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"Dead Ringers" (2002)

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The Lord of the Ringers, 26 August 2003
Author: laishers from York, England

NOTE: While there's no plot to spoil as such, specific characters and scenarios are mentioned in the following review.

There are many impressionists currently displaying their wares on British Television, such as the slightly-overrated Alistair McGowan or the fading Rory Bremner. If ever the genre needed fresh blood in the mix, it was now. Step forward the incredibly successful Dead Ringers, who in one bound appear on our screens, leaving their radio careers on hold for a few moments.

Like all impressionist material, Dead Ringers focuses largely on current issues, particularly with its portrayals of George Bush Junior, Tony Blair, and several other high-ish profiles from the political world. However, this series does not bury itself knee-deep in time-sensitive material, and there are plenty of sketches that will appeal to those not even aware of who the characters actually are.

This is the world of impressionists fused with that of Cleese and co., for there are many similarities between this series and the Monty Python sketches, despite the differences in the styles of comedy themselves. For instance, who can forget TV historian Simon Schama describing the reign of Henry VIII with a deck of cards, some scales, and a Victoria sponge cake for illustrative props? Or the battles between Ian McKellen and Alan Rickman as they fight to become the token British bad guy in the new Hollywood blockbuster?

Dead Ringers is also eager to take on international figures, such as Darth Vader helping out in the stormtroopers' bakery ("the crust is strong in this one"), and his nemesis Obi Wan Kenobi trying to purchase a second-hand car ("I'll give you two thousand now, plus fifteen when we get to Aldershot"). The numerous Doctor Who sketches are immortal, too, but mostly the comedy caters to a British market. It is unlikely other nationalities will understand all the references given in the majority of the sketches. That said, remember that this series was written for fun, and digs at the Government, not to sell itself abroad.

Now that we've established the sketches themselves as being flawless, the only thing left is to look at the impressions themselves. They are honestly some of the best currently on television. I can think of only two characters (Harry Potter and Arnold Schwarzenegger) where the voices are not instantly recognisable, although the visual effects go some way to countering this. And some are obviously camped up a little, but the majority are so authentic that it's scary.

With a second series finished at the time of writing, we can only hope that more are being prepared. Perhaps with a few fresh faces, and a few less Bush sketches. But to all the writers and the cast - and particular mention must go to Jon Culshaw - well done, you've entertained a nation. Now go back and do it again.

God bless pancakes.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious on radio..., 22 October 2004
Author: new_life_255 from Twickenham, England

I love Dead Ringers. It is easily the best BBC Radio 4 sketch programme and I think that this is the medium it excels in. The television series though...well, it's alright. There are some bits that are extremely funny (particularly the 'Gladiator' spin-offs) but personally I don't think it should ever have gone to TV. Though the voices are accurate, the appearances are not - and, most importantly, there was no way of being able to show the Dr. Who "tell me, my friend, do you stock spare parts for a tardis" phone-calls (an absolute classic.) I much prefer hearing the voices of the chosen victims and picturing them in my mind than seeing an inaccurately portrayed celebrity on the TV (though Tony Blair is still very good!)

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Can be for both grown-ups and young people, 21 May 2004
Author: Greatwhitewhale2 from London, England

Jonathan Ross said at the British comedy awards that Dead ringers does a great impression of Alistair McGowan's shows. How wrong he is. He's probably never seen Dead ringers. Dead Ringers offers an up-to-date of the past week look at the news, TV, media and other things. They do polticans, got more impressionists, do more adult jokes, do Candid camera style jokes so Jonathan Ross is dead wrong.

The show started on Radio 4, perhaps that's why young people go away from it but it's a great show. It's very funny, and takes a very sharp swipe at certain stories.

The impressions are fantastic. Espically to Jon Culshaw who does both Bush and Blair very well and made some very funny trademarks about them. (Blair: "Sweaty palms, Hard man hand gesture, Vote-for-me smile" and Bush: "My fellow UmaThurmans, it has been a sadificantly day"). Though it does more politians, it does do movie stars, TV stars music stars and anyone else. One problem is some of the people they do. I mean, I didn't know who Dr. Simon Schama or Brian Sewell were until this show. I didn't even know Newsnight review existed but still laughed at the Tom Paulin impression. But ignore all that, they basically do them really funny and strangely.

So it's a great show, do watch if you want the world to be given a satical swipe!

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
The sharpest sketch show in history, 6 September 2003
Author: andyguest from UK

The best topical comedy shows are on the radio. It's true, take shows such as The News Quiz, The Now Show and It's Been A Bad Week. Another of the best radio shows is an impressionists sketch show called Dead Ringers, which has also spawned the BBC2 TV series.

