IMDb user comments for
"Little Britain" (2003)

advertisement

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 9:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Index

90 comments in total

---

35 out of 45 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun, but a bit repetitive., 2 August 2004
Author: Greg Bulmash from Seattle, WA

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.

---

31 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah it's great!, 13 October 2004
Author: fury21 from United Kingdom

"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!

---

24 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Unbelievably Good..., 29 May 2005
Author: bassist_gurl from Paris, France

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)

---

24 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic. Brilliantly casted and performed., 3 December 2004
Author: Kariann-2 from Santa Monica, CA, USA

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 writers\actors. 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!

---

20 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
People can complain about our film industry, but they CANNOT complain about our TV, 26 February 2004
Author: suzanna kempner (daphnecrane50@hotmail.com) from Bournemouth University, England

British comedy has suffered through the 90s. For every 'Alan Partridge' there's a 'My Family' or a 'Goodnight Sweetheart', for ever 'The Fast Show' there's a The Sketch Show'. So how wonderful now that we are getting total gems and classics such as 'The Office' and, now, 'Little Britain'.

I have a Nanna so naturally she listens to the radio (that's what old people do). She told me about 'Little Britain' (originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4) and I watched it on her reccomendation. It is easily the funniest sketch show since 'The Fast Show' and Matt Lucas and David Walliams who have also collaborated on hilarious and highly underrated shows such as 'Rock Profile' (Lucas as Shirley Bassey is pure genius) are likely to become legends and in 20 years I wonder if 'Little Britain' will be seen as a classic just like 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'Fawlty Towers' is today.

---

22 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Very well realized show but one where the gimmick will likely wear off eventually, 1 January 2005
Author: davideo-2 from Birmingham,England

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.****

---

16 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Series 2 - Marvelous!, 20 October 2004
Author: DLSJACOBS from Little Leeds

First show of the new series last night. I was dreading that it would be bad. It's not! Hurrayyyy!!!!!! Tom Baker - 'The Queen opened Britain in 1982' - mad as ever. Bubbles - with her sagging snooker cue tits - genius! The Jam taster - quality! Vanessa Feltz and the brilliant Indian lady - fantastic. Lou and Andy - better than ever! Vikki Pollard nicking sweets with a cash register in the buggy- superb. Can't fault it at all. The pirate memory game man came back for a sketch set in a dating agency looking for any woman that must be called Susan Williams (it can be anyone, but she must have a glass eye, be 38-39 and have shoulder length hair). All in all, its a cracker. Can't wait for the repeat already.

---

18 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Great!, 5 January 2005
Author: djhunnicut from United Kingdom

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!!!

---

9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Was fresh once but the type of humour and reliance on catchphrases has meant it has got old faster than the BBC would like you to think, 27 December 2005
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

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?

---

6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
As good as Emily Howard is at dressing up as a lady., 3 May 2006

Author: MadHatter26 from United Kingdom

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.

---

---

Page 1 of 9:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
External reviews	Official site	Plot keywords
Main details	Your user comments	Your vote history