Little Britain Online

Original Title :: Little Britain
Genre :: TV Series / Comedy
Cast :: Matt Lucas,David Walliams,Tom Baker
Type :: TV Series
Time :: 29min
Rating :: 7.7/10

Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the creators of this character-comedy sketch show, delight in all that is mad, bad, quirky and generally bonkers about the people and places of Britain.

Little Britain Online

Based on the highly successful Radio 4 series, Little Britain is a hilarious exploration of the British Isles and its curious inhabitants after a successful pilot earlier this year. The programme travels from the Scottish highlands, through Wales, the tranquil English countryside and the less tranquil council estates of Britain's inner cities, while the narrator (Tom Baker) adds his insightful and eloquent comments for those less familiar with these fair Isles

Series cast summary:
	Matt Lucas	-	Various Roles / - 23 episodes, 2003-2006

	David Walliams	-	Various Roles / - 23 episodes, 2003-2006

	Tom Baker	-	Narrator 23 episodes, 2003-2006

	Paul Putner	-	Various Roles / - 23 episodes, 2003-2006

	Anthony Head	-	The Prime Minister 23 episodes, 2003-2006

	Joann Condon	-	Fat Pat 21 episodes, 2003-2006

	Charu Bala Chokshi	-	Meera 20 episodes, 2003-2006

	Steve Furst	-	Various Roles / - 16 episodes, 2003-2006

	Leelo Ross	-	Tanya 14 episodes, 2004-2006

	Ruth Jones	-	Myfanwy 14 episodes, 2003-2006

	Stirling Gallacher	-	Margaret / - 13 episodes, 2003-2005

	Stephen Aintree	-	Fat Fighters Taxi Driver / - 10 episodes, 2003-2005

David Walliams personally chose Anthony Head to play the Prime Minister. Whenever asked he answers "Because next to Steve Martin, he's the only man I'll ever turn gay for".

The sketch involving Mr.T was based on a real life event involving Matt Lucas in his local gym.

The characters Lou and Andy were originally created for Rock Profile (1999) where they were Lou Reed & Andy Warhol. The characters were changed slightly, but their relationship, and their voices, were established in the earlier show. They new characters retain the original first names.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams were both huge fans of Doctor Who (1963) as children and Little Britain contains a number of references to the series, including a character called Matthew Waterhouse (Matthew Waterhouse played the companion Adric in the 1980s) and another called Michael Craze (Michael Craze played the companion Ben Jackson in the 1960s). Tom Baker, who played the Doctor from 1974-1981, is the narrator. Lucas had played the Second Doctor in a "Doctor Who" parody in the third season of "Shooting Stars" before landing a recurring role as a companion for both Matt Smiths and Peter Capaldis Doctor. Walliams, however, only had a guest role in "Doctor Who" The God Complex (#6.11) as Gibbis.

In the week leading up to Christmas 2004, the DVD set of the show's first season was the UK's top selling DVD across all genres, and was the first non-theatrical title to top the charts in Britain since Riverdance had done in 1994.

Patrick Stewart was considered for the role of the Prime Minister.

The second series was first shown on BBC Three from 19 October 2004 onwards. When repeated on BBC One in December, it had some of the more graphic references, (the gay/lesbian sex references in the Daffyd sketches for example) cut out and replaced with new material. This was due to a decision that these references were unsuitable for a mainstream audience.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams stated "The Young Ones" as one of their influences behind "Little Britain".

Some character's return (or are lookalikes) of characters in Rock Profile. These include: The "Kelsey Grammar school" teacher is also Kula Shaker's teacher. Eugene (see series 2 deleted scenes) looks a lot like Art Garfunkel. The "I was Molly Sugden's bridesmaid" couple look like the couple outside the Prodigy's house Bubbles looks and sounds like Shirley Bassey.

The Irish for Wales where a lot of Little Britain characters are from is Bhreatain Bheag. This translates directly as Little Britain

The show was never considered to be a spin-off of "Shooting Stars". Matt Lucas played Marjorie Dawes in both shows.

David Walliams and Matt Lucas both later appeared in Doctor Who (2005). David Walliams played Gibbis in Doctor Who: The God Complex (2011) and Matt Lucas would go on to play Nardole, companion of the Peter Capaldi incarnation of The Doctor.