Like the radio show, it lasts half an hour and has some regular "characters". The radio 4 version had Brian "The Daddy" Perkins and the TV show has Michael Burke who insists on concluding shady deals on his mobile before reading the news. Politicians don't get away lightly too, figures such as Tony Blair and George W Bush feature too.

One of the all time great sketches featured Zippy from Rainbow standing for Cherrie Blair using only a black wig and Haiwan shirt. And look out for "Yet another history program" with Professor Simon Sharma. As mensioned in another review here, he boasts about how much money he's made, and tells great chunks of important history using only three props.

But there is also some great secret camera work, such as 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' buying a second hand car or 'Maximus Meridius Decimus' (Russel Crowe in Gladiator) asking local builders to rebuild his castle from one foot ruins, with one builder having the solution to how to strengthen the medieval walkways - decking. Another gem was 'Michael Parkinson' interviewing people waiting at a bus stop.

To sum it all up, it's a very funny show that's recorded the day before broadcast to keep it as topical as possible. There's not a hint of canned laughter either, it's recorded in front of a real audience.

And to quote a recent episode, "Hi, I'm Johnny Vaughan. I'm still a big star, it's the channels that got smaller".

Just watch it.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
I Did Like The DOCTOR WHO Stuff, 9 April 2003
Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute , Scotland

I did remember DEAD RINGERS from BBC radio . I didn't think much of it except for the DOCTOR WHO stuff which was very funny , and I have the exact same feeling about the TV series.

Man dressed as the mysterious timelord known only as " The Doctor " ( 4th incarnation as played by Tom Baker ) goes on the millennium wheel in London and shouts to a bunch of Japanese tourists that " I know what this is . It's a Sontaran incubation centre used for hatchlings for their war against the Rutans ! " Cut to a crowd of bemused Japanese tourists . " The Doctor " also visits a working mans' club where he's the star guest and plays his favourite songs which include the Keller machine sound effect as seen in 1971 story The Mind Of Evil . Cut to a bemused audience

But many of the sketches are tedious and are endlessly set around George Dubya Bush . I don't want to sound like an apologist for the American Republican party but how much mileage can you get out of the man's seemingly limited intellect ? It was the same throughout the 1980s when comedians went on about Ronald Reagen and didn't realise they were flogging a dead horse . And DEAD RINGERS suffers from some very intrusive and oh so obvious canned laughter

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely hilarious, 23 March 2005
Author: meerschweinchen_freunde from Minnesota

I really enjoyed this show when it was on BBC America. I thought that Jon Culshaw's impressions of Ricky Gervais, Simon Schama and Arnold Schwarzenegger were a riot. I especially loved his impression of Ozzy Osbourne. As for his impression of George W. Bush he got the voice dead on but he doesn't even bear a resemblance to him. Because of the show's hilarious impression of David Dickinson I even watched "Bargain Hunt" and no wonder they ape him. I haven't seen the actual people that they lampoon such as Greg Dyke, Michael Buerk, Kirsty Wark and a bunch of others that are too long to name so I can't tell you if they are accurate or not although some of the quotes that they attributed to these people were hilarious. I did enjoy the show when they did a special lampooning the presidential election last year. Of course they aped Bush but I liked the impressions of John Kerry and especially Michael Moore. The Christmas show was really hilarious and I loved the Ozzy Osbourne line. A very entertaining show.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny, even if you are not from Britain, 1 February 2005
Author: miss_niss from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I live in Australia, and we don't get the BBC so I have never seen Newsnight Review or some of the other British shows Dead Ringers take off. I do however, watch this show religiously, and I still laugh at those parts because they are funny even by themselves. The host of Newsnight review: "You've lost the remote again haven't you?" And it contains so much other material as well.

While all the actors are great I think Jon Culshaw is best. Culshaw's impressions of George Bush and Tony Blair are hilarious. He takes 'bushisms' to a whole new level. And while he may not look exactly like George, he captures what everyone finds funny about him. The stupidity, the immaturity, the inexperience and the ignorance. And the material is new, original and funny, even though so many jokes have been made about Bush.

