Give me strength...

[lonelybrit]

Because I adore Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi I'm attempting to watch the first ep of their new comedy, Vicious.

15-minutes in and I'm having to pause before going on. I suspect this may fall into the 'Labour of Love' category of TV. Has anyone else watched this? Am I missing something? Hmm, let's see how things are going by the time credits roll...

Comments

[intrastellar.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched it, but from what I've seen on t'internet, people are either loving it or hating it. I also have a friend who saw a few episodes filmed, and she says it came across much better in person than it is on TV.

[rivier.livejournal.com]

I had to bypass that one, sorry! Saw the trailers being heavily pimped on ITV and it was pinging all my argh unfunny buttons.

[esmerelda-t.livejournal.com]

I liked it, it's cheesetastic and old fashioned in it's format but I suspect that's the point.

[complicat]

I thought it looked like it might be quite bad from the trailers but watched for McKellan and Jacobi and...hmm. It's not great, and without such a good cast it would probably be terrible. There were a few bits which did amuse me though (plus a few that made me cringe...) so I'm planning to stick with it for a bit and hope it gets better.

[lathaina.livejournal.com]

I gave up after 15 mins because it was very stiff and hammy. And strangely enough for a supposed comedy, unfunny.

[lonelybrit]

You cannot deny the chemistry of McKellen vs. Jacobi. A bit like when Paxman was interviewed by Humphries. All in all a mixed-bag, I think I'm holding out on final judgement until I've seen at least another ep or two.

[lonelybrit]

There were one or two moment where I did cringe, but I did find myself laughing out loud as well. I'm giving it another ep or two before I make up my mind.

[lonelybrit]

It certainly had an old-school feel to it, which did fit its characters, but I have to admit not all old-school humour is to my taste. I'm giving it a few more eps before I fully decide, after all at the end of the day it's McKellen and Jacobi - that is not something to be sneezed at!

[lonelybrit]

Yep, that's the conclusion I came to. They certainly lucked out with the cast. And yes, while I did cringe, there were a few bits too where I did laugh. I think it's a case of wait and see how next week goes for me :)

[lonelybrit]

It felt like a very particular old-school style of sitcom, from the humour to the physical set-up. I do actually enjoy some of the more dated comedies (Yes, Minister will never not be funny), but this particular style has never been one I've really watched before. I'm giving it a few more eps to see how it goes.