Comedy gets a dose of reality

Harley Pool sifts fact from fiction

It’s probably not true to say there have been a spate of reality programs recently, as a spate suggests something unusual, and TV has been heading this way for at least a decade. They are getting more and more amusing, though, as a zillion cameras strive to catch every moment of every day, and tabloid-minded programme editors dwindle the endless raw footage down to the 45 most controversial, ridiculous or sarcastic minutes ever committed to tape.

This must be having an effect on original comedy programming. ‘The Hotel’ is one example – a fascinatingly repulsive-looking hotel owner, a deeply tragic hotel manager and maverick ‘dip your cock in the soup’ chef stagger through their day trying to communicate with the rest of the staff, who are mostly Eastern European and barely speak any English. Absolutely hilarious. Why would anyone bother to watch a scripted show like White Van Man when they can see the real-life Fawlty Towers. Actually, why would anyone bother to watch White Van Man anyway? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

The Next Big Thing is similarly comedic, as the BBC try slyly to recreate Dragon’s Den without the overheads. Watching one poor woman slog through weeks of ‘life changing’ negotiation with a major high-street brand, only to find that her first order was going to net the grand sum of £900 was worth its weight in gold. Matt LeBlanc’s Episodes didn’t manage to achieve anything half as hilarious, and it was supposed to be funny. I think.

There’s more comedy to be had in the inspiringly catastrophic match-making of ‘Wife Swap’ (‘The Hendersons are thrice convicted paedophiles, and the Jones’s have nine kids…’), which has translated very successfully to programmes like Don’t Tell the Bride. Pick the kind of man who shouldn’t be left alone to plan his dog’s dinnertime, lock the wife in a cupboard somewhere and watch aghast while he makes all the preparations for their wedding. For 55 minutes you know exactly how she’s going to react when she discovers the unbelievable truth, and that makes it even more delicious when she does. Just as The Office inspired a number of mockumentary-style comedies (and pulled the rug from under any office-based comedic scripts for years to come), these reality shows are now inspiring writers to move away from the mundane docustyle of comedy, and into the more outrageous and fantastical, in an effort to provide us with something we can’t get elsewhere.

To be honest, I have no evidence for that whatsoever, except that I quite enjoyed Mrs Brown’s Boys. Sorry.