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CHECKING out opinion of Karen Taylor on the internet, the comedienne seems to have developed quite a following. Even if much of the adoration seems to be focused on her huge boobs.
Brand also has huge boobs, though I’m sure this is more coincidence than commissioning pre-requisite
Fair enough, she does brandish them at any opportunity – it’s all part of her un-PC, no holds barred, pretty damn filthy comedy approach.
Back for a second series of Touch Me, I’m Karen Taylor (Thu, BBC3, 10.30pm) the comedienne from Cumbria comes over like a Victoria Wood for the noughties. As you might imagine, this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
It’s good because, like Wood, there is something appealingly down to earth about Taylor that makes her instantly likeable. And she does have some memorable sketches poking fun at the ridiculous aspects of contemporary life.
In Cash Cow she lampoons those bizarre, 1am phone-in quizzes for the horribly pissed or the terminally stupid: “So we’re asking you to name, Things I Might Do…!” , while in Me, Me, Me Space she introduces the freaky individuals who inhabit social networking sites. Then there’s the over-amorous teacher who gets turned on by sex education classes and the office worker who can’t help but reveal inappropriate things to her new colleague (“I made a dog come once”).
But Taylor is best when her ideas are well-observed or a bit daft, rather than just plain crude. I especially liked the moment in the last episode where two WAG types present a show on current affairs, Glamorama. One came up with an insightful observation on Attention Deficit Disorder worthy of Paxman: “And you know, ADD first appeared in the UK when slapping kids became illegal.”
In between this and whipping out her ample bosom every five minutes, Taylor is likely to secure a cross-gender
audience, as long as she lays off the trite "women’s issues" comedy. That means ditching the emotional, biscuit craving "superhero", Pre-Menstrual Girl, a lame idea that wouldn’t have made it off the French and Saunders drawing board circa 1988. Well, okay, it probably would.
Over on ITV2, there’s another female fronted sketch show, Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show (Tues, ITV2, 12.30am). Brand also has huge boobs, though I’m sure this is more coincidence than commissioning prerequisite. Her ideas are a little more quirky than Taylor’s, though they’re also a bit more hit and miss. Her depiction of Kate “I’m normal!” Winslet really would demand the audience to actually be interested in Kate Winslet in the first place, a physical impossibility.
But the idea of playing Stella McCartney and Kate Moss in their schooldays has great potential, and she is also pretty funny as Jesus’s girlfriend, and as a sweaty, hypnotic Angelina Jolie-of-the-jungle and raises an occasional smile with her depiction of Melvin Bragg trying to get hip with some graffiti-spraying kids: “It’s bold. I like the scrotum.”
Not exactly screamingly funny but a novel way to satirise celebrities.
Finally, who deserves their emperor’s new clothes being ripped off more than Amy Winehouse, who Brand imitated rather well last episode? Equipped with beehive, eyeliner, drooping fag and about five extra stone, Brand sang, not untunefully: “I always drink until I black out, if I didn’t I’d have nothing to write about.” Funny. Sort of. And as good a way of spending the wee small hours as calling a premium rate number and trying to guess: “Something that is black….”
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7 comments so far, continue the conversation, write a comment.
I bet you're cracking company. Cheque and taxi please.
Awww your poor lonely rant hasn't induced the joke you thought it would. Nobody took the bait eh? OK I'll do it for you then.... A large donkey? I think you mean a large ass!!! Hows that? You happy now Lex?
Not gone. Just quiet. Out of curiosity why did you feel the need to tell us the latin name of the donkey? It neither makes you sound interesting nor intelligent. It's not difficult to speak any language with the internet at your fingertips. Also nobody will be having a good time with you around taking yourself and life so seriously.
Thank goodness (i>he's
Jo Brand has a large donkey?
Silent
! (and ask Miss Taylor to come and place her shapely bottom upon my knee...