The tiny Dennis Waterman character is based on an actual British television celebrity also named Dennis Waterman. Waterman made a surprise appearance in the charity presentation Comic Relief Does Little Britain: Live (2007), interrupting Williams and Lucas performing a version of their Dennis Waterman sketch. During his appearance, Waterman gets to complain that he does not have a high voice, is not "a midget," and does not sing or write the theme tune of all his shows. To apologize, Williams and Lucas perform one of Waterman's songs with him.

In one Lou and Andy sketch which takes place at a river. Andy gets insulted and is called Davros because he is in a wheelchair. In "Doctor Who", Davros was the crippled scientist whom created The Daleks. Tom Baker (The Narrator) was the 4th Doctor.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams considered giving Lou and Andy their own spin-off series. Marjorie Dawes in her own sitcom and the Prime Minister and Sebastian in a one-off special.

As of December 2015, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Anthony Head and obviously Tom Baker have all appeared in Doctor Who

Matt Lucas stated that Vicky Pollard was partly inspired from a short film that he had made at University which he went up to people and asked "How are you?". Which in the short film, Matt interviewed two boys with Bristol accents.

When filming the Lou and Andy meet George Michael sketch for Comic Relief. George Michael unintentionally made Matt Lucas smirk and David Walliams stayed in character and improvised the line "You made him laugh. Come on, George, stop messing about! You begged us for this part! You want to mess around, you can go."

Little Britain Abroad which is the 2 part 2006 Christmas special is believed to be the 4th and final series.

Made its debut on BBC Radio 4 in 2001, running for two short series of five and four half-hour episodes respectively. In 2003, it transferred to television, with an eight episode run on the BBC's digital only channel BBC Three.

A Jason and Granny sketch in Series 2 which saw Jason being caught by Gary, his mom and his sister having sex with Gary's grandmother was filmed, but deleted because it was deemed too naughty and shocking. The deleted scene was featured in the special features on the Series 2 DVD.

In the press conference with the Prime Minister, one of the reporters gives his name as "Boyd Hilton". Boyd Hilton is a real reporter, who later wrote their biography "Inside Little Britain".

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is considered as a major influence behind "Little Britain".

Matt Lucas had played Mr. T before in an parody of "The A Team" in the 3rd season of "Little Britain".

Matt Lucas and David Walliams stated "The Two Ronnies" as one of their influences behind "Little Britain".

Matt Lucas and David Walliams stated Reeves and Mortimer as one of their influences behind "Little Britain".

Anthony Head, who portrays PM Michael throughout the series, went on to play former Tory chancellor Geoffrey Howe in The Iron Lady (2011).

A decade before the 1st season, Matt Lucas played George and Marjorie Dawes in the hit BBC comedy celebrity panel gameshow Shooting Stars (1993) (TV Series) and David Walliams played The Lift in the CBBC sci-fi fantasy adventure gameshow Incredible Games (1994) (TV Series).

In the last Fat Fighters sketch of Series 1 which Marjorie strips down to her underwear and is told to lose some weight, Marjorie doesn't have big breasts.

George Dawes, the scorekeeper whom Matt Lucas played in "Shooting Stars" and was created by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer was not considered by Matt Lucas to be a regular character in the show. Marjorie Dawes was George Dawes's mother in "Shooting Stars".

Graham Linehan: (director of the pilot episode) appears in the first of the two prime minister sketches, as the reporter from "Whizzer and Chips".

User reviews

Delan

"Little Britain" is a wonderful comedy series starring the fantastic Mark Lucas and David Walliams. Taking an irreverent look at life in Britain, they tease and giggle their way through 30 min episodes poking fun at every one possible. The truly genius thing about the series is, we all know at least one of the characters.

The unruly chavette girl who thinks everyone is a slag (Vicky Pollard), The mean (and fat) leader of the "Fat Fighters" (Marjorie Dawes), "the only gay in the village" (Daffyd) and many others...

Meet the very bad transvestite Emily Howard, who swears she is a lady (but have you seen the hair on her legs?!) Sebastian, the Prime Ministers assistant, with an unhealthy lust...

The script writing is fantastic, the comedy timing is amazing, and it works so well. There is not one thing that I could say was wrong with this, except that maybe its too short? And we need some more Vicky Pollard! The new series is set to be even better than the first with many new and amusing characters. The long and the short of it? Its the dogs *ahem*...

Don't give me no evils!

Kare

Caught this on BBC America and have been Tivoing it ever since. The characters are great, but some tend to do the same joke over and over again. So, though this may not be a wonderful show for extended viewing, the first few episodes you see will have you in stitches.

