Bo' Selecta!

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Avid Merrion,a jarring,creepy individual who makes it seem like Transylvania should be proud to boast The Cheeky Girls amongst it's national heritage,is the man behind the growingly popular and therefore,as ever in this day and age or so it would seem,unbelievably crap Bo' Selecta!,a crass,vulgar and ultimately rather pathetic no laughs fest,with crass costume designs and inaccurate,unfaithful parodies of certain celebrity figures.Take Merrion's take on Michael Jackson,for instance.He sends him up in the costume he wore in his Beat It video,as though the last 20 years have never happened or something.No Martin Bashir related jokes here,that's for sure.And yeah right,he's some gentle,publicity shy figure who goes strutting around with a foul mouth,calling everyone it would seem a motherf****r,and being generally strangely more deprived of intelligence than he is in real life.This is also a one joke that gets weared thin very quickly,and seems to get overused due to a lack of,it would seem,imagination on the writer's parts.

And then there's the Craig David parody.I mean,come on.You only need to see him in an interview to see how humble and,especially for someone of his age,well spoken the guy is.Why,then,is he lampooned as some kind of common northerner who's into bird fancying?

It's a bit of a shame because had the personalities been a bit better researched,this might have rised slightly above the ranks of dire.Take Alistair McGowan's Big Impression,for instance.That worked,and was funny,because it perfectly parodied the celebrity figures it was taking the mick out of,and did,in fact,do it to a tee.

As it is,it's just a non event,rarely,if ever,funny,with tired,frequently recycled gags,produced by a man with an off putting fascination with a fickle,superficial culture of celebrity and just goes to show the depths certain Channel 4 programming will plummet to.*

Avid merrion is the creation of Leigh Francis, a gifted comedian. Avid first appeared in adverts for Big Brother last year, and built up a cult following soon after. Bo' Selecta! is Avid's first show, and it's crude, juvenile and cheap, yet very very funny. The best bits of the show are with Avid Merrion and his celebrity stalking activities; British R'n'B sensation Craig David, who is now from Leeds, is incontinent and has kestrel called Kes; his Michael Jackson, which is nothing like the real Jacko - he is hyperactive, ladens every sentence with profanity ect. And last but not least: Bedtime with the Bear. This is Francis dressed as a little bear, children's TV-style, yet with a distinctly adult twist! First time I saw his "tail" I had the giggles for the next couple of days. It's not all perfect though - The Week in Bits by Jordan's/Jodie Marsh's T*ts, Ricky Jervais, Mel B and Marilyn Manson are pretty darn unfunny most of the time.. Either way, I like it at the moment, but as I'm only 18 I'm still in it's target audience. Give it a few years and we'll see...

This series is not for the faint hearted. And nor is it for those with a "refined" comedic palate. In short, it's definitely not for everyone.

But, for me, it is the funniest show on television. I simply adore the Michael Jackson caricature. To portray him as a foul-mouthed, jive-talkin' brother with his spangly glove, sweatband and Thriller outfit is nothing short of genius. Creator/actor Leigh Francis has MJ followed around by 'Martay' Bashir, is distinctly careless with the baby Blanket and puts a surreal twist on the obsessions of the real-life Wacko (i.e., the fantastic Petay Pan parachute jump). Like Ali G, MJ has quickly gone down in modern comedy folklore.

Craig David, another highlight, has bladder problems, carries around his peregrin falcon Kes and hails from Leeds. David Blaine is sex obsessed and uses his street magic only to fondle the ladies. Mel B (Jim Bowen in a wig) is fabulous, Britney Spears is a drunk and Christina Aguilera a Scouse whore. And all of these celebrities, and many more besides, are wearing ridiculous masks and oversized NHS specs. Totally bizarre yet, when on top form, utterly brilliant.

Having said that, the show is far from perfect. It can get repetitive (especially the now-tiresome Bear), can resort to the overly crude and there are some characters such as Marilyn Manson and Jonathan Ross ("wibble"???) who don't deserve the time of day. Even the host Avid fails to raise a smile on many occasions.

But it is highly quotable (although not always a good thing when a cult show goes mainstream), consistently funny and like nothing you've seen before, or will probably see again.

Sha'mone.

It wasn't until last Summer that I found out BO SELECTA actually existed . I was completely unaware of the first series and only saw the second one which caused me to split my sides

BO SELECTA isn't a show that can be described as original , it's like ALI G meets SPITTING IMAGE while overdosing on LSD and Spanish fly . Avid Merrion ( Leigh Francis ) is a " stalker " who pursues unsuspecting celebs most of whom are young blond and female . It might not be sophisticated but it is very funny to see the girls from Liberty X telling Avid to " F*** off " . There's also surreal sketches with Francis done up like Mel B , David Beckham and best of all Michael Jackson who isn't the strange creature who lives at Neverland ranch but is a funky homeboy - Rick James meets Samuel L Jackson . It's difficult to describe how funny it appears on screen . I could describe the time Michael went to New York with Blanket Baby - " I call that motherf***er Blanket Baby because I put a blanket over the motherf***er's face . That's right HEE HEE " - and asked if anyone saw a " Lionay " - " Where the motherf***in' lionay at ? You seen the lionay bro ? " , but I'd be unable to do it justice . I'll just say watch it and weep with laughter

Unfortunately Francis has become a victim of his own success and series three reflects this . The format has been changed to a talk show akin to THE MUPPET SHOW where guests like Sean Pertwee , Abi Titmuss , Johnathan Ross etc are in on the joke and most of the series fails because of this . Series two worked so well because guests thought they either talking to a genuine weirdo or they were appearing on a children's show with a puppet bear. Anyone remember Jennifer Ellison's face when the bear's " tail " popped out ?

There are still some good points to the third series like having Michael Jackson appearing in the comedy series PORRIDGE with Ronny Barker " Ronny just said remember the time on Going Live when Five Star were on ? That little motherf***er phoned up at said ' I wanna know why Five Star are so f***in' s**t ? ' That's right "

Mel B might think she's still got it , but I'm unsure if Leigh Francis has

Comedian Leigh Francis satirises celebrities and celebrity culture. The show is hosted by Avid Merrion, a celebrity stalker. There's also Michael Jackson, Craig David, The Osbournes, Mel B, Britney Spears, Posh and Becks, to name bit a few, plus a host of temporary, generic celebrities and hangers-on.

A series that pokes fun at celebrities and does so in absurdist fashion. Absurd in that the personalities and mannerisms (and often even appearances!) of the celebs aren't necessarily based on their actual traits. Michael Jackson is a foul-mouthed jive-talking alpha type who does Jackass-type stunts, Craig David walks around with a bird of prey on his arm and has a strong Yorkshire accent, Britney Spears is lager-drinking slag who also has a strong Northern accent, Ozzy Osbourne has incredibly long arms (and is unintelligible - some traits are true-to-life).

This all makes for some hilarious moments without actually having a go at the stars themselves, as the traits they're imbued with are so ridiculous it would be stupid to think that's actually meant to be them.

Holding this all together is Avid Merrion, essentially the host of the show. His antics show up the insanity of fandom and the lengths some people go to.

It is a bit hit and miss though. You do need to know some of the minor celebrities in order to figure out the gag and some are so local and temporary that unless you're an avid watcher of British TV in the early-2000s you won't get who they are or what is being parodied. This isn't always a problem: the vacuousness and genericness of celebrities is highlighted: it doesn't matter what they do as they're pretty much like the next one.

The show also ran out of steam after two seasons. Season 3 felt formulaic and flat: all the best gags had been used and Francis was now just retreading the same old stuff.

Season ratings: S1&2 8/10, S3 6/10.