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Very Best of Friday Night Live (The)
R2 - United Kingdom - Network Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (3rd June 2008). |
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The Show
 Can you remember when Ben Elton’s humour could be described as ‘anti-establishment’, Hugh Laurie wasn’t appearing in ‘straight’ roles in US television dramas and Robbie Coltrane wasn’t associated with the character of Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald? If so, Network’s DVD release of The Very Best of Friday Night Live may appeal to you. For those unfamiliar with the show, in 1985 Channel 4 developed the programme Saturday Live which aired, surprisingly, on Saturday; the show is often claimed to be Channel 4’s response to the successful and long-running American series Saturday Night Live. Both shows featured a mixture of character-based sketches and stand-up; with the rapid-fire comic Ben Elton as its compere, Saturday Live was consistently political and the humour often revolved around topical events, all delivered in front of a live studio audience. In 1988, Channel 4’s Saturday Live was shunted into a Friday evening slot and retitled… wait for it… Friday Night Live. Network have already released a ‘Best Of’ Saturday Live, and this latest release is a 2-disc set containing some of the highlights from the Friday Night Live series. Much, but not all, of the humour is rooted in the culture of 1980s Britain, the rise of the yuppie class, the dissatisfaction with Thatcher’s Britain and other issues of the day: the opening skit involves Elton railing against ‘Mrs Thatch’ and then discussing the issue of global warming. Meanwhile, Harry Enfield performs as his well-remembered character Loadsamoney, one of the defining comic stabs at the ‘Greed is Good’ ethos of the late-1980s; there are jokes about the Poll Tax; and Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty play the self-absorbed and socially-inept yuppies Mr Don and Mr George (these two characters were given their own short-lived sitcom by Channel 4, entitled Mr Don and Mr George, in 1993). But the humour isn’t all political: there’s some broad physical humour courtesy of Lee Evans and Josie Lawrence provides some character-based monologues that satirise the world of television and celebrity. A couple of the sketches fall flat: the studio audience doesn’t seem to know how to respond to Ralf Ralf’s ‘Power Play’ skit on the second disc, which seems to be based on their performance piece ‘The Summit’ (devised in 1987 as a satire of the Gorbachev/Reagan summits) and consequently the skit gets nary a laugh from the audience, although it’s admittedly a clever and very well-planned sketch. (In fact, the sketch is probably a little too clever for its own good.) In what seems to be her television debut, Jo Brand is also heckled at one point, probably due to her deliberately monotonous delivery—which, thankfully, she eventually abandoned. However, there are also some real strokes of comic genius in this set. Elton’s monologues usually raise a chuckle or two, and on the second disc there’s an absolutely wonderful comic monologue involving Robbie Coltrane playing the character of ‘Uncle’ Don Corleone whilst telling a children’s story (in the manner of Jackanory). It’s easy to forget how good Coltrane is as a comic actor, but his appearances in this set confirm this; and even though Saturday Live/Friday Night Live was one of the flagship programmes of the UK’s ‘alternative comedy’ scene some of the sketches (such as Coltrane’s Brando parody) are reminiscent of the kinds of left-curve skits that you might expect from The Two Ronnies, although at the time many of the participants wouldn’t have appreciated the comparison. Is it more than a coincidence that the producer Paul Jackson—who also produced one of the other key ‘alternative comedy shows’ of the 1980s, The Young Ones—also worked on The Two Ronnies during the 1970s? Speaking of Ronnies Barker and Corbett, The Very Best of Friday Night Live also contains a wonderful pastiche of the iconic John Cleese-Ronnie Barker-Ronnie