Overall, I've seen about 7 episodes and haven't gotten tired of it yet. The show draws its humor from a deep well of absurdity, a natural resource the British seem to have in abundance.

They tell me I'm required to put 10 lines of text in this comment, so for the rest of this message, I will make giraffe noises.

Thank you.

Haracetys

This TV series is not for the faint of heart and what I mean by that is those easily offended by the complete lack of Political Correctness should not watch this series. Who needs political correctness anyway when David Walliams and Matt Lucas come together in this incredible sketch comedy. I can't decide which character I love best. The Rubbish Transvestite, Emily Howard, performed by David Walliams is lovable in an outrageous 'No-She-Didn't' kind of way. Daffyd Thomas, charmingly portrayed by Matt Lucas, completely refuses to acknowledge the other gays around him for he is 'The only gay in the Village!' and therefore leads a lonely life to protect himself from rejection. Vicky Pollard has to be my favorite this week. Her inability to string together a comprehensive sentence is perfectly executed with lightening speed. I don't know how anyone could walk away without being impressed by this team of writersactors. The performances are phenomenal. The Dialog is very strong. I'm purely gutted that I'm not able to watch the series while here in America. Saying that, the majority of Americans are just not going to 'Get it'. Having also said that, I'm an American and I love it!

Samugor

I live in France, and I am virtually the only person at my school who does not have Sky. Therefore, I never saw Little Britain on television, but I heard everyone else at school talking about it and quoting it. So I decided to get this DVD.

Little Britain is possibly one of the smartest, funniest comedies I have ever seen. It was EVEN better than I expected it. If you aren't British, you will probably not understand all of the humor. Most of the stereotypes in the show are exaggerated, but actually real. In Britain, every town has loads of Vicky Pollards. Its hard to believe, but true.

Little Britain is absolutely Unmissable I give in 9.9 out of 10 (because nothing is perfect)

Lamranilv

Ah Britain, the home of the gentleman, the birthplace of industrial, the home of football, the country that taught the world civilisation. But all is not well in Britain. Chavs have taken root deep in the culture, sexual practices have changed away from the norm even for those in high office while the old and infirm are allowed to remain within the wider population with inadequate controls. This is Britain. This is where we live.

And I suppose that is the best way to sum up how Little Britain began; a sketch show with exaggerated characters drawn from various aspects of life and blown up for effect. Whether it is the "ladies", the benefit fraud, the good-natured sop or the female teenage slag all were here and all were good targets. The humour was rather crude and easy (surprisingly so for something that came from Radio 4 of all places) but once the characters were in place it was easy to enjoy it. This has changed a little bit over the course of three series and we now find ourselves with a series that has probably peaked and now seems to be desperately aping its better days in the hope for ongoing success. It was never so good that it would appeal to a mainstream audience (shown by the BBC editing it for repeat on BBC1) but it was snug on BBC2 with low However with generally good praise and lots of catchphrases comes more pressure and a key spot on BBC1. This has not been a good thing for a series that really shouldn't have gone beyond 2 runs on television. The mainstream audience has come for the catchphrases and they are being fed them over and over without anything really new added. The sketches are not cleverer or funnier, they are just louder or cruder than they were before. The old characters are in a rut and the new characters have settled into repetitive jokes with alarming speed. Relying on catchphrases and such is good for one series, maybe two, but it quickly gets old and, with nothing new coming through Little Britain has managed to outstay its welcome while ironically doing better in the ratings than ever.

With the new series even those that like the show will admit that things have gone for more base targets than before. Many of the characters now rely on physical and toilet humour (always the same jokes as well) and not enough of them are actually funny. Tom Baker's stuff remains funny because, although the approach is the same, his voice and his dialogue is funny. Lucas and Walliams are both funny but they can't totally carry it; given them good material (Orville was an example) and they can do it but ask them to just role around in fat suits and that is what they will do.

Overall this is quite a funny show but not one that is clever or funny enough to appeal to the audience share that it is currently vying for. Relying heavily on extreme characters, catchphrases and crudity is not sustainable and, although I enjoy it, I rarely sit to watch it because I started becoming aware long before series 3 started, that I had probably seen the vast majority of what it had to offer. After that, why watch it retread old ground?

