All mouth and no trousers
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
"I hate people who take drugs. You know, like customs officers and policemen." Alright, alright, settle down. "A fella went to the doctor. The doctor said: 'You'll never work again.' The fella said 'Why?' The doctor replied: 'Cos you're a lazy bastard'.
Welcome to Stand and Deliver (10.30pm Sky 1), the new adult comedy show hosted by Mike Reid that supposedly packs a laugh a minute. Not convinced yet? Well, some of the jokes are actually both amusing and original, at least for my twisted sense of humour (minty condoms: a bit like Wrigleys but you can blow a bigger bubble with them), but the majority of the material in this first episode is just a trawl through the same old rubbish, which was never particularly funny when Mike Reid was roaming the stand-up circuit, let alone when he was flogging dodgy cars in Albert Square. These days the material fails to raise even a smile. First up this week is Mick Miller, whose main targets for the show are those stalwarts of the middle classes: opera, French cinema ("you'd need to be a speedreader to read those subtitles") and, of course, Channel 4.
The main aim of this programme is as a backlash against the new wave of stand-ups who are flooding the pubs and clubs with predictable and often dire material. Unfortunately, Stand and Deliver appears to be equally predictable and slightly more depressing. Come back Frank Butcher, all is forgiven.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments