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The Stephen K Amos Show
UK comedian Stephen K Amos has forged an
eminently impressive career as a stand up, his impeccably crafted and
perfectly timed live shows garnering rave reviews and a strong following
the world over.
Currently in town for the 2011 Melbourne
International Comedy Festival, where he’s long been a fan favourite,
Amos is performing his show ‘The Best Medicine.’ Selling out fast and
already described as ‘classic’ by one reviewer, the show sees Amos once
again mining the endless well of jokes about his Nigerian parents,
finding the humour in a variety of absurd and often tragic scenarios or
simply indulging in some good natured piss-taking (his Australian bogan
accent is spot on, and of all his impersonations always guarantees a
riotous reception).
Unfortunately however, and I say this as a
fan, his considerable talents don’t translate at all well to the realm
of variety television. His six-part Stephen K Amos show
originally aired on the BBC in 2010
and comprised an unconvincing hodge-podge
of dubious stand up, half-baked skits and pancake-flat one liners,
interspersed with the odd bit of Amos magic. His guests were largely a
bewildering blend of obscurities (at least to us in the Antipodes)
though the odd name performer such as Michael Parkinson makes the
occasional cameo and some of the stand-ups were eminently impressive.
Largely though, this is a waste of time for
all but the most stalwart fans of the debonair comedian, and seeing Amos
live is still the only way to experience his full comedic arsenal. As
far as sketch shows go, I for one will be sticking with Mitchell &
Webb.
Audio & Video
No problems here. The series looks great
in a pristine anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 widescreen transfer, and
the two-channel DD audio is perfectly respectable as well.
Special Features
Six deleted sketches, most of which are
actually pretty decent, particularly ‘Wacky Racists’ and one in which
Amos stars as a Bond with misfiring gadgets. Not sure why these weren’t
included in the show proper as they’re funnier, for the most part, than
some of the sketches that did make it to air. |
