People Like Us

What appears to be a serious documentary about 'a day in the life' of some member of a profession (policeman, priest, bank manager etc.) is actually a very clever spoof of a documentary. If you listen carefully you realize that most of what the commentator is saying is gibberish – and very funny. The commentator (Roy Mallard) is mostly off camera (except for the occasional hand when requested) and is a fine example of how not to do an interview. Some examples of his commentary –'X is 2 hours from London both by rail and train', 'It's 4pm and everybody has left school except for those who have stayed behind', 'It's 2 p.m. and already the Japanese are on time' and 'the world of financial money'. That's not all. The people whom he interviews are also prone to mangling the English language with many misstatements and misunderstandings. This is not the brash, crude humour that many Americans enjoy but more subtle and laid back. American humour tends overdo the one-liners in order to make sure the audience 'gets it'. This is the type of humour that has to be experienced more than once as it is very easy to miss the subtleties the first time around. Overall, an acquired taste, but much to my liking.

Chris Langham's fictional documentarian "Roy Mallard" follows people in various professions for a day in their life, to show that they are "just like us". Some of the episodes are extremely funny (the befuddled photographer or the dysfunctional police station are quite good). The humor is often based on embarrassment and, unfortunately, in some of the episodes, the embarrassment and the tension simply mount up and make it as unpleasant as a family argument caught on video.

In the best episodes, the humor rises more from sheer incompetence than tension -- not only from the professionals who have no notion of what they're doing, but from Mallard himself, an utterly inept film maker and interviewer. His voice-overs are pointless. His questions are insipid, and as often as not he'll receive a question answering a question and he'll wind up doing most of the talking. He also gets too involved, bumping into things and sometimes causing the very problems he films.

Occasionally a recognizable face surfaces -- Bill Nighy as the photographer, for instance. Most of the actors are suitably unknown and do a very good job playing real people.

This show is not for people who don't appreciate subtle humor and can't follow a running gag (a joke may be set up in passing in the first few minutes, with the payoff coming much later). The shows are mostly low-key, and Mallard may be sleep-inducing for some. "People Like Us" is at its best is letter-perfect but drags in the episodes where the jokes aren't working.

I LOVED this series. Watched once and then went back to stream again and again. Inventive, clever and laugh out loud quality. Wish US audience could enjoy season two. Highly recommend...

To give an example of the texture of People Like Us, here are the only two lines the actress playing a shoe-shop assistant in episode 5 has. All the other characters speak like this as well, only more so.

"You'll find that over time your feet will start to give with wear."

"Most people have at least one foot that's bigger than the other."

In the same episode, the announcer at a train station can be heard in the background droning po-facedly something like "This train stops at Berksley only, Hemperdon only, Staffordsly only, and Blackpool only."

From an episode set in a school; "Mr. Hensley's Problem-Solving club meets at lunchtime on the third floor, but you're not allowed to use the stairs."

These are only short examples from memory. The body of it, Roy Mallard's narration, relies on him going on so long like that that he forgets how he started the sentence.

You can buy some episodes of the radio series if you want a clearer example. Or look at the entry on radiohaha. That summarises it better than I can. Recommended for fans of On The Hour / The Day Today, although you probably know about it already.

I really love this sitcom. It´s a breath of fresh air from all those stupid moronic American trash proggies (with exception of Seinfeld, that is). For starters, there is no laugh track. Nobody laughs in the show. I simply love that. It´s great! You don´t hear those damn idiotic laughs that are crammed all over other sitcoms. Second, it´s filmed as a documentary. The basic premise is this guy, Roy Mallard, that walks around interviewing people at work. For example, a headmaster of a nice school, a freelance fotographer, people like that. So, in the beginning, every thing seems quite Unfunny, but then stupid things start to happen. People do mistakes, and funny things, altough they don´t even understand it. For instance, Roy is always saying "Hum" and "Hun hun" in order to advance in the interview. The show is excellent, and I really can´t describe accurately. You have to see it for yourself.