September

Britain! Britain! Britain! There's an old saying in Britain. 'Britain is top banana, yay!' I have had the pleasure of meeting both Matt Lucas and David Walliams dressed as Andy and Lou at a series 1 DVD signing, and touched Matt Lucas' head! and David Walliams did a really cool handshake with me! Probably the funniest British comedy of the new millennium, Little Britain leaves us giggling and shouting out quotes from last night's episode from offices and playgrounds all across Britain! Hilarious characters, the amount of racism and homophobic behaviour of it characters are what make it even more funny! I must see for anyone who respects British comedy! 10 / 10!!!

WOGY

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Comedy duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams portray a series of eccentric or satirical characters roaming modern day Britain and how the rest of society is faltering at the course of their actions.

When this show first came about,I was unable to show much interest in it.It was only until I sat down and really watched a few episodes that it began to grow on me (really so) and I began to see that,along with The Office,it was probably the only modern day comedy that could really be described as truly funny.

Like The Office,there's talent behind it,although like a modern show such as Bo Selecta!,which does tend to rely on just being really crude and vulgar as opposed to really being funny in any way,a fair bit of the humour on display is rather gross-out and rude.But therein lies the biggest irony:it's an interpretation of modern British society,which is vulgar and tacky.Who,when walking through some run-down council estate or local park,has't walked across some nonchalant,monosyllabic,incoherent trollop like Vicky Pollard?!?How many of you have come across some bitchy,condescending person like Marjorie Dawes when attending a weight-loss therapy session?How many Lou and Andys do we cross?

Lucas is the star of the show for me.I can't think of a character he does who I don't like.Walliams isn't bad,it's just one or two of his characters I can't stand (that 'eh eh eeeeeh' thing he does does my head in-I'd be liable to punch anybody who did it by me!).His 'I'm a laaaaaaaaaay-dee' thing is a little irritating too.He's good support to Lucas,but on his own,he ends up detracting from the show a little.

Okay,so it's a good realization of the people currently living in Britain.The thing is,the show's come on quite a way now,and it still seems to be very one-joke!In every episode,in every sketch,despite the show's continuity and its ability to be funny,it does still seem to be the same joke repeating and repeating itself in relation to every character.Pollard's 'yeah-but-no-but-yeah-but-no-but' thing is very true (it's how these common tarts speak!) but it is the same thing every episode,just done in a different context.It's not that it's necessarily bad because of this,on the contrary it's consistently funny every episode,but I can just see it being one of those shows where the gimmick will wear off rather quickly and the last episode will be screened in maybe two years time instead of lasting as long as,say,The Simpsons or Only Fools and Horses.

Having said all that,though,it's certainly one of the best shows around at the moment,and well worth seeing now if you haven't already seen an episode.****

Doukasa

It appears that Matt Lucas and David Walliams have chosen to finally end 'Little Britain'. It won't be missed by anyone with good taste in comedy. Its creators exuded the terrible smugness of a pair of untalented second bananas who unexpectedly hit the jackpot after years of beavering away in other people's shows. Perhaps this explains why it frequently descended into the sewer in search of easy laughs, mocking the elderly, the disabled, the obese, anyone who wasn't either young or good looking. Hitler would have laughed at this. It also spawned the worst comedy catchphrase of all time - "I'm the only gay in this village!". So what? It might have been funnier the other way round - "I'm the only straight in this village!" - but this did not seem to occur to them.

Williams once said he drew inspiration from going out into the street and observing "funny little people leading funny little lives". Had he thought to look in the mirror he'd have seen the most ripe target for send-up imaginable. There is a classic comedy waiting to be made about the vile media types who think they're cleverer than they actually are, and who regularly churn out dross in the misguided belief it is 'cutting edge'. Walliams is no actor - witness his dire performance as 'Frankie Howerd' in B.B.C.-4's 'Funny You Should Ask'. He is simply not qualified to take the mickey out of others.

The people most amused by this were children, the sort who find farting and swearing hilarious. The Americans rejected 'Little Britain U.S.A.' and, following the flop that was 'Come Fly With Me', it looks as if the less-than dynamic duo have had enough. Should their solo careers falter, expect them to reunite in five years time. By then, their audience will have grown up, and will probably be ashamed at themselves at having liked such a nasty, sneering little show.

