I only rarely review things on the IMDb but 5.5/10 for the Kevin Bishop show is way too low. Only one proper review and even though they said it's a good show they only gave it 6!
Star Stories showed what a comedy talent Kevin Bishop is so it's not surprising he was given his own sketch show. With the humour in much the same vein and a great supporting cast including James Howick from Peep Show, it's a much more quick fire sketch show than most, comparable to The Fast Show in that regard. Surprisingly good at impressions, and well versed in popular culture and the desire to just take the michael out of all aspects of it makes this a must watch.
The thing that makes it stand out from other sketch shows is the lack of repetition of material compared to others (although some sketches do appear across multiple episodes such as the GameBox ones).
When watching the more mainstream shows that pull in more viewers, such as Little Britain, The Fast Show, Harry and Paul and The ArmStrong and Miller Show, etc, I always get a bit bored after a couple of episodes as the sketches are just repeated again and again with the characters in different situations doing similar things. I mean, the Lou and Andy bits in Little Britain became tedious very quickly as it was not only the same character but the same joke every episode! and John Culshaw's Impression Show deserves special mention as being dull, boring and repetitive; but all being 'tenured' BBC shows seem to receive high praise and repeat commissions instead of criticism. (Armstrong and Miller were much better and a lot edgier when they were on Channel 4).
With the Kevin Bishop show, it's never boring as a result of not falling into this same trap and I highly recommend it - hopefully he will keep making comedy as he certainly should be better recognised for the talent he is. You can catch all the episodes for free on 4oD as well.
It's probably worth mention that out of the 200 odd votes for the show, 30% gave it 10/10 but the spread of the rest (which was pretty even) brought the average down. I'd bet money that the lower votes all came from people over 45 - not a show for the older generation!
Star Stories showed what a comedy talent Kevin Bishop is so it's not surprising he was given his own sketch show. With the humour in much the same vein and a great supporting cast including James Howick from Peep Show, it's a much more quick fire sketch show than most, comparable to The Fast Show in that regard. Surprisingly good at impressions, and well versed in popular culture and the desire to just take the michael out of all aspects of it makes this a must watch.
The thing that makes it stand out from other sketch shows is the lack of repetition of material compared to others (although some sketches do appear across multiple episodes such as the GameBox ones).
When watching the more mainstream shows that pull in more viewers, such as Little Britain, The Fast Show, Harry and Paul and The ArmStrong and Miller Show, etc, I always get a bit bored after a couple of episodes as the sketches are just repeated again and again with the characters in different situations doing similar things. I mean, the Lou and Andy bits in Little Britain became tedious very quickly as it was not only the same character but the same joke every episode! and John Culshaw's Impression Show deserves special mention as being dull, boring and repetitive; but all being 'tenured' BBC shows seem to receive high praise and repeat commissions instead of criticism. (Armstrong and Miller were much better and a lot edgier when they were on Channel 4).
With the Kevin Bishop show, it's never boring as a result of not falling into this same trap and I highly recommend it - hopefully he will keep making comedy as he certainly should be better recognised for the talent he is. You can catch all the episodes for free on 4oD as well.
It's probably worth mention that out of the 200 odd votes for the show, 30% gave it 10/10 but the spread of the rest (which was pretty even) brought the average down. I'd bet money that the lower votes all came from people over 45 - not a show for the older generation!