Author Topic: Look Around You  (Read 6158 times)

A.M. Thomas

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Look Around You
« on: March 18, 2009, 05:23:10 PM »
The Computers episode is up now on Adult Swim.  Best episode in series two, I think.

I'm not a chicken,  you're a turkey.

Trembling Eagle

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 06:45:15 PM »
yup. man this show is good.

buffcoat

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2009, 09:24:06 PM »
Computer Jones.
I really don't appreciate your sarcastic, anti-comedy tone, Bro!

Jack from Arkansas

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2009, 10:37:44 PM »
I love the looks on my friend's faces when I show them this show for the first time and they think it's legitimate.  Eventually the absurdity ratchets up a couple notches and the jig is up.

JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2009, 10:55:24 PM »
Oh my God.  I have never watched this before.  I laughed so hard at the scary picture that I scared my wife.
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Regular Joe

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2009, 01:09:19 AM »
When I first saw LAY years ago, it was on a rental. It is SO MUCH BETTER to be able to pore over them on adult swim one or two at a time like this. Perhaps I should buy DVD's more often.

JBillington

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2009, 06:41:02 AM »
The two series of LAY are by far my favourite homegrown comedy series of the last decade. The first series in particular is an absolutely perfect parody of the TV for Schools programs. In the 80s there was still very little TV on during the day, so if children stayed at home sick, the only comfort watching was the TV for schools! Such programs were often made in the mid-70s and broadcast well into the 90s, and they were a source for unintended humour even then.

If I wasnt at work, I'd find you some clips of the kinds of programmes these spoof. The second series is based on a different program, the popular science series Tomorrow's World.

Amplituden

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2009, 09:39:21 AM »
There used to be an amazing film festival here in Toronto called "The Mental Hygene Film Festival".

It was all weird educational films from the 1940s to the 1970s.  I can't ever remember laughing as much as I did at those shows.

Super tastic.
A poor man's Bronson Pinchot.

Bryan

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2009, 10:03:22 AM »
I thought the "Food" episode was also very, very good. The in-depth report on the stew restaurant was amazing.

edit: I realized with a start that was in fact a casserole restaurant, not stew. What an embarrassing mistake!

jbissell

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2009, 04:06:38 PM »
The theme music from season 2 pops into my head at least once a day.

JBillington

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2009, 04:49:44 PM »
I promised some clips, so here you go.

The first series is mocking TV for schools. Here's the start of an ITV production, Basic Maths. The clock shown before program is spot on. This should give you an example of the bleakness of schools TV referred to by Popper.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hTELj8b_ws[/youtube]


From Jack Smith, repeatedly referred to by Robert Popper in the interview.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ9tjkPY8-E[/youtube]


This should give you an idea of the kind of presentation they are aping in Series 2.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9etk78C1pLk[/youtube]

Their parodies of BBC continuity announcements are also spot on.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bJUMIapCI[/youtube]

The most famous Tomorrow's World incident of the 80s was demonstrating how a CD works, spreading jam on it, and wiping it off. I couldnt find that clip.



Bryan

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2009, 10:32:44 AM »
Holy shit! I'm having a hard time deciding if I'm more or less impressed with Look Around You after seeing the source material. They really got it spot on.

Lothar_Brightblade

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2009, 04:21:10 PM »
I love the looks on my friend's faces when I show them this show for the first time and they think it's legitimate.  Eventually the absurdity ratchets up a couple notches and the jig is up.

Yeah it's the same sort of reaction to Wurster calls. They seem to believe it, notice something is out of place and then realize what is going on.

Big Plastic Head

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2009, 09:03:39 PM »
"What's in a name? Well....letters. But, for some of us, it's not that simple..."

Brilliant.

And the names: Jon-Jon, Ronno, Pell, Filby, Partario, Augh'stenellne, Howardina...
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A.M. Thomas

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Re: Look Around You
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2009, 09:08:40 PM »
Does liking series one more than series two put me in the Look Around You minority?

I'm not a chicken,  you're a turkey.