Corbett ‘I Know My Place’ sketch from the 1960s show The Frost Report; it’s a subversive little sketch involving Hugh Laurie, Harry Enfield and Ben Elton playing Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward respectively, with Ben Elton’s Edward being obsessed with ‘boobies’. (Was anyone ever able to meld satire and toilet humour as effortlessly as Elton?) Below is a list of the performances that appear on the DVDs: Disc One: 'Select a Performance'/'Play All' option (117:22): Ben Elton - Storming Parliament Harry Enfield - Stavros - Back with a Venge Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter - The Proper Theatre Ben Elton, Stephen Fry and Jimmy Mulville - Fingers on the Knobs Julian Clary - Leader of the Pack Harry Enfield - Loadsamoney - A Day in the Life of a Plasterer Joe Bolster - Don't Forget to Breathe Hugh Laurie - Tension and Nervousness Harry Enfield - Stavros - Time Genitals, Please Hugh Laurie, Harry Enfield and Ben Elton - Royalty Jo Brand - Good Evening, I'm the Sea Monster Hugh Laurie - I Have Sinned! Josie Lawrence - The Video Box Ben Elton and Hugh Laurie - Pubic Coiffeur Hugh Laurie, Josie Lawrence and Ben Elton - Carpe Diem Harry Enfield - Loadsamoney - Last You a Lifetime, That Ben Elton - Hateful Adverts Ben Elton - Royal Outrage Harry Enfield - Loadsamoney - I Don't Like Communists Michael Redmond - A Small Village Just Outside Ireland Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter - Performing in Public Ben Elton - Driving Test Fascists Lee Evans - I Can't Believe I'm Here! Josie Lawrence - Florence's Tan Ben Elton - Captain Paranoia Disc Two: 'Select a Performance'/'Play All' option (118:00): Ben Elton - Nuclear Madness Robbie Coltrane - Story Time With 'Uncle' Don Corleone Patrick Marber - Brain Invader Jack Docherty, Moray Hunter and Robbie Coltrane - A Rich Man's Budget Harry Enfield - Loadsamoney - Loadsacelebrityladies Robbie Coltrane - F.U. Taxis Ben Elton - Loathsome Recreation Josie Lawrence - Quiz Mistress Howie Mandel - Swatch Crotch Watch Hattie Hayridge - Junkie Hairdresser Julian Clary - It's a Hard Life Being a Policeman Harry Enfield - Stavros - In the Clunk Jach Docherty and Moray Hunter - A Slight Accent Jo Brand - Cruelty Without Beauty Lenin and Stalin - Hello Comrade Stalin, Matey-Peep Harry Enfield - Buggerallmoney - Loadsahandbags, More Harry Enfield - Loadsamoney - Shut Your Mouth, Vicar Sean Hughes - I'm Not Alison Moyet Harry Enfield - Stavros - Power to the Peeps 20 Ralf Ralf - Power Play Harry Enfield - Readallabahtit! Ben Elton - Alternative Comedy Harry Enfield - Buggerallmoney - Search and Destroy Dame Edna Everage - Ben Elton's Opportunity Knocks
Video
Friday Night Live was shot on video, in a studio with a live audience. Network’s DVD release presents the material in its original screen ratio of 1.33:1.
Audio
The DVDs are presented with 2.0 mono sound; considering the fact that the show was filmed in front of a live audience, dialogue is clear and the audio track is problem-free. There are no subtitles.
Extras
Four hours of comedy isn’t good enough for you? You want extras? You’re a tough crowd. There are no extras. Some contextualisation of the show or reflection on its reception and impact may have been interesting (e.g. an interview with one or more of the performers, such as Elton, or the producer Paul Jackson) but it’s not necessary.
Overall
There’s a boundless energy to the skits included in this set; twenty years later, it’s almost easy to forget how wearying yet effective Ben Elton’s rapid-fire delivery was. The set is bound to contain something to tickle everyone’s sense of humour and I must confess that it made me yearn for the days when stand-up comedy was seen as ‘the new rock ‘n’ roll’. There are some good stand-up acts in the UK today, but there are few as sharp and subversive as some of the acts seen in this show (or at least, the sharp and subversive acts rarely appear on television these days). If you enjoy live comedy, this set is very much a worthwhile purchase. For more information, please visit the homepage of Network DVD.
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