I'll just add a quick comment on the Fast Show in general.

I've always liked the Fast Show for one reason and that is that Harry Enfield has been trying to do for ten years what Paul Whitehouse managed in two series, that is create a set of characters with catchphrases that became instantly recognisable. Enfield only ever had success with "loadsamoney" and that wasn't funny. At all.

When Whitehouse moved out of Enfield's shadow he instantly shone brighter, and Enfield has now been relegated to Sky One. Whenever Enfield is interviewed, he is always so bitter about the Fast Show as well, claiming its not funny. Teehee!

The feeling I got throughout watching it was that it had a much bigger budget than their other 3 series, and the BBC must be doing this so they can stick it all on videos to flog off here and in America, I can see the sticker on the front now "Guest Starring Johnny Depp!" And as if by magic, right after the show there was a big advert for it on video and DVD.

I've always liked the Fast Show, even if it was incredibly repetative and hit and miss. They really needed to put a lot of new characters in, some of them have been going since the 1st series, and most of the others who started life in the 3rd series had ran out of steam by the end of it. It also is cringe making how they are overusing old characters and running them into the ground, the whole funny thing about Ted and Ralph is how subtly Ralph tried to express his feelings to Ted, and Ted would just act very humble and hardly say a word. Now, they have Ralph running up Ted fucking naked for Christ's sake!

I don't think I laughed once throughout the whole thing, though I didn't find the Johnny Depp sketch as embarassing as I thought it was going to be. You can hardly blame him for appearing though, he was drawn to it like a randy dog to a visiting vicar's leg. The BBC always made note of how Depp liked the show, interviewing him for a Fast Show documentory, shock horror, a Celeb CAN actually like a television program like normal people!

I think the whole thing was just designed by the BBC to fight back on Ali G and Dom Joly Christmas video sales basically. Does anybody know how long the videos have been on sale? Because it makes sense they only show them after Christmas so as not to take away from possible video sales, it's crap that they are selling each 'part' on seperate videos, thus trying to get even more money.

Also where's Aherne? Too famous now? I thought the third series was to be the last? Why can't people finish shows when they say they will? I'm sure i remember some characters coming to a natural end in the third series, and now they've got three 'final' episodes.
Last nights wasn't very good. Haven't seen tonights yet. God knows about tomorrow. Maybe they've sved the best jokes till then...

If Johnny Depp likes the show so much, and is supposed to be some kind of actor, how did he manage to be so bad? It looked like they'd just pulled him in off the set next door or something. He didn't know if he was playing it straight or joining in, or what.
Was it just me or did Whitehouse rush the "oohs" in these and a lot of catchphrase material in general? It looked like he was sick of the whole thing.
You have to admire them for killing it now and not trying to milk it for another series, though.

I'd wilfully avoided the "Last Fast Show Ever"'s over the past few days, but as I was at home ill last night I watched it. It was potentially the most exruciating piece of television I've seen all season. Ever single sketch was simple pleb-pleasing catchphrase-regurgitation with absolutely no thought to comedic invention. The stench of 'the BBC have given us shitloads of cash to tread the boards again, why should we bother writing anything' hung over everything, even the very performances by Whitehouse, who just looked like he couldn't be arsed.

Simon Day was good as Dave Angel, but even that sketch lacked imagination. The Colin Hunt sketch could have been ripped out of any number of abysmal 1980's BBC office sitcoms. The whole thing was a cynical, money-grabbing, legacy-destroying waste of our money. They should have stopped after series two.

I'm off to watch my Vic Reeves Big Night Out Series 1 vids.

There was one sketch that made me laugh out loud, the one where a dishevelled John Thomson approaches a man on window ledge, yelling "Where am I? What year is it?? WHO'S THE PRESIDENT???" before jumping to his death. Now, this probably the most original material in the whole three shows, but I suspect that any comedy that arises from this scene is probably based on sheer What-The-Fuck? value. I doubt it would be funny a second time.

Johnny Depp's on record as saying that he thinks Paul Whitehouse is a great actor. And I think he's right. The characterisations of Archie "Hardest job in the world" and Rowley Birkin QC (especially the 'straight' monologue he did) are subtle and superb. I could see what Depp was on about.

However, that was in series 3 of the Fast Show, and most of the other stuff in that was crap, apart from the painter afraid of black. The 3 "final" Xmas Fast Shows were utter, utter shite. Paul Whitehouse nearly jizzed himself over Depp in the Suits You sketch. But not in character. Just at the thought of having a movie star in the studio with him. Everything else in the last episodes was worthless.

"The Last Fast Show Ever" = 3 x 1hour segments = 6 x 30minutes.

Surely that's a series?

... He's right you know.

And I believe the Beeb are selling each episode separately, 3x40 videos/DVDs.

Didn't Johnny Depp appear in an episode of 'The Vicar Of Dibley' a while back? That was much much worse.

The whole thing puts me in mind of that bloke from Andy Warhol's Factory directing Cook & Moore's 'Hound Of The Baskervilles' - i.e. someone who adores 'British Comedy' but doesn't quite understand the basics.

I thought 'Hound Of The Baskervilles' was hilarious and brilliant.

Then again, i've not seen 'Bedazzled' yet.