"People Like Us" (1999) TV series 1999-2001

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Directors:

John Morton
Willy Smax

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

28 July 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Fly On The Wall | Spoof | Based On Radio Series | Mock Documentary

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Chris Langham

...

Roy Mallard (12 episodes, 1999-2001)

Runtime:

UK:30 min (12 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The show started out in 1995 as a radio series on BBC Radio 4.

An acquired taste

What appears to be a serious documentary about 'a day in the life' of some member of a profession (policeman, priest, bank manager etc.) is actually a very clever spoof of a documentary. If you listen carefully you realize that most of what the commentator is saying is gibberish – and very funny. The commentator (Roy Mallard) is mostly off camera (except for the occasional hand when requested) and is a fine example of how not to do an interview. Some examples of his commentary –'X is 2 hours from London both by rail and train', 'It's 4pm and everybody has left school except for those who have stayed behind', 'It's 2 p.m. and already the Japanese are on time' and 'the world of financial money'. That's not all. The people whom he interviews are also prone to mangling the English language with many misstatements and misunderstandings. This is not the brash, crude humour that many Americans enjoy but more subtle and laid back. American humour tends overdo the one-liners in order to make sure the audience 'gets it'. This is the type of humour that has to be experienced more than once as it is very easy to miss the subtleties the first time around. Overall, an acquired taste, but much to my liking.