The Omid Djalili Show (BBC One)

The Second Series for Iran’s Funniest Comedian

Apr 21, 2009 Steven Cookson

The first episode of Omid Djalili's new series has some funny routines but falls at certain points due to overdone jokes and a tired structure.

Best known for “taking in all manner of Arab scumbag roles” in films like Gladiator, The Mummy and Spy Game comic Omid Djalili takes on the characters so well that people are shocked when they hear his real voice and he’s a middle-class Londoner. He even plays this into a routine in his new BBC One series where a man comes up to him and says he’s the funniest comedian. When asked if it’s the way in which he breaks down stereotypes the man replies: “Nah mate, you’ve just got a funny face”.

Omid Djalili Parodies Sheiks And The City and Jihad’s Army

The Omid Djalili Show, now in its second series, is an equal mix of sketches and stand-up which examines facets of popular culture. The man has an eye for parody, as demonstrated by his Eastern take on well-known TV shows with Sheiks And The City and Jihad’s Army – the latter featuring a brilliant send up of the “Don’t tell ‘em Pike” scene.

Some the targets were a bit obvious and now wearing thin, namely Gordon Brown playing the lottery to support the economy, but Djalili’s acronym laden gag about the current financial crisis was a clever swipe as it made about as much sense as any industry expert that’s turned up on the news so far.

He followed this with the so-so Credit Crunch: The Opera about bailiffs storming around a family home to repossess their belongings while singing along to rock music, with Djalili confusingly resembling Motörhead frontman Lemmy. As you read this Ben Elton is probably penning the stage version.

The Omid Djalili Show Unfortunately followed Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle

Sketch comedy is a difficult thing to judge and not everything hits the right note. Henry VIII talking like a Bronx gangster simply wasn’t funny and the sketch where overweight bouncer Steve “The Dragon” Thompson tried to come up with new sports for the Olympics was big on ideas but low on laughs. Djalili is a witty guy but in this episode some of his jokes felt tired and had a whiff of “I’ve heard this one before” about them.

Unfortunately the weaknesses were made ever more apparent as The Omid Djalili Show started a mere 35 minutes after the final episode of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, a very similar programme that didn’t bow to clichés or conform to a traditional structure yet remained consistently brilliant (owing to Lee's unique delivery). It is perhaps a little unfair to make this comparison but the BBC could have made an effort to separate them as it was like watching Shaun of the Dead followed by Scary Movie.

The Omid Djalili Show’s opening episode was a hit-and-miss affair, which is a shame really considering he is one of Britain’s top stand-ups at the moment. But even if this half hour didn’t highlight all of his strengths it was at the higher end of comedy shows the BBC have put their name to lately. That really isn’t saying much though.

Series Two of The Omid Djalili Show is on every Monday at 10.35pm on BBC One until it runs out of episodes.

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