George Martin’s Hostage Ordeal
Another of Kevin Eldon’s masterpieces. An absolutely pitch perfect impersonation of Beatles producer George Martin, and one that the man himself is reported to have enjoyed enormously before his death in 2016.
As with many Big Train sketches, it’s the absurdity of this one that really tickles me. Martin being bound in duct tape and transported in a wooden box underneath a trailer, whilst still waxing lyrical, never ceases to make me laugh.
Portaccio
Another good showing for Kevin Eldon here. There are two parts of this sketch that I particularly enjoy. The first is the line “He really, really looked like Shakespeare.”
The second is towards the end, when Kevin Eldon’s look-a-like approaches someone from behind that he thinks may be the legendary Portaccio, only to discover that it is not when the man turns around. A lesser sketch show would have had him say “I’m sorry, I thought you were somebody else”, but Big Train’s scriptwriters knew that it was funnier to have him start to say that, only to realise how absurd a notion it is.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips!
A parody of a similar scene from Goodbye Mr. Chips! with unexpectedly rude interjections.
This one is probably very much a Marmite sketch, you either love it or hate it. But “big fat smelly cocks” is a phrase that I enjoy shouting at at inappropriate moments… well, when I’m with certain friends, at least.
A Letter From Emily
Difficult to describe this one without spoiling it, but Simon Pegg’s choked-up performance right at the very end of this one is a thing of beauty.
Matthew Macgillivray
All fantastic, the Hall and Oates one is perfect and I die laughing every time I see someone struggle to open a door a la the smug Simon Peggy character.