Pompidou

Everyone who worked on this should be ashamed of themselves for being absolute failures. Not only have they completely failed to understand what works in silent comedys, it also fails to understand what works in any comedy. There is an inexcusably low amount of jokes and the jokes it had I could see coming from a mile away. Also, every single one of these boring, milquetoast, stupid jokes went on for about two minutes.

This is the worst comedy I have ever seen, and that is coming from someone who actively seeks out bad movies. Painfully, unreasonably bad. So bad I can't even understand the mindset of the writers. I can't imagine how anyone could ever think this was funny. I'd be embarrassed for it if I wasn't so angry and astonished. It also makes me sad because it's attempts to bring back the dead genre of silent comedy probably did more bad than good. An absolute waste. Watch this if you're interested in just how bad comedys can be. Otherwise, avoid at all costs.

I'm really struggling to see what went through anyone's mind when this was commissioned, or allowed to air. Maybe the powers-that-be thought that if they didn't get it, then it must be edgy or good, or clever, or all three.

It isn't.

It isn't funny either.

This is why pilots exist. Make one, try it out on an audience, see what they think (although, honestly, it should never have got that far, the editor should have saved the rest of us the pain and wiped all the media before it left the edit suite).

Please, don't bother. I watched this so you don't have to.

Well, I think the review before this one was pretty unfair. This is a classic British comedy after the pattern of Monty Python and Mr. Bean, except that it really pushes the boundaries of normal TV. At first watching, it is a little hard to believe what you are seeing, but I think that is a good thing for a medium that is normally so totally absorbed with ratings and making money. It is a worthwhile effort, and despite its strangeness, gave us some good laughs. Relatively poor reviews will probably mean that these six episodes are all we will ever see of this, but I hope the BBC keeps whatever commitment it has to this sort of original programming.

You know a comedy is in trouble when you realise that the dog is the best thing in it.

Matt Lucas flies solo here as a down on his luck and his last few pennies aristocrat Pompidou. He lives in a dilapidated caravan parked in the grounds of his crumbling estate. He has his put upon butler Hove (Alex MacQueen) and Afghan hound Marion who tend to be exasperated by his antics.

Lucas obviously was aiming at silent slapstick and farce like Mr Bean or heaven forbid Jacques Tati. However Lucas does not have the skill for physical comedy, the comedy here is painful and its not even silent as most of the characters speak in gibberish.

I could not last through the entire series. I gave it a try but enough is enough. Kids might like it but I guess even some of them have higher standards.

This is undeniably silly. It's meant to be. I giggled through every episode. Matt Lucas is already a favourite actor of mine from previous TV shows & films. Hove and the dog interact brilliantly with him. While this series has been billed as "silent"; in actual fact all the characters speak. It's just in their own special "gibb-lish." The plots are easy to follow and full of comic visuals. Some of these are surreal. There is no crudity in the humour. Pompidou is an innocent who inadvertently causes trouble for everyone around him, especially Hove. He endears himself to the audience, occasionally breaking the 4th wall. This is evidently a project that Matt put his whole heart into and I hope he can make more. There's nothing wrong with SILLY, providing that's what you're looking for. And there's a special surprise for Little Britain fans. (Ep 5.)