Planète Cunk

"Insanity has limits but stupidity has none", Elbert Hubbard

My favourite Open Univeristy educational presenter brings us more wisdom from the ages. More of the great programming coming from the UK's BBC, which means good writing, production, and expertly delivered by one of my favourite performers, Diane Morgan. She such a distinguished dead pan delivery that i believe is now cornerstone of her acting skillset. And some of the contributors and experts leave me in stitches, especially the ones who don't really know or heard of Cunk, but the longer Cunk is on the prowl, the more awareness of the parody become clear. Most of the experts know what is going on by now. And fair play to the writers and shows creator Charlie Brooker for still surprising the experts with their intriguing questions.

If you have only come across this show, and get a giggle from this type of humour, I highly recommend going and watching the other TV shows "Cunk On ...".

As a mockumentary series about human civilization, it's very funny, even if it's quite one-note. It reminds me "Idiot Abroad" for some reason very much.

Using humor quite similar to "Borat" movies, it tells condensed version of human history and main laugh is putting various experts into uncomfortable situation where they have to answer stupid questions about history.

Diane Morgan is very good, too, multiplying comedy with her facial expressions and always having something surprising ready around the corner.

I quite enjoyed it, although given how little average people actually know or have interest in humanity's tale, it's a bit cringey to reduce much-needed education to such a circus.

The comedy method this show did can be highly hit or miss, and for most episodes, they did hit. So worth a watch.

A look at human history through the eyes and by guided tour of the main character, Philomena Cunk. This irreverent and ambitious comedic docu-series is actually very funny. Diane Morgan, who plays the lead character with precision and acuity, is channelling Sasha Baron Cohen's, Ali G, as she interviews real historical scholars and puts on her best game face. Many of these scenes are actually painful and cringeworthy, in the Ali G style, and very funny. I do like the fact that Cunk does actually use real history and scenic, historic places to tell the story. I love how the scholars, who take themselves very seriously, are trying to figure out what is going on and still get their points across in an intelligible fashion. I have to imagine there was a ton of footage that is unusable due to people marching off and refusing permission to use the clips. Worth watching. Very digestible in the 30 minute segments.

Irreverent, downright funny. It's a mockumentary after all. It's the whole of human history in 5 short episodes. It's a refreshing tack on our story through the millennia. What a story. Better still, what a storyteller Diane Morgan is.

There's not a frame where I was either smiling or laughing. Her delivery, thanks to the guy or gal who made the script, is so amazingly funny. You learn a bit more of history while she entertains you with her quips and utterly nonsensical questions.

I bet she's the first one to get away with it. Yet, the viewer should thank her and the production staff, especially the writer, for bringing to our living room this lively seminar on our history. Truly, as Philomena Cunk, points out in the end: humankind is on a crossroads. Still, pump up the jam!

I am not a fan of comedies, because, ironically, I generally do not find them funny, so I almost bypassed this Netflix series, until I realised it was British, and seriously, who are funnier than the Brits?

I'm so glad I clicked on Cunk. The deadpanned delivery, and the almost naive earnestness with which the questions are delivered to the experts is absolutely genius and hilarious. The experts are probably the stars of this series, vacillating between near hysteria to incredulity.

Only complaint I have about this series is that there are only five episodes, although I don't know if my heart could handle any more than that.