The Sphinx of Driz

Little Britain is a badly made cheap sketch show which includes jokes that contain cheap fake British accents. The characters Lou & Andy are just a stupid idea, oh ha ha ha look there's Andy walking out of his wheel chair(the same jokes all the time). The Gay Welshman David, what's so funny about him? A person who is the only Gay in his village? People who live in bad area's of the UK will just keep watching this piece of crap. Just stick to your classic comedy like Hancock's Half Hour, Blackadder, Spitting Image, Mr Bean... Look ahead to 10 years from now, this will just be forgotten comedy!

I Give "Little Britain" A Mark Of 1 Out Of 5!

Jaberini

Watching this show really makes my blood boil, and especially knowing how horribly popular the show has become. What many fans of this show don't seem to realise is liking Little Britain is equivalent to liking crap commercial pop music like Crazy Frog.

The show could have been written by an immature 10 year old, as it consists of childish and sometimes offensive gags (An old woman who can't stop urinating in public) along with irritating catchphrases (Eh-Eh-Ehhhhh) whilst the one-joke one-dimensional characters (Marjorie Dawes is an inferior rip-off of Pauline from LOG) appear every episode repeating the same joke, that is funny once but not funny the 18th time. It is very predictable whilst the performances, especially from David Walliams, are very poor and unfunny.

I liked the first few episodes, but quickly realised they were repeating themselves over and over again, and in the next 2 series more intellectually comic creations (the Scottish hotel-owner) were dropped for terrible slapstick characters who only seem to disgust (the prejudiced vomiting woman, the two fat naked ladies).

Little Britain brings nothing new to comedy and is only either repeating what other comedy shows have done or is making crude uninspired characters out of British stereotypes. Watching Monty Python it's as if originality in British comedy has declined over the years with only a few exceptions, such as Spaced, The Office and the brilliant League of Gentlemen.

Ttexav

This is not exactly what I would call genius comedy, however, the first few episodes may have you holding your ribs in agony. It is a big risk relying your jokes on gruesomeness and funny accents, which leave the audience hysterical after a few times. There is a wide range of very funny characters in the first episode, feeding the population with great catch-phrases and jokes, but however, as the series moves on, the sames jokes and phrases are extremely repetitive and you find yourself becoming very bored. It is not always good to find that you already know what's going to happen next in a sketch, because it just becomes unfunny. If you want to like this, then I would advise you watch about three episodes - just a slight taste, because too much may spoil your appetite for this series. I myself like constructive and clever comedy, this is none of either, perhaps this is good for a more direct and younger audience?

Welen

Dear me, this is pretty mediocre stuff. Without meaning to be too much of a snob, it didn't bode well that the main quote on the cover of the DVD (which I was given for Christmas) was from The Sun. And watching this is fairly painful stuff: this is comedy by people who don't understand comedy--but who believe that they do.

It's self-consciously 'edgy' where the League of Gentlemen is the genuine article; it's repetitive, as others have noted--but more importantly, it's uninspired, and where other shows (say, The Fast Show) get tiresome after a while but at least have a real initial spark to them, this is just... empty. And that emptiness is made the more apparent by the awful laugh track, which smacks of having been dubbed on.

Even as character studies, Little Britain's sketches fall flat-- there is no compelling depth to them, no underlying psychology to extends beyond mere caricature. I've been rather bewildered by those on this site who have been praising its lack of 'political correctness': the sad thing is that this isn't 'daring'; it's merely rather reactionary stuff, and it's all been done better, more interestingly, and *funnier* elsewhere.

Ultimately, the sad thing is that Little Britain is precisely that: it's insular British 'comedy' of a very base, unintelligent English kind--always making the obvious joke, relying on innuendo and on catchphrases, and winking at the audience to make sure everyone understands it's trying to be funny. It steals liberally from *good* British humour -- everything from The League of Gentlemen to Bottom. It doesn't know what to do with the good ideas that it does have, except to keep bashing them hamfistedly at the audience. And it's just not very funny. I just hope that people won't think that this is 'good' British humour, merely because it tries to be irreverent.

