Horne & Corden
Horne & Corden | |
---|---|
Directed by | Kathy Burke |
Starring | Mathew Horne James Corden |
Opening theme | Does It Offend You, Yeah? - "We Are Rockstars" |
Country of origin | ![]() |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Producer | Ben Cavey |
Editor | Gary Dollner |
Running time | 30 mins |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Three |
Release | 10 March, 2009 – 14 April, 2009 |
Related | |
Gavin and Stacey |
Horne & Corden is a British sketch show written by, and starring, Mathew Horne and James Corden (Gavin and Stacey) and aired on BBC television. The first episode was broadcast on 10 March 2009 on BBC Three. It is presented by Mathew Horne and James Corden in front of a live audience, in a style reminiscent of Morecambe and Wise, featuring pre-recorded sketches (often on location) and vignettes filmed in a studio with an audience. The first episode even had a song and dance routine as the final piece of the episode, still in keeping with a Morecambe and Wise tradition of variety/comedy show.[1] The first episode attracted the highest ratings for a comedy show debut on BBC Three.[2] There are currently talks about second series.[3]
Cast
- Mathew Horne ... Various
- James Corden ... Various
- Rob Brydon ... Sports Commentator
- Nick Mohammed ... Ensemble (Various Roles)
- Kellie Bright ... Ensemble (Various Roles)
- Mathew Baynton ... Ensemble (Various Roles)
- Helen Cripps ... Ensemble (Various Roles)
Reception
Although the first episode of the show attracted 817,000 viewers, making it most watched debut for a comedy series on BBC Three,[2] the reviews for Horne & Corden were often negative. Benji Wilson of the Daily Telegraph said that the show "was about as funny as credit default swaps".[4] while Rachel Cooke in The New Statesman called it "excruciating – as funny and as puerile as a sixth-form revue".[5] Sam Wollaston from The Guardian wrote:
"There's a sketch about a gay war reporter, a cock-drawing class in a boys' school, Spiderman and Superman meet in the changing rooms, a bloke takes for ever to reach orgasm. Clever, see? It's crude, but that's not the problem; crude can be funny. Not here, though, because of how artlessly it's done. It looks as if they've just thought of these comedy situations, and then not really known how to fill them in. Never has a three-minute sketch felt so long, and the joke inevitably comes down to the fact that James Corden is fat and is happy to show us his wobbly bits. Or one of them gets his arse out."[6]
Harry Venning, the television critic for The Stage observed that over-exposure and hubris had led Horne and Corden to think they could just turn up and make people laugh. The duo "deserve everything they get ... They are actors, not comedians. The whole thing was terrible. Corden has a bit of comic persona, but Horne hasn't any. He was stuck in this awful straight-man role. What really annoys me is this attitude that they've had a hit sitcom – done that – so writing a sketch show should be easy. What happened to quality control? Didn't anyone think, 'We need to get in some writers'? It's a shame because I like them both. They are very good actors."[7]
Some were reviews positive. Keith Watson from Metro said that: "When it calmed down, it hit the spot: Corden does a very sharp Ricky Gervais and the pair of them combining as dancing magic act Jonny Lee Miller stretched things into the surreal. But they need to get over the need to whip each others' kits off. Come on, guys, get a room."[8]
Tom Sutcliffe from The Independent was also more positive saying: "They're both talented comic actors (Corden, in particular, did a note-perfect piss-take of Ricky Gervais, scene-stealing shamelessly as he performed in a remake of The Karate Kid), so where there were dips, it was usually the result of material rather than delivery. And, though it would be ridiculously early to write it off, it was worrying that their opener should have been so reliant on material that struck you as a bit end-of-term-revue in character. Corden's naked body was treated as a kind of get-out-jail-free card, with no less than three sketches in which he got his kit off and at least one more in which the only gag derived from his weight."[9]
Overnight ratings for the second episode were 681,000, down 136,000 from the first show.[10] The third episode attracted 502,000 viewers — down 305,000 from the first episode and 179,000 from the second.[11] The fourth episode went up in the ratings, attracting 650,000 viewers, with a 4.5% share of the audience.[12]
Pulled sketch
In the first episode of Horne & Corden, there was a sketch featuring two characters called Jonny and Lee Miller, a pair of West Country magicians whose dance routines are better than their magic. In the sketch, they try and "Magic away" gun crime. However, the sketch was pulled from three repeats and was edited out of the edition on the BBC iPlayer because of the Winnenden school shooting, which occured the day after the show was first broadcast. The BBC said in a statement: "Following the tragic events in Winnenden on Wednesday, a decision was taken to remove the final scene of episode one of Horne & Corden for all repeats, including iPlayer."[13]
Horne & Corden: Series One (2009)
# | Title | Original airdate | Overall # |
---|---|---|---|
1.01 | "Episode One" | 10 March 2009 | 1 |
We meet Xander, the old boarding school chum from hell; see Tim Goodall, the gayest news reporter ever; watch James's valiant attempts to win a world championship relay race;see the army searching for a new Nokia charger; and seeRicky Gervais has a very special turn in the latest
Karate Kid film.
