Pompidou

4 episodes in and Wow… talk about dross TV.

There is only one good element to this show and that's the puppet dog. The dog is the creation of the people that helped to make another BBC show called 'Mongrels' (epic win). To watch Pompidou just to enjoy the puppet character Marion though would be like; eating crap just to enjoy a piece of sweet corn.

BBC Controller of Comedy Commissioning Shane Allen said: "The concept is wonderfully imaginative, the writing hugely inventive and it's the perfect vehicle for Matt – one of a handful of performers in the whole world who could pull this off."

Well.. it isn't, it isn't, it may well be and he couldn't. The "writers" last "wrote" for Chucklevision BTW.

Danny Cohen should have stopped this sham… was he on holiday?

The fundamental flaw in this show is that we're told 'Pompidou' is supposed to be likable - he isn't. That's fatal. No caring for the protagonist is such a shame as Lucas can do better, indeed has done better. Second character 'Hove' is a thin foil, not a Jeeves. A great comic actor (see 'Julius' from 'The Thick of It'), underused. The whole show feels like Lucas trying to recover from the wilderness after some borderline racism in 'Come Fly With Me'. This isn't the vehicle for that. Maybe it'll sell in international markets like 'Bean', but Lucas is no Atkinson, sadly. Atkinson throws it all behind physical comedy, Lucas apparently doesn't have as much natural comedic instinct to throw behind Pompidou. 3/10 - those three are for the excellent dog puppet. It lit up the screen, and was more likable and developed as a character than either of the humans.

I do understand most people would not really like Pompidou. However I come from truly enjoying and knowing most of the Laurel and Hardy shorts - and to me Pompidou is a great mash up of the old Laurel and Hardy formula with a modern twist to it. Knowing the old material, there are lots of parallels and they are done quite well.

But they could do better. These initial six episodes - I can only take one per sitting. The "dialog" is funny but I can only take so much. I do like how they will pick certain words that can be heard clearly, such as the signature "That really hurt me" and "out". But I have to say every one of the six contain several moments that are hilarious to me.

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.

This was surreal to watch in that I couldn't figure out how this ever got the green light. I understand Netflix is willing to try new things and in many cases it has worked out to varying degrees but this is way off the mark of what they were going for I believe. I understand the idea of a family friendly show is going to have a restricted sense of humor but I don't see anyone over 3 years old finding this entertaining. I was embarrassed for the actors and hope this doesn't hurt Netflix's reputation for being open minded. The mumbling isn't quite silent film era, the physical comedy isn't of Benny Hill or Mr. Bean caliber and the set with a puppet was a really odd reach tat just made me feel like I was on drugs trying to watch it.