TV: Warning - This show is F.U.N.N.Y

 
You know how to spot a dickhead as well as I do. They’re the ones who go around telling everyone how funny they are, right? Sometimes, they warn you about their dangerous comedy skills by saying something like: “Mate, you’ve gotta watch out for me, I’m bonkers.”

Like karate black-belts, they are obliged to warn strangers of their awesome powers before engaging with them. Nobody wants to accidentally obliterate an unwitting stranger’s funny bone with the might of their japery.

Yes, people who think they are funny are the world’s biggest dickheads. But you knew that already. We all know that. So why would a TV channel whose entire brand identity is based on being funny commit the unfunniest sin in the book by declaring their own funniness?

I am of course referring to Dave, ‘The Home of Witty Banter’. They love a bit of bants! Especially if it’s the witty kind! They’re a big barmy house of chuckles where there’s a LOLs party every night and everyone is invited!

Yes, Dave is a right dickhead of a channel. So much so that even brilliant shows like Only Fools and Horses and Have I Got News for You are almost rendered shit by association.

But let’s not dwell on Dave. They’re only trying to promote their channel as best they can, I suppose. To be honest, I’m being a bit mean. Sorry Dave, it’s probably me who’s the real dickhead. Which is another thing you knew already.

You know what else you knew already? The premise of Armando Iannucci’s political satires. There’s a politician who’s a bit rubbish, surrounded by incompetents and sycophants making a complete hash of an important job. Lampooning the powerful for being just as lazy and useless as the rest of us is a comedy gift that keeps on giving.

In Veep, Iannucci turns his attention from Westminster to Washington. From Yes Minister to The New Statesman, there is a grand tradition of British politicians being portrayed as morons and losers.

But Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ portrayal of an American vice president who is similarly all at sea (episode one largely surrounds her jovial use of the word ‘retard’ in a press conference) seems somehow more shocking and incongruous. And funny, too.

Yep, this show sure is funny. Sky Atlantic should think of mentioning that really explicitly in their marketing materials. It’s just a thought.