I love that Dead Ringers takes off David Starkey and Simon Shauma, I mean these guys are historians! Well known ones maybe, but historians nonetheless. I'm not sure if it was Starkey or Schauma that Culshaw pretended to be when looking to renovate his house complete with 'turrets and a moat' under hidden camera with a poor unsuspecting builder. I was on the floor in tears laughing. And the hidden camera stuff with Doctor Who...him going in to a tanning salon and speed dating! Brilliant! The actors obviously know the people they are taking off because how they transform themselves is amazing sometimes. I mean Jan Ravens is the only chick but she can be convincing as any woman! The yachtswoman Ellen scenes are one of my favorites, particularly where she cleans her house. Complete with narration of course.

What makes 'Dead Ringers' stand out from other parody shows and comedians who do impressions, is that it is so much more sophisticated and clever. It actually makes intelligent and witty jokes about current and relevant political issues, the comedy doesn't come from just making a funny voice (which is seen as remarkably clever on Australia's Rove Live) it really shows how well the writers know what they are taking off. It isn't just a stupid sketch show, but it can still deliver a few cheap laughs, like Andrew Marr's giant arms, which I'm told actually look really long on TV.

So give it a chance, even if you have never watched the BBC. You soon get to love the characters and laugh at them anyway, such as Kristy Wark the news reader, "My milkshakes brings all the boys to the yard, you're damn right they're better than yours, I could teach you, but I'd have to charge.... More on that story later..."

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely Brilliant., 18 July 2004
Author: Ian Gorton from Newcastle NSW Australia

This is a brilliant show. A mate of mine introduced me to this program and when seeing it for the first time was mesmerised by the uncanniness of the voices. They haven't quite got the looks exactly but it takes a back seat to the voice artistry of the performers, especially the Doctor Who impressions where if you closed your eyes you'd sware it was really Tom Baker. The sketches themselves are hilarious as well as being topical with quite a bit of political satire thrown into the mix like most sketch comedies have. I'm glad now that the ABC has picked up this little gem even though I can't speak for other Australians. Overall it gets 10 out of 10 off me.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Hardly that clever or sharp but a generally funny impressions-based sketch show, 27 December 2005
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Beginning life on Radio 4, this show first came to my attention because John Culshaw used to be a regular on the Chris Moyles radio show back when I used to think he was worth listening to. At first glance it didn't really appeal to me because I was expecting something a lot more like Bremner, Bird & Fortune, by which I mean I was hoping it would be cleverer, sharper and not necessarily the sort of funny that makes you laugh but occasionally the uneasy feeling that the latter show can give you. However a few more viewings and I settled down into acceptance that Dead Ringers is not in the same arena as BB&F and that this is not necessarily a problem.

DR tends not to be as sharp because it isn't really a satirical show (although it can be), it is more of a straight comedy show (although not totally to the degree of, say, Alistair McGowan). This mix of populist and political works quite well and produces some very good scenes with a good hit/miss ratio. It isn't always the smartest game in town but it makes for it by being roundly entertaining. It rarely has a point to make but rather just takes aims at public figures with general mockery. Hence we get things like Andrew Marr with his fantastically out-of-control arms or the simply dumb George Bush; it is rarely insightful but it works.

The performers are all pretty talented and, although the visuals aren't always great, the voices are normally spot on. Culshaw relies a bit too heavily on the old stalwarts of Dr Who and Obi-Wan, but generally he is very good although I do get the impression that the general comic approach of the material is down to his influence. Ravens is usually the one that looks least like any of the people she is impersonating but she does get the voices really on target to compensate; with fewer females in target positions, she tends to take more of a support role at times but she is generally good. Cornwell isn't a great impressionist but he is very close and he has good delivery, Connelly is equally as good and Perry is good in most, if not all, of his roles.

Overall this isn't a clever show or the satirical impressions that I've grown used to with BB&F but instead Dead Ringers is more generally amusing. Mocking and poking fun rather than being sharp and incisive puts it below BB&F in my book (despite actually being funnier) but for the majority of viewers this will do the job. A bit broad for my tastes but generally funny and entertaining.

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love this show, 10 September 2006

Author: oh_lala from United Kingdom

dead ringers, i started to watch it in the second season and i cant get enough of this show, the topical humour from tony Blair to the queen to Madonna and dido always knocks me for 6..and has me rolling on the floor dead ringers says what most people are thinking (well what i do anyway) i hope this show goes on for a long time, and i do hope that they bring more series to DVD i have series 1 but miss having the rest my particular favourite impressions are of Delia,the queen (QVC) and all the pop star ones (especially Madonna "the desperate tour") I'm not really a fan of the whole going out in the public and pretending to be Parkinson (but i let that slide as its a great show) watch this show, even once i have converted a lot of people to watching it, who know never miss it like it you WILL be surprised FACT!

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