Wartime Show & Tell
More excellent performances all-round, from Simon Pegg and Mark Heap.
My favourite line here is Simon Pegg’s description of the altimeter, said with the kind of resignation and despair that one would expect.
A brilliant ending to this one too, again with Kevin Eldon.
Streets of London
Ralph McTell is one of our most well-known folk singers here in the UK. As evidenced by this sketch, Streets of London is by far his most popular and well-known song, to the point that I distinctly remember we were taught how to play it and sing it at an early age in primary school.
I love this sketch for the seamless transition back to the old classic, and the way the crowd electrifies afterwards.
Chaka Khan vs. The Bee Gees
Big Train loved lampooning pop music stars and other celebrities in their sketches, but with only one exception relating to Chairman Mao, I think this one is the best of the lot.
Simon Pegg, as Barry Gibb, desperately singing Massachusetts while reloading his revolver, is something that I didn’t realise I needed to see until I saw it.
And so many more…
There are plenty of other sketches that I would like to have put here, but couldn’t find a suitable video for. Honourable mentions go to:
Cake Factory: A hotheaded, pun-loving employee at a cake factory is moved to another division when his boss tires of his lack of commitment to their cause.
Billie Piper Fan Club: A 1950s bank manager has to deal with some awful news about Billie Piper.
43rd World Stare-out Championship: Plenty of videos exist for this one, but this sketch featured throughout the entire of the first series, so a compiled video would be a long one. It is simple in its execution, and yet (to me, at least) incredibly funny, again because of the absurdity.
and finally, Fat-Handed Twat: A man, cursed with a deformity that gives him unfeasibly large hands, finds himself in all kinds of unhelpful situations.
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.