Umge

I try to find humour in most things,but someone saying I'm the only gay in the village and repeating yer but no but. I admit it has me beat, I could watch it a million times and still struggle to find anything funny about it. It is about as funny as Ant and Dec are talented, and that's saying something. What is it about Little Britain people find funny, even the scene with the disabled guy is not funny. Perhaps, what I am missing, is that everything nowadays has to be politically correct so as not to offend anyone. If this is the case I can maybe understand the lack of humour in the show, perhaps what is most baffling, is how it won an award

Light out of Fildon

I think this programme is overrated, it seemed like everywhere i went people were talking about it, so naturally i watched an episode. it was okay, there were a few laughs here and there, but after a couple of episodes it got boring, it's just recycled gags and basic toilet humour and David Walliams in a dress! Vicky Pollard is funny and i do know girls like her (God help us all) but just like the real Vicky Pollards, they are not funny forever and the other sketches are the same, how long can he be the only gay in the village and keep saying he is the only gay in the village? The characters are grotesque versions of real people, which seems a good idea for comedy but after a while the level of comedy is so basic that i forget to laugh because you've seen it all before.

I understand it has an audience but it's definitely not worth the hype, feel the same way about this as i do Catherine Tate 'Am i bothered?' 'Yeah but no but yeah...' it's all so repetitive. there are far superior sketch shows, older ones like Monty Python's flying circus is inventive, artistic and new for the time, if Little Britain represents Modern Britain, god help us all.

Agarus

I am completely and utterly baffled by the runaway success of this show. I had heard so much hype about it that when I finally saw the first episode, I expected to be laughing to the point of tears. Instead, not only did I fail to laugh a single time, I actually groaned in disbelief on several occasions. The jokes were plain and simply awful.

The premise of this show is that it offers a hilarious caricature of life and people in Britain. This is only partially the case. Little Britain's characters do indeed resemble exaggerated versions of people in the UK, and they do mimic some Britishisms such as chavy 'yeah, but no, but yeah'. However, the characters are more like poor impersonations than true caricatures. And they most certainly are not hilarious.

There is no intelligence, depth, wit, sarcasm or insight into anyone or anything. Instead, sketches rely on repetition of lame catch-phrases and complete gross out humor. Even then, the gross-out is so poorly done when compared to shows such as South-Park or Family Guy in which disgusting scenes are used in context and with intelligence. This show cannot possibly appeal to you unless you have a sense of humor which stopped developing in primary school (or you actually are in primary school).

If you want a proper example of funny and witty caricatures of Britian, check out the Catherine Tate Show. The lewd and crude grandmother character is guaranteed to have you in stitches. For other great Brit comedies, check out the Green Wing, the Office, Black Adder and of course, the legendary Monty Python crew.

Nuliax

I really liked "Little Britain" when I first started watching it because I found it a refreshing change from the straight-laced humor that has been appearing British television lately. But after watching two episodes I suddenly realized...they're just repeating the same jokes, practically verbatim. The same characters, the same situations, the same gags. Literally! There's a difference between recurring characters (see: "Saturday Night Live," "Second City TV") and downright repeating the same skits every episode, passing it off as something fresh.

The first episode I saw had David and Matt dressed as old women taste-testing jams. David tastes a jam, realizes it was made by someone black/foreign/etc., and throws up because he's prejudiced and the thought of eating it makes him/her sick.

It's so over-the-top that it's sort of funny at first. But they keep doing it over and over and over again. Every episode. First, it's at a fair. Then, it's at a church. The same old stuff, every episode. And FYI "Little Britain" fans - this is a complete rip-off of the Monty Python's Meaning of Life skit about the exploding/vomiting fat man. The over-the-top vomit is sort of funny but, similar to the Monty Python skit, too much simply becomes childish and not very funny at all.

Then there's the gay-guy-who-thinks-he's-discriminated-against gag. First time: funny. Second time: eh. Third time: Enough already, move on. Same old jokes, same situations.

Let's not forget the guy who comes into the video store/dating service/book store looking for a specific title/woman and they repeat _the exact same jokes_ only changing the situation! (I.e. movies versus books or women.) "Oh nothing specific, just a 1989 comedy starring Rick Moranis..."

"Oh nothing very specific, just an 1812 book by Shakespeare..."

"Oh nothing very specific, just a 23-year-old blonde with hair from here to here."

That's not a direct quote but it's the basic idea of it.

This stuff is literally repeated over and over again in every episode. The same characters (also including a Prime Minister's aid, a "retard", a Weight Watchers' speaker, a computer illiterate girl played by a guy, a chubby girl played by a guy, et al) are used in the same situations for the same exact jokes with the same exact reactions with the occasional "new joke" thrown in, usually not being very funny.

"SNL" might not be a standard of quality these days but back in the '70s and '80s it was so successful because it would take specific characters and plant them in new environments, for new jokes, with new gags.

