PTapio

After starting out by doubling down on the most embarrasingly pointless toilet humour I've ever seen in a programme for adults, the new sketch show from Mitchell & Webb carries on for 30 more minutes of equally pointless and dull sketches. Not once did I feel inclined to even smirk. The supporting cast help things a little bit, but overall it's like watching paint dry.

I'll be honest and say that M&W are a bit hit-and-miss for me; I never got into Peep Show despite numerous attempts. But I do enjoy Mitchell on Would I Lie to You?, so there must be something there. I will give this one more episode, but if there's no improvement I will not be tuning back in for a third.

"Mors Elling" is a prequel to the wonderful "Elling" from 2001. It follows Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) and his mother (Grete Nordrå) on an ill-advised holiday to Mallorca. In the first movie, we saw Elling grow into an almost functional member of society, but in this one he is still a very sheltered man who is unaccustomed to the larger world. And it is in this respect that the movie suffers, it feels like a step backwards to see him as this unsympathetic, spoilt and selfish little man once again. You can only feel for his poor mother who is clearly at her wits' end with her son constantly causing scenes over insignificant little things. But one also can't help but wonder, what was she expecting? We also meet the friendly retired army officer (I forget his rank) Bugge-Høvik (Helge Reiss) who, even before they get on the plane, sets his sights on mother. This leads to some amazingly awkward encounters throughout, that ultimately only leaves Elling looking even more unlikeable. There's a rather funny scene on the beach, and Per Christian Ellefsen is still excellent in this role, but this feels like an unnecessary addition to the saga.