t to get the most points, as like another Dan Patterson creation Whose Line Is It Anyway? they are meaningless, but to get the most laughs or loudest studio audience shock reaction. As ever it's comedy's job to say the difficult thing.
Frankie Boyle the Dark Heart of Mock The Week
At the centre of it all is the aforementioned Boyle, described by host Dara O’Briain (who has regenerated into a leaner form) as the dark heart of Mock The Week, who is the most notorious member of the panel and likely to say the most controversial things each week. It’s almost as if he’s playing a game of seeing how far he can push the boundaries of acceptability. When he steps up to the mic in the stand-up section people laugh before he’s even opened his mouth as they know what’s on the way.
He also got unwittingly caught up in the outrage to the Ross/Brand BBC phone prank scandal after a certain jumped-up tabloid newspaper brought attention to an episode repeat where he said something about the Queen and a part of her being haunted, even though the original broadcast received little or no complaints. It’s good to see that Daily Mail outrage hasn’t silenced him or the show as humourless reactionary idiots shouldn’t be allowed to dictate TV comedy.
The first round was based around the death of Michael Jackson and there was no careful tip-toeing around the issue as the old jokes were trotted out – his appearance, the court cases, his somewhat eccentric nature – except now they felt far edgier than usual. It would be interesting to see an uncut and uncensored version of that.
The Regulars Rule the Roost on Mock The Week
The regulars – Boyle, Andy Parsons, Hugh Dennis and Howard – do get most of the glory given that they understand the format, have their recurring themes and know how to get the most laughs out of their audience. But it is strange watching a comedy show where a veteran comic like Frank Skinner is overshadowed. Boyle and Dennis always take over ‘Scenes We’d Like To See’ finale, and the first episode was no different as they swaggered to the front at every opportunity. Then again they are the funniest.
Over the years the show has experimented with new rounds and different styles of presentation but it appears that it has found its form and the current seems to suit the comedic attributes of the regulars rather well. It is a shame that Dara’s opening stand-up monologue of the week’s biggest news stories has been lost in the ether in recent years even if it is a bit HIGNFY baiting. Still, it’s good to have a genuinely humorous panel show back on the screens.
Series 7 of Mock The Week is on BBC Two every Thursday at 9pm.
Mock The Week Regulars
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