On Sky Three recently, they showed a repeated episode of "Futurama". In this particular episode, Bender becomes a star on a robotic soap opera. One scene featured some notorious television executives storming into the set demanding safe yet unoriginal concepts. Anyone with some knowledge of the TV industry (or any area of the media) know that executives everywhere are prone to dumbing down products that could have been amazing. I'm worried that this happened to "Little Britain". It could have been totally amazing, yet seemed repetitive. Could too many executives have slightly spoilt the broth? I first saw an episode of "Little Britain" three years ago and found it a wonderful comedy series; it was farcical, fresh and entertaining. It looked like it was up there with "The Office" as one of the best recent British comedy series.
Then in mid 2004, the big boom in "Little Britain" interest came. Merchandise poured out, the DVD sold like hotcakes, and it seemed like "Little Britain" had firmly sealed its place up there as a classic TV series; it probably won't be something like "Herman's Head" or "A Sharp Intake of Breath" that fades into obscurity after it gets shown first time round (as a matter of fact, how many know what actually happened in these things?); I personally think that it will probably be like "Friends", "Cheers", "Only Fools and Horses" and "Blackadder" in that even an old repeat will bring in decent figures.
As a result, everyone in Britain began to love the characters and their behaviour. This is where I feel the series began to take a dip thanks to TV executives demanding what they think people want, since soon into the second series, the same old routines and gags kept on popping up again and again. The most blatant case was with the Lou and Andy scenes. In these, a geeky carer named Lou looks after a fat person with special needs named Andy. It seemed as though Andy's catchphrase "yeah, I know" kept on recurring again and again, and the routine of Andy wanting something then not liking it once receiving it became as time-worn as various pantomime routines. The addition of characters like Bubbles and Ping Pong through the last two series didn't help.
Don't get me wrong; "Little Britain" was still good through the second and third series, and characters like the travel agent and Vicky Pollard were brilliant. It just seemed to have suffered from repetition, which I have begun to suspect occurred due to the powers at the BBC (it should be noted that Series One was made for the experimental channel BBC Three originally, so along with the fact that it was new, that could be why the first few episodes were strong). It's definitely worth watching, but try and see the first series if you want the best of this comedy.
Then in mid 2004, the big boom in "Little Britain" interest came. Merchandise poured out, the DVD sold like hotcakes, and it seemed like "Little Britain" had firmly sealed its place up there as a classic TV series; it probably won't be something like "Herman's Head" or "A Sharp Intake of Breath" that fades into obscurity after it gets shown first time round (as a matter of fact, how many know what actually happened in these things?); I personally think that it will probably be like "Friends", "Cheers", "Only Fools and Horses" and "Blackadder" in that even an old repeat will bring in decent figures.
As a result, everyone in Britain began to love the characters and their behaviour. This is where I feel the series began to take a dip thanks to TV executives demanding what they think people want, since soon into the second series, the same old routines and gags kept on popping up again and again. The most blatant case was with the Lou and Andy scenes. In these, a geeky carer named Lou looks after a fat person with special needs named Andy. It seemed as though Andy's catchphrase "yeah, I know" kept on recurring again and again, and the routine of Andy wanting something then not liking it once receiving it became as time-worn as various pantomime routines. The addition of characters like Bubbles and Ping Pong through the last two series didn't help.
Don't get me wrong; "Little Britain" was still good through the second and third series, and characters like the travel agent and Vicky Pollard were brilliant. It just seemed to have suffered from repetition, which I have begun to suspect occurred due to the powers at the BBC (it should be noted that Series One was made for the experimental channel BBC Three originally, so along with the fact that it was new, that could be why the first few episodes were strong). It's definitely worth watching, but try and see the first series if you want the best of this comedy.