That Mitchell and Webb Look

That Mitchell and Webb Look
Format	Comedy sketch show
Starring	David Mitchell Robert Webb Sarah Hadland James Bachman
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	24
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kenton Allen Jon Plowman
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two BBC HD (2008–present)
Original run	14 September 2006 (2006-09-14) – present
External links
Official website

That Mitchell and Webb Look is a British television sketch show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Shown on BBC Two since 2006, its first two series were directed by David Kerr, who also directed Mitchell and Webb's previous television sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Situation, whereas series 3 and 4 are directed by Ben Gosling Fuller. As well as Mitchell and Webb themselves, the writers include Jesse Armstrong, James Bachman, Sam Bain, Mark Evans, Olivia Colman, Toby Davies, Chris Pell, Jonathan Dryden Taylor, Joel Morris, Jason Hazeley, Simon Kane and John Finnemore. It is produced by Gareth Edwards. Other cast members include Olivia Colman, James Bachman, Mark Evans, Abigail Burdess, Gus Brown, Sarah Hadland and Paterson Joseph.

Many of its characters and sketches are first featured in the duo's radio show That Mitchell and Webb Sound. First aired on 14 September 2006,^[1] a second series was commissioned later that same year^[2] and shown between 21 February 2008 and 27 March 2008.^[3] The third series began on 11 June 2009.^[4] Since series two, the production has also been broadcast on BBC HD. The series won a BAFTA award in 2007. The third series started airing on BBC America on April 14, 2010. The fourth series premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD on July 13, 2010 with a total of 6 episodes commissioned by the BBC.^[5].

[edit] Recurring sketches

• Numberwang - A deliberately nonsensical and allegedly long-running game show, starring Robert Webb as the ebullient presenter, and two seemingly permanent contestants, Simon and Julie (Paterson Joseph and Olivia Colman) who keep to mostly one word answers throughout the show. The game itself involves calling out numbers in various rounds and formats until the host declares "That's Numberwang!", although what constitutes a Numberwang or how it is achieved are never fully explained. A variant round is next, such as "Match Board" which numbers are called out with numbers being selected on the board that don't correspond with the contestant choices at all and "Numberbounce" which has contestants playing Numberwang while jumping on trampolines with each correct answer getting them a number they can grab from the ceiling for no apparent reason. The "Deathwang" round has the contestants sitting in glass cylinders filled with lethal gas, with the one who dies the quickest being the winner. Midway through the game, before the final "Wangernumb" round, the board the contestants are seated on is rotated, briefly revealing a non sequitur scene, such as the birth of Jesus or two soldiers playing Russian roulette with a loaded pistol, as in The Deer Hunter. The Wangernumb round has the same outcome each game with Simon winning and Julie being shamed in some manner from wearing a bag on her head to being stuffed in a box. Related sketches have included the German version (Nümberwang) presented by David Mitchell, a spinoff using words entitled Wordwang, a documentary on the history of the show, a trailer for a film called The Numberwang Code (a parody of The Da Vinci Code), and an advert showcasing a home version of the game.^[6]

• Ted and Peter - A pair of alcoholic, chain-smoking snooker commentators, known for their absurd banter and dishevelled appearances. Ted Wilkes is played by David Mitchell and Peter DeCoursey by Robert Webb. They seem more interested in swapping anecdotes about the players than covering the game at hand, and these exchanges are sometimes laced with homoerotic overtones, such as when Ted delivers a short monologue praising one competitor's prettiness, causing Peter to ejaculate. In a later episode Peter comes out as gay, a decision he discusses with Ted, who admits to having been homophobic before meeting his colleague. Peter bears a strong physical resemblance to Ronny Cox's character Drew in Deliverance. A recurring line in these sketches is "oh, and that's a bad miss", which is in fact the only comment they seem to make on the game at hand. In the fourth series, it was revealed that the two of them were forced to comment on 'dog poker' after Ted 'tried to finger Hazel'.