"Little Britain" is very funny on first and second viewing but it all becomes so tiresome after a while. My least favorite gag has to be the reccuring 30-something man who drinks milk from his mother's breasts in public places. Yeah, it's shocking and funny the first time...but now they've done the same thing so many times I'm just getting sick of it!

Matt, David: Get some new material! Please!

Bloodray

I guess this 'comedy' is aimed at an early teenage audience, in that they are the only ones who will (possibly) find it funny. It is juvenile without wit, intelligence or any of the qualities that make other British comedies so successful. What puzzles me about this is the unbelievable hype that has surrounded and engulfed it. Usually hype is warranted at some level, but in this case I can honestly say there is nothing in this shambles that justifies its reputation. Perhaps this is an indication that there really hasn't been anything decent on British TV for the past decade, save for Ricky Gervais. Lazy catchphrases, undeveloped characters, mind numbingly juvenile humour and an extremely annoying narration from Tom Baker, this is one Brit comedy that should be avoided at all costs. Go watch The Office or Alan Partridge instead.

Bys

The first time you watch Little Britain, you will be laughing so hard and will keep on laughing for the next half hour. What Little Britain failed to do though was to actually create new jokes, instead favouring the use of the jokes from the first episode all the way through to the 2nd series, and 3rd if there is one.

Without doubt it is a very funny stereotypical drama on British people, and was very funny, but what they failed to do and cheaply did was reuse the same jokes over and over again, and by the 4th episode, it gets so incredibly dull I could have more fun watching paint dry for that half hour.

In conclusion, great comedy at first, but due to same jokes being used over and over again, becomes in overwhelmingly bored.

Goldendragon

There are several words that could describe Little Britain. Some of them are far too rude for me to say whereas others such as 'crud' 'rubbish' 'pants' 'mind-numbingly dull' 'repetative' and 'boring'. The catchphrases are mundane and unfunny after just hearing them once, let alone after they have been parroted at you from everyone from your siblings to older folk who should know better. It's some form of perverted sketch show where not even the disabled, homosexuals or practically anyone else are left unscathed by stereotyping and various other spiteful observations. Little Britain wouldn't know humour if it slapped it around the face before strutting around it with a huge badge saying 'My name is Humour' and shouting 'I am Humour!' at the top of its voice. Little Britain isn't big, it's hardly clever and it's definitely not funny. I expect many people are left thinking 'Please resurrect the Young Ones, do another series of Black Books and get Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson to go back to Spaced!' Alas, the world has been changed. When the apocalypse comes, the only sound to be heard across the muddy wasteland of Britain will be a TV set uttering the faint sound of 'Eh-eh-eehhh'...

Gir

Finally, David Walliams is a big star and Matt Lucas is not known as George Dawes anymore. The two did a good show before called Rock profile but as they impersonated Craig David and Michael Jackson and with Bo Selecta here, that's dead but Little Britain will be alive for a long time.

Walliams and Lucas have made some great characters, Daffyd, the only gay in the village, Lou and Andy, Majorie Dawes, Ray McClooney the creepy Scottish hotel manager and of course, Vicky Pollard. All very rememberable and Tom Baker does some very funny and surreal narration. Though people have critised the show, saying it does League of Gentlemen references, League of Gentlemen was very dark and very strange, yet Little Britain is much much lighter.

Hope the show stays for a long time and Walliams and Lucas be very big stars.

Landamath

Well done Leo. It's about time someone said it.

"Little Britain" is doing everything Dick Emery did in the 70's, but with added snot and vomit. Walliams and Lucas seem to like taking the P**s out of ordinary working-class people, middle-class puddings that they both are.

Witness the recent article in the Observer Music Monthly, where Walliams interviewed Noel Gallagher,and he actually said: "Oh, how working class..." It seems to be a lot of British TV comedy (see also Catherine Tate) is based around lame, catchphrase, based "let's have a laugh at the scallies" schtick. It may get big audiences,and sell by the cartload on DVD, but The Sun sells 4m copies a day. Quantity doesn't always mean quality.

I've never found this programme remotely amusing, I've got too much respect for the people around me.

Thorgaginn

Here's my "Little Britain" tale; it refers mainly to the radio version.

A couple of years ago, I started seeing raves about the show in groups like alt.comedy.British and rec.arts.TV.uk.comedy, and the CD of the radio show was highly rated on Amazon.co.uk. I'm quite happy to give things a punt; after all, this is how I got into Chris Morris, "I'm Alan Partridge", "15 Storeys High" and "Peep Show", amongst other excellent things, so I ordered the CD from Amazon.