| |||
1.02 | "Episode Two" | 17 March 2009 | 2 |
Superman and Spider-Man have another awkward meeting in the local supermarket, gay reporter Tim Goodall investigates knife crime, Apparently Man tells his work mate about the fight he 'apparently' got into last night, and we take a break for an infomercial about the dangers of aspinall.We also see Xander make a fool of himself in front of Jimson's new Boss.
| |||
1.03 | "Episode Three" | 24 March 2009 | 3 |
Mat and James try to do their bit to help a disabled fan... with disastrous results. Meanwhile, Superman has to giveSpider-Man some very bad news about Banana Man; Ricky Gervais takes on a new Western film; James shows his penis to Mat; and the Young People's Church (YPC) have a very special message for the non-believers.
| |||
1.04 | "Episode Four" | 31 March 2009 | 4 |
A bank job is interrupted when someone needs a phone charger; the Burger Boys visit the dentist with disastrous results; Xander has an unfortunate incident with a children's toy; Shovey Mate turns up in a cafe; Jonny and Lee Miller tackle Orinoco Flow; and Paul Whitehouse makes a guest appearance. | |||
1.05 | "Episode Five" | 7 April 2009 | 5 |
The Vague Critics provide more meaningless debate; Xander interrupts Jimson's work presentation; the Silent Farter is once again not that silent; and Mat desperately tries to catch up with the mysterious Julie. | |||
1.06 | "Episode Six" | 14 April 2009 | 6 |
Possible series two
There are currently talks about second series.[3]
References
- ^ "Horne & Corden". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ a b Plunkett, John (2009-03-11). "TV ratings: Horne & Corden score BBC3's highest-rating comedy debut". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ a b Rushton, Katherine (2009-03-31). "Second series of Horne & Corden in pipeline". Broadcast. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
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(help) - ^ Wilson, Benji (2009-03-11). "TV Review: Horne & Corden (BBC Three) and Deborah 13: Servant of God (BBC Three)". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Cooke, Rachel (2009-03-12). "Too much of a good thing". The New Statesman. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Wollaston, Sam (2009-03-11). "Last night's TV: Horne & Corden and Horizon". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Johnson, Andrew (2009-03-15). "James Corden: The backlash begins". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Watson, Keith (2009-03-11). "Horne & Corden really aren't that funny". Metro. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Sutcliffe, Tom (2009-03-11). "Last Night's Television - Deborah 13: Servant of God, BBC3; Horne & Corden, BBC3". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - ^ "TV ratings: Prison documentary locks in 4.2m viewers for ITV". The Guardian. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
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(help); Text "Dowell" ignored (help) - ^ "324,000 tune in for last ever 'BSG'". Digital Spy. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
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(help); Text "French" ignored (help) - ^ French, Dan (2009-04-02). "All The Small Things' draws 4.6m". Digital Spy.
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(help) - ^ Parker, Robin (2009-03-13). "BBC pulls Horne & Corden gun sketch". Broadcast. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
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External links
- Horne & Corden at IMDb
- Horne & Corden at bbc.co.uk
- Horne & Corden at The British Comedy Guide