• The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar - A drunken, drug-addled tramp played by Robert Webb, who seems to be under the impression that he is a brilliant and intrepid Victorian detective, in the style of Sherlock Holmes. He and his companion Ginger - another derelict, played by David Mitchell, who serves as his Dr. Watson - commit various crimes (usually either theft or petty assault) whilst supposedly engaging in battle against the henchmen of their so-called "nemesis", a vague and undefined entity described simply as "the bastard who is presumably behind all of this". The sketch often ends with the pair being chased by somebody they've fleeced to the tune of Devil's Gallop. Although Sir Digby's past remains a mystery throughout the show, Ginger is provided with a certain amount of backstory. In one episode he alludes to having been sexually abused and repeatedly asphyxiated by his father, while in the third series we learn that his real name is Guy Reilly, and that he once had a wife and 12-year-old daughter whom he lost (and has since seemingly forgotten about) as a result of his severe alcoholism. One of the recurring gags in this series of sketches is that as the pair are making their escape (to the tune of the aforementioned 'devil's gallop') a combination of the protagonists' expressions and hand held camera work (almost) make it appear as if they are in some kind of wheeled conveyance traveling over bumpy ground.

• Big Talk - A debate show in the same vein as Question Time or the American program The McLaughlin Group and hosted by the confrontational Raymond Terrific (Robert Webb), who loudly bullies his panel of so-called "boffins" into giving yes or no answers to huge social and philosophical questions (e.g. "is there a God?"). The bemused panel then try and reason with him by starting a sensible discussion, but never to any avail. The show is given an epic and aggressive atmosphere, what with the theme tune being "Ode To Joy" and Terrific's worked-up behaviour. In one episode Big Talk underwent a format experiment whereby, instead of the usual boffins, mindless 'celebrities' were brought on to discuss laughably small matters (e.g. "how's your day been?"); this new version was appropriately called Small Talk, and the embittered Raymond Terrific frequently voiced his disapproval of the change being foisted upon him throughout.

• The Quiz Broadcast - A post-apocalyptic television game show transmitted by the British Emergency Broadcasting System in the year 2013 "between 600 and 750 days" after "The Event", an occurrence that has never been fully explained. The announcer begins the programme over a parody of Test Card F. In poor quality video from a dirty bunker studio, the host and contestants are survivors who are "trying to enjoy themselves" whilst avoiding any traumatic memory of The Event: Peter who was blinded by raiders instead of The Event, Sheila who worships Tesco and Unknown Male 282 who is suffering from shock. As most of civilization had been destroyed by The Event, many of the questions asked do not have known answers, or the "correct" answers are completely wrong. Interspersed throughout the show are titles which have messages such as "REMAIN INDOORS" (which is echoed by the host at times) and "BRITAIN CAN TAKE IT!" Rounds have included trivia, identifying "pre-Event" people from photographs, the Film Round (where contestants must try to identify what happened next in a clip claimed to be the only surviving footage from before The Event), the Conveyor Belt Round (a parody of the bonus game of the BBC game show The Generation Game), and Sudden Death — however Unknown Male 282 suddenly passed out right after this round was announced with the host proclaiming "Oh well, I think he can go outside now". Prizes have included fuel, food, tablets of medical and "holy" varieties, various stones, a grandfather clock and traffic cone claimed to be unknown objects, and plush toys of "frightening animals". As of Series Four, Unknown Male 282's former place is wrapped in bubble wrap and biohazard tape; his spot was taken by a 'professor', who was shot because he said he was 'infected'. In the penultimate sketch, the broadcast ended prematurely, after an unknown contestant turned out to be one of 'Them' (zombie-like sub-human beings) who had got in and proceeds to eat Sheila, who had been accidentally shot moments before. In a twist the message, 'Go Outdoors' is displayed as a horde of 'Them' swarm the studio. In the (presumably) final sketch of the quiz broadcast, it is revealed that all of "Them" died suddenly, leaving Peter and the host as the only survivors. The sketch ends on a somber note as the host suggests that he and Peter "stand together", holding hands in silence as the transmission cuts out.

• Friends Of... - A couple, played by Mitchell and Webb, discussing who to invite to their next party. The list usually comprises either historical figures or fictional characters, such as in one episode when they decide to ask Moneypenny along, but then worry that she may bring James Bond with her. The humour is derived from the way they sneer at the prospective guest's behaviour at previous parties; for instance, whilst deciding whether or not to invite the Scooby-Doo gang, they deride Shaggy Rogers' excessive eating habits and general cowardliness.

