Recorded for Training Purposes
- 1 March 2007, Radio 4, 11 pm
These
upstarts need to get with the times
Recorded for Training Purposes is a bold move for the BBC. For the first time ever, a sketch show has been made with more than a third of its content written by fresh writing talent.
Ten rookies, picked from over 2,200 entrants in a national sketch writing competition, make their broadcasting debut.
The result is a mix of topical sketches that read like a list of Daily Mail favourites. All the usual suspects make an appearance - ASBOs, pornography and call centres – and clichés abound. Take a character called Emma Binge, an obvious piss-take of a certain supermodel’s famed drug taking exploits. Efforts to mock quiz channels and Wikipedia also bring on bouts of déjà vu.
The problem with this programme is that it was put together by earnest
people who are either trying too hard to be relevant, or have only just
discovered Heat, popular culture, and iPods. They obviously have
the ability to write a passable joke, they just need some new material.
Holly Falconer
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