A week later, the CD arrived at work, and I was very excited. I took it home and put it into my CD player. As I listened my excitement turned to the deepest disappointment and even anger. I'd been sold a pup! The show was the opposite of all the things that I'd expected: it was witless, unthinking, uninsightful, amateurishly written and performed, and deeply unfunny. These things have nothing to do with the potential for giving offence ("Brass Eye", "Blue Jam" and "Jam" are gems), but are about the actual quality of the show. The writing, script editing, direction, and performance were either weak or just outright bad.

I did a double-check on my assessment by lending the CD to a friend. He said he couldn't bear listening to it for more than 15 minutes.

Here's the review I wrote for Amazon.co.uk:

"1 out of 5 stars Very Very Bad Indeed June 11, 2004

The creators of this work are tone deaf to comedy. Unfortunately, they appear to have outed an audience with a similar handicap.

You may have heard the expression "like punk never happened" applied to music. Something similar could be said here, except replacing "punk" with "the last 50 years of progress in comedy".

The contents of these CDs are so bad that my friends and I have entertained ourselves by mutilating them so that they might produce some sort of amusing output.

Kill to avoid."

I'd have given 0 stars if that was possible. If I'd thought of it at the time, I'd have described it as the audio you're forced to listen to when your telephone call is put "on hold" in Hell.

I've been unfortunate enough to catch bits of the television version, and the same problems persist.

I have a terrible feeling that those of us now alive are seeing out the end of the Enlightenment. The success of "Little Britain" only reinforces that fear.

Doukree

I remember being rather excited about this show when the railers first appeared, even rushing out of the room whenever they came on as to not spoil the clips through over-saturation. This all seemed painfully ironic when after five minutes of the first episode I saw the same sketch, in a marginally different location, then another, and another. Not only this but there was a distinctly unfunny voice-over by the great Tom Baker and the worst laugh track I'd ever heard (since usurped by Hope And Faith's). By the end I had decided that I need never see another episode of Little Britain, apparently it was all in the trailers anyway. Occasionally dipping into "new" episodes every now and then has done nothing to disprove this.

Please try their earlier show Rock Profiles instead, it is far superior.

JoldGold

I write this comment the day after Little Britain's "Lou and Andy" sketch claimed victory in Channel 4's Top 50 sketches ever.

A sad day.

Quite why Little Britain has gained the popularity it has, I'll never know. Lucas and Walliams are excellent performers but this show - in particular the dire second series - is just a series of catchphrases.

An example, there have now been 32 Andy and Lou sketches, all of which compromise of either Andy pointing at something, saying he wants it and once purchased saying he doesn't OR Andy walking around a bit. They're all the same! It just shows a complete lack of imagination in writing.

Worryingly Lucas and Walliams seem to have moved onto "shock humour." For one thing, it's not funny and secondly I question the morals of writers who think it's funny to spout racism if it is done in an "ironic" sense.

There are, of course, redeeming features. Lucas as fast paced Vicky Pollard shows real talent and the highlight of the show is Walliams as camp Prime Minister's aide Sebastian (mainly because he doesn't spout a "hilarious" ctachphrase at you every couple of seconds).

But still, this is in no way the "best sketch show ever" not when it lacks any kind of imagination.

Mysterious Wrench

Well OK, my Summary above is not very eloquent but I hope you get the idea. Basically, people who've watched the 2nd series of LB and still think that it is hilarious really need to go back to Humour School.

I watched the first series and found it pretty good - although I never warmed to it like I have to some comedies. (Alan P, Spaced, Fast Show, Big Train) Just found myself not really giving a toss about any of the characters. Add to that the repetition of a small no' of ideas that the writers do have and it becomes tedious after a while.

The 2nd series is fairly appalling. I've watched 3 episodes and have given up. I'm not offended by the acutely non PC nature of many of the sketches - it is just that they are not funny. Going over the top with a subject is NOT a substitute for good ideas and clever writing.

The real test of the writers of LB is whether they have the talent to produce other ideas in the future or whether this was a bit of a one-series-wonder.

As for people who claim that LB is 'the new Office' - they really do need a reality check! Ah well - takes all sorts to make a world.

Oh yes - while I remember, I do have a Vicky Pollard living some place up the end of my street! (Credit where credit is due)

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