Thompson

Back in the eighties someone in TV land bought into the idea that Emma Thompson is a young up and coming star, with a wide range of abilities & brains. So, they reasoned, lets push the boat out and give her a TV series. The show as I remember it was a mix of comedy, dance and singing. However, getting her own series brought out the very worst in Thompson, encouraging a lack of internal self-censorship about what were good ideas and what were bad. Many of her comedy sketches are bafflingly unfunny, ironically the title sequence where she does this little spin and then turns her body into a T shape (ie 't' for Thompson), as if to say 'Look Mum, I can do anything', is the height of unintentional comedy. When this programme came out in the UK there were only four TV channels, so programmes then came under a great amount of scrutiny. The general verdict at the time, was 'I can't believe anything so bad could be made by the BBC', and 'What an awful conceited person she is'. Since then many in the UK have held a grudge against the programme and Emma. In the US where such connections are lost, I guess it was just seen as more of an exotic, off-beat piece of whimsy from Europe and people could just take or leave it.

It was without doubt one of the worst shows English TV produced in 1988. It was predicated on a fantastic idea. Namely, the BBC giving Emma Thompson a six week half hour slot to do whatever she wished. Writer, producer, star. The results were appalling. What ever credit Thompson had with TV critics evaporated very quickly. The smugness, the self satisfaction, the pretentiousness, the ego run riot. It limped to the end of Its run, the BBC never recommissioned a second season, and she never did It again. Even now watching clips of It on YouTube. It makes me wonder If you can take someone that pretentious, that narcissistic, that ego-centric seriously? Me? I'd rather not.

I find Emma Thompson extremely sexy, not merely because of her classic English-rose beauty and her physical grace, but also because of her keen intelligence and sense of humour. 'Thompson' was meant to be a showcase for her talents as a comedian, dancer and scriptwriter, in a format permitting her and her friends to put on a wide range of accents and disguises. Unfortunately, an utter lack of discipline queered the project ... and, frankly, it was only Ms Thompson's charisma and physical appeal that kept me watching this dull tosh.

Part of the problem is that Thompson seems to have caught here a dose of Tracey Ullman Disease: she seems to be more interested in impressing us with what a wide range of characters she can portray, with different accents and physical crotchets, rather than developing any of those characters in a funny skit. Also, Thompson seems to be borrowing half a leaf — only half of one — from the Monty Python lads, by larding these sketches with high-end intellectual references. The Pythons did that too, but they were careful to balance the Proust references with low comedy and cheeky bawdiness. Ms Thompson seems to be pitching her jokes at Mensa.

I did enjoy the musical sequences, in which Thompson dances gracefully to the simple accompaniment of a piano. These sequences are evidently ad-libbed ... or, maybe not. It's clear to me that Thompson and her accompanist have carefully planned and choreographed the beginning of each routine, as well as its ending, leaving the middles to be entirely free-form. Unfortunately, this becomes a bit too obvious when each dance sequence fills its allotted time, and Thompson and her pianist make a lurching transition from total improv to tightly-rehearsed finale.

I watched every episode of 'Thompson', but frankly I did so only because I enjoy listening to Emma Thompson's voice and watching her face and body. The script material on offer here, alas, just isn't interesting. And Imelda Staunton ceased to be funny when she left "Is It Legal?". I'll rate this ill-thought experiment just 3 out of 10. A much earlier British series — "What's On Next?" — had a similar format, but was much funnier.

I remember watching this at the time and being taken aback by how lacking in self awareness it was. There was a group of established Comic Strip players who dominated 80s comedy on TV. This series tried to be clever, clever and failed to be funny.

Interesting how different viewers can have a completely different take on the same show. My friends and I watched this in the early 90's, when it was broadcast in California. It was our first introduction to Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton, and the rest of the gang, and we thought it was hilarious! There's one skit I remember very clearly that had us rolling on the floor with laughter. We've been waiting for years for the tapes to become available here, alas, no luck so far. The show was written by Emma Thompson herself, who, as we all know, is not just brilliant, but very funny. She's not a bad tap-dancer either, as she proves in the titles. Absolutely recommend it to all Emma-Fans.