• The British Broadcasting Corporation - An old fashioned black and white broadcast, in which characters talk about the wonders of the new medium of television, and how it enables people to see them talking to each other, or if it works like a telephone, but as 4 of the 5 televisions were in use at the centre, they were not sure if they were hearing through television or an open door. Programmes shown include a short guest appearance of George VI, a host and a guest describing a vase, a talk show called 'The Mrs. Patricia Wilberforce Programme' and two hosts giving an inaccurate explanation about how television works.

• Barry Crisp - Crisp (Mitchell) runs a range of attractions which are all unsafe, including charging £2 to jump off a cliff, or offering the chance to swim with a great white shark but with the shark inside the cage along with the diver. His middle-class customer (Webb) assumes everything is "fine" because Barry has a sign, so it must be legitimate, and is seemingly oblivious to the obvious danger, always eventually agreeing to take part, much to Barry's surprise.

• The Honeymoon's Over - Mitchell plays a rude, mean, condescending man who takes a variety of different jobs, in all of which he does his best to demean his customers (Webb and Colman) and make them feel uncomfortable and inferior. When Webb and Colman ask about the nice people they had seen in a previous visit Mitchell would always reply "She/He's gone, they're all gone, and we're back!" Jobs have included being a vicar, waiter and a tailor.

• Get Me Hennimore! - A parody of 1970's sitcoms, each episode featuring Hennimore (Webb) being given an important task by his boss (Mitchell) which always ends in disaster due to Hennimore's often understandable confusion as the items and rooms he must not mix up actually look identical. For example, in one episode he is told that a group of Korean chefs in Room 1 should not come into contact with a group of dog lovers in Room I, but the room signs get mixed up. Another episode had Hennimore showing an antique golf caddy to an ex-alcoholic, but Hennimore accidentally showed him a drinks cabinet, which looked exactly like the golf caddy. This is often brought on by his boss who unintentionally makes things difficult, like printing identical signs for Murder In The Dark (MITD) and Nervous Incontinents Tasting Day (NITD) on a printing press that confused Ns with Ms. In the fourth series, all the sketches are Christmas themed.

• The Helivets - A pair of heroes clad in pink jumpsuits who claim they can rescue any pet in peril. A parody of TV shows following the Emergency Services.^[7] In every instance of this sketch the featured animal(s) are already dead when the vets arrive and whilst Robert Webb's character is reassuring the owner that their pet will soon be OK David Mitchell's character just keeps repeating "It's dead".

• Lazy Writers - In a parody of film and TV genres, two script writers, John Gibson (Webb) and Andrew Turner (Mitchell), can never be bothered to be original for their next project. Instead, they pick a genre, take its signature aspects, and put them together to create something that is clearly a cheap cash-in. This included writing an "underdog" sport film about cricket despite knowing nothing about the sport, a TV medical drama with no knowledge of medicine, and on the live show, a sci-fi series based on Star Trek called 'Space Trek and Wars'.

• Colin and Ray - Webb and Mitchell are co-workers in the same office, who have different jobs which tend to involve extraordinary plots. Colin works as a hostage negotiator, while Ray writes the plots to pornographic films.

• Food Advertisements - A series of parodies of some already heavily over-advertised foodstuffs (these aired in series 3). For example, a parody of Lucozade shows a runner drinking a bottle of 'Glucozade Port', the world's first alcoholic, isotonic drink or Cressps, which taste terrible despite the slogan Once you cressp you can't splessp whereas another advertises 'Mar-mitts' Marmite flavoured gloves that are 'completely unsuitable for human consumption' and finishes with Webb collapsing and Bachman announcing "I think he's dead!"

• Arguing Couple - A couple who talk to their baby daughter in cutesy voices about the problems in their relationship, breaking off to snarl "Up yours!" at each other and make violent hand gestures. The couple and their daughter are played by Robert Webb and his real life wife and baby daughter

• Small Office - Set in a workplace, where employees are called into the boss's office, the problem being it is tiny and therefore is extremely cramped.

