Review of Mitchell And Webb Situation, The

Introduction

Do you do poison?

Ok, not the most original way to start off a Mitchell and Webb review, and not technically a correct quote, since it comes from one of their sketches for Bruiser rather than the show on this DVD, The Mitchell and Webb Situation. But who is this Mitchell and Webb, what do they, and why? (Yes, I know that`s a Little Britain quote, but let`s just let it pass....)

David Mitchell and Robert Webb have been performing together for many years now, since meeting at that hotbed of comedy the Cambridge Footlights (Mitchell was president for a year). Many people will now be familiar with them from Channel 4`s Peep Show (or perhaps Webb`s appearances in BBC Three`s The Smoking Room), but they have also performed radio series (Radio 4`s That Mitchell and Webb Sound), as well as earlier TV work - the aforementioned Bruiser - and The Mitchell and Webb Situation, commissioned for the now defunct UK Play/Play UK, part of the BBC/Flextech UKTV network of satellite/cable channels.

I was an avid watcher of UK Play (now basically UK G2, but without the music that used to be on Play), and watched this show on first broadcast, so it was nice to see it out on DVD. Their new TV show, That Mitchell and Webb Look is currently recording for BBC Two.

Video

A standard 4:3 full frame transfer. I`m slightly confused here. As the programme was half commissioned by the BBC I was expecting a widescreen transfer, but it`s also possible that even in 2001 they were economising by not filming everything in widescreen. If this is the case then they are forgiven, if not then this is a hatchet job. My feeling is that this wasn`t recorded in widescreen because it was only ever transmitted on UK Play, which only broadcast in 4:3.

Enough of this technical guff, all that matters is that everything looks fine and there are no problems.

Audio

A standard DD2.0 soundtrack, as first broadcast, and as you would expect. It`s not wonderful or amazing, but it does the job.

Features

A few little extras have made it too. An 10 minute interview recorded in a windy park in December 2005, a couple of out-takes from that interview, and a commentary track on the first episode. All very unexpected and all very welcome.

Conclusion

A hilarious sketch show from some Cambridge graduates. Where have I heard that one before?

This one is quite simple to review really. If you`re fans of Mitchell and Webb (i.e. if you`ve seen or heard any of their other stuff) then this DVD is definitely for you. Despite the show being nearly 5 years old, it`s still very funny, and some of their basic sketch concepts that were on display in the recent radio series are easily viewable here. You might call their style "deconstructionist" since they do like to analyse the situations in their sketches, break things down, and then do something different with it.

And we must not forget the contribtion of Olivia Colman, who is almost the "third Mitchell and Webb" (in the way that Carol Cleveland was the "7th Python"). She works so effortlessly with them, it`s no surprise that she`s also been a success in Look Around You (series 2) and the superlative Green Wing (we want that DVD and we want it now, quit stalling!)

A very funny sketch show which should appeal to all fans of sketch comedy. The DVD itself is most acceptable, with good picture and sound backed up by a few extras. Recommended.