Brand Spanking New Show

If the rumours are true that Sky television paid a massive amount of money to entice Harry Enfield away from the BBC then all I can say is they`ve paid over the odds . The problem isn`t so much that the sketches are repetitive , the problem is that the jokes aren`t all that funny . 20,000 leagues under the seat and Monday night football are okay first time you see them but there`s not really enough foundation to build upon them - They`re one trick ponies and that`s it . I did laugh out loud at the office worker with the ugly baby and at the indiscreet pharmacist but neither of these characters is as memorable as some of the ones from Enfield`s BBC shows . And talking of Enfield`s BBC series I really missed the presence of Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke . It`s a similar situation when Jackie Wright ( The small bald Irishman from THE BENNY HILL SHOW ) died . Instead of Hill being sidesplitting he became mildly amusing and it`s the same with Enfield being without Whitehouse and Burke

This show has some potential but it's downfall lies with unoriginal characters that don't work.

I believe the 'inspiration' for some of the characters came from other shows. Examples include 'Strange Bob', a football commentator who hears voices in his head. This is obviously copied from the 'Small kids in the park, jumpers for goal posts' man from the Fast Show who babbels unrelated talk all the time. The character just doesn't work with Enfield sounding like that kid at school who tried to be funny by repeating a joke that was just told.

Then theres the guy in the restaurant who insults his partner and says "What? What did I say?" at the end. This is obviously taken from Goodness Gracious Me who has 'Mr Cheque Please', a man insults dates in restaurants and says "Cheque please" after he realises what he's done.

Another character I believe has been stolen is again from the Fast Show. This is the guy who always tells outrageous stories and says "Which was nice" at the end. Hazza obviously took this idea and put it into that guy at the pub who always tells how he fondled some female celebrity to make her feel better. This character was hilarious at first but got really uninteresting after a while.

Having said this, some characters are genuinely funny, such as the pharmacist who always embarrasses his customers by obnoxiously announcing their problems to everyone. A classic example is when a man comes in and buys some viagra whereupon the pharmacist shouts "Here you are sir, some viagra for your droopy cock!".

Overall though, the show doesn't seem to work. The lack of one off sketches increases the chance of boring viewers as we sit through watching each character, knowing exactly what the jist of the sketch will be. Although repeating one's self is inevitable with character based sketch comedy, it's upto the writers to produce different situations and punchlines each time so that the viewer doesn't end up short changed. Unfortunatly Harry Enfield and his crew fail to do this.

Once Harry swapped from the dear safe old BBC, to Sky, I feel he not only got a new lease of life, but perhaps felt able to explore the more controversial side of his comedy persona. Indeed, I have to admit to being a big kid, and this series really hit the mark for me. His anarchic portrayal of the handsome priest and the questionable antics with his lady parishioners, the south African pharmacist, and the drug crazed 'Mankies' had me rolling with laughter. The language is "choice" so don't watch it if you're easily offended, but purely personally, I think this is the funniest stuff he's ever done.....More please Harry....when you're ready.....4 years off is enough O.K.!

Best Sketches: Obnoxious Business Man - "Yar Yar Yar Yar Yar. Me Me next Me" Short Bloke - "YOU CALLING ME SHORT?! 'KIN DO YOU!" Tactless Pharmacist - "MEINA! Give this man his penal Ointment"

Worst Sketches: Everything else not listed above

Don't get me wrong, Harry is still a funny man, but this series just had more misses than hits this time round (as opposed to his original series). Sometimes this show even gives the impression he didn't quite have enough ideas so just made them up in 5 mins (Renault Espace sketch, Richard and Kenneth sketch etc) Its a shame that his "...and chums" series isn't available yet on DVD. Would love to see Tim-nice-but-dim, Stavros, The Slobs, Kevin & Perry again.

One minute, you're up, the next, you're down. Tony Hancock quit the B.B.C. at the height of his popularity to do an inferior show for I.T.V., an experience from which he never recovered professionally. Harry Enfield, alas, didn't learn from this, quitting the B.B.C. to make this horrible Sky One production, which, apparently, even he didn't bother to watch. Enfield is an amazingly talented comedian, but alas was let down by the atrocious material, shoddy production values and mediocre supporting cast. Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke were sadly missed. Some of Harry's new characters - such as James Bond's idiot brother, and the sex-mad fisherman - look and sound like rejects from 'The Fast Show'. One sketch consists almost entirely of profanity. Unlike Hancock, Harry is thankfully still with us, and one hopes he gets his career back on track one day. 'Brand Spanking New Show' was a criminal waste of his talent, an insult to Harry's many fans, for which the people behind it deserve a good spanking.