• Didldidi - A series of adverts, promoting bargains at a fictional supermarket, Didldidi (a parody of Lidl and Aldi) which include 12 litres of value water and bacon octopus shapes covered with glitter. In one episode of series 4, it is shown that the Didldidi adverts take place before "The Event" as the remains of a wrapper is present as one of the prizes.

• A Prayer and a Pint - A show hosted by Donny Cosy (Mitchell), where he and a guest talk about the ever-changing, usually non-Christian, set. The show was set in Tokyo, Tehran and the Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Cosy usually says politically incorrect statements (such as Japan was just like 'pixie land'). The show always ends with the usual request song 'All I want to do, all I want to do, all I want to do, is praise Him'.

[edit] Production

The show follows on from the duo's earlier TV series The Mitchell and Webb Situation, and is an extension of their Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound. The show's producer Gareth Edwards commented that the show's pitch to the BBC "was the shortest pitch I've ever written", citing that the show "has worked on the radio, just like Little Britain worked on the radio and Dead Ringers worked on the radio, and they transferred successfully to TV, so why don't you [the BBC] transfer this one to TV as well?"^[1]

A pilot for the show was filmed on 27 January 2006 at BBC Television Centre,^[8] with a full series being later commissioned.^[9] Preview nights for the show were held at The Drill Hall in London on 11 January and 20 March 2006, and at Ginglik in Shepherd's Bush in London on 14 and 21 May 2006. These took the form of a radio recording, with verbal prompting to the audience for any visual element that would be required. The series was shot on location in June 2006 and three audience recording sessions were held in Studio 4 at BBC Television Centre on 14, 21 and 28 July 2006.

Following the first series, the pair went on a tour of forty-four UK venues between October and December 2006, entitled The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb, featuring many of the same sketches as That Mitchell and Webb Look.

A preview night for the second series was held on 18 May 2007 at The Drill Hall in London. This series was shot in high-definition^[10] on location during June/July 2007 and three studio recordings with an audience were held at TC8 in Television Centre on 3 August, 10 August and 17 August 2007.

Two preview nights for series three were announced on 30 June 2008 on the BBC Tickets website; all tickets were booked in less than 24 hours. The first preview night took place on 13 July 2008 at The Drill Hall, with the second held there on 10 August, 2008. Two audience recording sessions at Television Centre — with additional live sketches — were announced on 3 October 2008, and took place on 31 October and 7 November 2008, again in high-definition in studio TC8. A third recording session at the BBC Radio Theatre was announced on 10 October 2008, taking place on 18 November 2008.

A preview night for the fourth series was announced on 18 November 2009 on the BBC Tickets website; this was held on 26 November 2009 at The Drill Hall.

[edit] Reception

The show was nominated for two British Comedy Awards in 2006, in the categories of "Britain's Best New TV Comedy" and the "Highland Spring People's Choice"; it won neither of the awards.^[11] However, the show did go on to receive a BAFTA in 2007, in the category "Best comedy programme or series"^[12] and been named "Best British TV Sketch Show 2006" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards ^[13]

[edit] DVD release

The first series was released on DVD in the UK by Contender Home Video on 29 October 2007. Extras include Outtakes, Behind the Scenes footage and a Mitchell & Webb documentary.^{[citation needed]}

The second series was released on DVD in the UK by Fremantle Media on 20 October 2008.^[14]

The third series was released on DVD in the UK by 2|entertain on 20 July 2009, meaning that the first three series have been released on different video labels.^[15]

[edit] Worldwide broadcast

Region	Channel
United Kingdom	BBC2 / BBC HD / Dave
New Zealand	UKTV
Israel	Yes stars Comedy
Australia	ABC1 / ABC2 / UKTV
Arab League	ShowComedy
Canada	bold
Sweden	TV4 Komedi
Norway	NRK 3
Finland	Sub
Denmark	DR2
United States	BBC America[16]
Netherlands	Nederland 3
South Africa	BBC Entertainment
Argentina	Film&Arts
Colombia	Film&Arts
Iceland	Stöð 2

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• That Mitchell and Webb Look at BBC Programmes
• That Mitchell and Webb Look at the Internet Movie Database
• That Mitchell and Webb Look at the British Comedy Guide
• That Mitchell and Webb Look at TV.com
• Numberwang at UKGameshows.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)