Review of Bo! In The USA

Introduction

After terrorising celebrities from his base in Britain, über-stalker Avid Merrion (Leigh Francis) married his sister Sacha (Barunka O`Shaughnessy) and bought a hotel in Los Angeles in order to meet American celebrities more easily. The hotel is maintained by four Mexican wolf-boys who are cheap to employ given their unusual appearance, Craig David is trying to gain his Bronze Swimming Certificate in the hotel pool but is often distracted by Holly Valance and Keith Lemon has also travelled to the USA and is trying to launch a car safety device with the help of Italian model Fabio.

Joining Avid, Sacha, `Craig David`, Holly Valance and Keith Lemon are The Bear, Steven the squirrel `Mel B` and `Chris Martin`, together with guest appearance from celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy, Justin Timberlake and Victoria Silvstedt.

Video

Considering this show has not yet finished its run on Channel 4, it`s no surprise that the DVD has a clear and crisp widescreen transfer which presents the show as well as, if not better than, broadcast quality.

Audio

As with the visuals, the Dolby 2.0 Stereo soundtrack is crystal clear and perfectly suited to a show of this nature.

Features

There is a commentary track for the Bo! in the USA featuring Leigh Francis, Barunka O`Shaughnessy and Ben Palmer which is funny and easy to listen to but doesn`t add much to the extra features from disc 2.

The `XXXmas Special`, which linked `Bo! Selecta` with the relocation to the USA runs at 39 minutes and is a great addition to the set. As with the main feature, it has a commentary with the same people.

Kicking off disc 2 is a 71 minute `Making of` which is a fairly exhaustive and comprehensive journey through the three week shoot in Los Angeles, hosted by Francis and Palmer.

The `1984: The Lemon Years` featurette runs at nearly 4 minutes and is a short profile of Keith Lemon.

The 12 minutes of `Bo Interviews` consist of interviews with The Bear, Keith Lemon, Avid Merrion and `Craig David`.

The Gag Reel is the typical DVD compilation of actors fluffing their lines, having laughing fits and having problems with props.

There is a decent music video by `Cherry Blackstone`, the resident band of the `Generic Jazz Club` which is probably there to promote their forthcoming single and album.

There are also over 9 minutes of trailers which are the idents that you see on Channel 4 to promote the show.

Conclusion

Humour is a very subjective thing: what sends one person into hysterics can leave another person cold and I imagine that this is a `Marmite` show - you`ll either get the humour and love it or wonder what the hell is going on. Prior to reviewing this disc I had only seen snippets of `Bo` Selecta!` and Avid Merrion on Jonathan Ross and, to be honest, hadn`t really `got` the humour and the appeal of the show. Watching six episodes of what is, in effect, the fourth series of `Bo` Selecta!` gave me a chance to immerse myself in the crazy world of Leigh Francis and his adventures with celebrities.

I never understood why Craig David sounded like he came from Leeds, but I realised that, like Matt Lucas and David Walliams` `Rock Profile`, Francis was making no attempt to do accurate impressions but instead to celebrate and satirise `celebrity culture` through caricature.

Having previously dismissed this as an idiot in a rubber mask who just wasn`t funny, this DVD made me perform a swift volte-face and I will now make an effort to watch the rest of Leigh Francis` material.

This is a perfect DVD for fans of `Bo` Selecta!` or for those who`ve enjoyed its current run on TV and if, like me, you`ve never watched Leigh Francis at work, this is worth at least a rental to find out if you `get` the humour.