The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer

I raved about The League of Gentlemen, I lauded Mitchell and Webb, yet now when it comes to writing about my newest obsession, Reeves and Mortimer, I find myself oddly stuck.

Their humor is silly and a bit surreal, decorated with various fake mustaches (plastic horses, magic marker, pipe...) and often featuring increasingly violent slapstick fights with bats and frying pans and cartoonish sound effects. They're an acquired taste, or they're tailor-made for the 13 year-old boy who likes jokes about passing wind. One or the other.

Mortimer met Reeves (real name Jim Moir) at one of the latter's stand-up shows, after which he approached him and found they had the same sense of humor, though it's really more than that -- the rapport of a double act is its triumph or downfall, and Vic and Bob demonstrate some of the best. You couldn't replicate the banter they do because you're not on the same wavelength. They're on a different plane completely. A plane where Ulrika Jonsson is a stewardess in a short skirt and Matt Lucas is the baby pilot in a onesie.

They probably don't consider themselves surrealists. I'm pretty sure they just do what they think is funny. This results in absurd, outlandish sketches and characters. Some are visually grotesque, adding to the surrealism of the show.

I guess what I find hard to write about is why I find them so funny, why I was compelled to watch this show, and Bang Bang It's Reeves and Mortimer, and the abysmal Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), and more than four series of the celebrity-style quiz show Shooting Stars. I think maybe it's because I adore the pair so much. I love their tremendous chemistry. It's a joy to see them interact. I also love the surreal element, intended as such or not. The Mighty Boosh certainly must have been influenced by these two.

Really good stuff. Juvenile and strange, but good. I don't know what else to say!

The Office - Threat Level Midnight, 7.17

Oh, Office. Harkening back to the halcyon days wherein Beesley was not so fancy or new, when Ryan started the fire (his cheesy pita, and reputation, up in flames) and went to business school, when Jim searched the state for Herr's Salt and Vinegar potato chips, all the while thinking instead of Mixed Berry yogurt and the artist who favored it.

I could reminisce for days.

This show is good. One of the better comedies on television. It's written well and has a terrific cast of talented actors. But it's past its prime and should end while it's still got its dignity. Its UK predecessor understood that it was a small show. It's about an office. Tim was complacent about his job and his life, and then he wasn't; and there was the arc of the series: he flirts with Dawn, runs into some roadblocks, gives up, settles, and then goes for it one last time. Dawn returning to the office party that night was the greatest payoff one could hope for. And there it ended. David Brent was not going to get more self-aware. The two relatable characters on the show found closure and the audience was left with a superb two-series show.

It didn't end because there weren't anymore jokes left to tell (unless Gervais had said anything to the contrary, of which I'm not aware). Is that what the American version is waiting for? There will always be jokes where there are good writers. But these characters are tired, and more pressingly, so is Dunder Mifflin itself. We've spent seven years with these people in this building and to me, it feels empty and hopeless. Tim and Dawn got out. Jim and Pam have settled (they're not even likable anymore, most of the time). I prefer Michael Scott to David Brent because there are more layers, but even those are worn through...

There will always be new viewers, and that's the lifeblood of The Office. They're casting a ton of new roles, too, so there's that. Keeping it fresh in Scranton. Though isn't that the oxymoron?

- - - - -

It's Always Sunny did Lethal Weapon and that was gold. I've been watching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and you cannot beat that kind of spot-on parody. Excellent. Threat Level Midnight (not even addressing the issue of these people agreeing to be in it, having the time and resources, etc.) isn't a great parody, and when it's shot and cut so fancily, it's not believable as a Michael Scott side project either. Lazy Scranton, and then this?

All in all, this season is about saying goodbye to Carrell and Scott, and I'm fine with an episode like this to look back and relieve glory days.

One day, I will write about Catterick.

Four box sets are on their way to me from across the pond.

1. Human Remains -- I cannot wait to write about this one. I've seen the first three episodes (of six) online, and they are brilliant. Julia Davis, of course, is the queen of dark comedy, and she is beyond fantastic in a myriad of vastly different roles. She has such a clear idea of what humor works and she pushes it in her writing and acting. Superb. Finished Nighty Night the other day, and though I didn't think the second series was as strong as the first (the first episode being the strongest of all, by far) I thought it was still a very strong, very funny series. Very Julia Davis. And then Human Remains has got Rob Brydon, whom I adore after seeing The Trip (someone buy this for me please?!), which is one of my top shows of 2010. Maybe ever. Anyway, these two actors came together to make Human Remains, a dark (in places, extremely dark) comedy in which they portray six different, dysfunctional couples. Brilliant.

2. The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You -- Amazon reviews were sort of negative, but it's the League, so I'm going to love it anyway.

3. Black Books -- BOX SET! SO EXCITED! What a stupendous comedy. More Linehan perfection. Can't wait for Moran on the commentary.

4. Catterick -- The series I keep saying I will one day write about. And after a re-watch or two, I totally will. Totally. One of my favorite series ever. So bizarre. Vic and Bob, Shearsmith, Lucas, Higson. You can't go wrong.