If you like Harry Hill and “TV Burp”, you’ll like this DVD.  If you don’t like Harry Hill or the show, then this won’t change your mind – that was nice and easy.

The main content of the DVD is structured like a normal weekly show featuring all of the regular Harry Hill send-ups and routines in the form of highlights from the series.  The extension of the idea of the viewer shouting at the TV (don’t we all do that?) works well, particularly when it continues logically into Harry actually taking part in the clips he satirises.  So far, so good.  

For me, the comedy wears little thin when Harry takes a good idea (ear cataracts, for example) and bludgeons it to death to milk every last sliver of a laugh out of it. Maybe that’s what fans of the show really love – if it is, then they’ll love this DVD.

The extras on the disc also work best if you’re already a fan – if you haven’t seen the series, then the “Freaky Eaters” and “Fights” sequences probably won’t do anything at all for you, while the out-takes and unseen sections might appeal to the casual viewer.

If you’re already a fan of the show and you’ve got some Christmas money or vouchers to spend in the sales, then this is a pretty good investment.  If you’re not a fan, then the guys mentioned above all have DVDs out which are well worthwhile if you haven’t already seen them on tour this year.

Happy New Year.

As expected, much of the show is comical as the trio moan about various issues. At the opening, they ‘invade’ the stage dressed in mackintoshes and laden with Lakeland Plastics carrier-bags. Having an introduction, delivered as though it was an air safety warning was a particularly nice touch, with the fire exits and other useful information.

To start with Jenny, Dillie and Linda, attempted to define what a grumpy old woman actually is, leading to some audience interaction. It appeared that most of the audience was made up of women and was probably a ‘menopausal hen-party’.

Making lists was an important feature of the show and provided the first of several ‘musical items’, leading nicely into ‘rules about what to wear’ and the comment that Trinny and Susannah are merely ‘gay men in drag’. As examples of clothes that shouldn’t be warn the women threw off their mackintoshes revealing that they were in fact wearing nighties, their teenage daughter’s clothes and tight dresses.

Other humorous moans focused on diets and Linda Robson claiming that as part of her personal balanced diet, she would have ‘a plate of vegetables, on top of that, balanced a great big steak & kidney pie and chips. Having never before seen Dillie Keane, she came across as a delightful woman who could be relied upon for a good rant and provided a good share of the humour.

During the second half the women, delved into their plastic bags showing a wealth of exciting products that could be purchased, such as glow in the dark coasters which are the safe alternative to waving lighters at pop concerts. However there was some optimism, in that there are always the ‘good old days’ to look back on and once ‘the kids have left home; you’re free to join the national trust’ was another funny insight which the audience appreciated.

Towards the end of the show there is a whole section devoted to ‘tutting’ which will make sense once put into context. One of my favourite gags of the show was when the women were complaining about young people and sex- canoodling at the bus-stop. This prompted an encouraging message to the audience to go into the streets and start some ‘geriatric street sex’.

As part of the finale, the women voiced their anthem to the national anthem before declaring their manifesto. They then sang along to ‘Silver Lining’ and waltzed off into the sunset on a mobility scooter. A fitting end to a great show.

A new survey has revealed that kids comedy film Home Alone is the nation’s favourite family festive film, with the average British family having watched the Oscar nominated movie starring Macaulay Culkin no less than ten times.

More than 3,000 parents took part in the survey which asked participants to select their favourite festive movies, to celebrate the launch of the new premium family movie channel Disney Cinemagic HD.

Home Alone won out thanks to its ‘feel good’ storyline and association with the festive season, pipping other family favourites including The Snowman and The Wizard of Oz into top spot.

Winning out in the less desirable list of festive flops, Santa with Muscles, starring former WWF wrestler Hulk Hogan topped the list with 13% of the votes. Love Actually also made it into the top five films considered festive turkeys.

Lord Richard Attenborough’s performance in Miracle on 34th Street is the clear winner for the nation’s favourite actor who has played Santa Claus, with Tim Allen’s portrayal in The Santa Clause coming runner-up.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Disney dominates the list of the nation’s favourite animated movies of all time, with Shrek claiming top spot ahead of the likes of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Lion King and Monsters, Inc.

The findings of the Disney Cinemagic HD survey also reveal that settling down to watch a festive movie as a family is considered an integral part of Christmas for 30% of Brits. Families tend to watch an average of three movies together during the festive season and nearly half (43%) cite this as one of the most relaxing times spent in an otherwise busy and chaotic few days of entertaining family, friends and children.

Top 10 Festive Faves:

1. Home Alone
2. The Snowman
3. It’s a Wonderful Life
4. Miracle on 34th Street (1994 version)
5. Mary Poppins
6. Santa Claus: The Movie
7. The Wizard of Oz
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. Back to the Future
10. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The Nation’s Festive Flops…

1. Santa with Muscles
2. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
4. Love Actually
5. Bad Santa (2003)

The Nation’s Favourite Santa’s

1. Lord Richard Attenborough (Miracle on 34th Street – 1994)
2. Tim Allen (The Santa Clause – 1994)
3. David Huddleston (Santa Claus: the Movie – 1985)
4. Tom Hanks (The Polar Express – 2004)
5. Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa – 2003)

Good luck!

Please check it out and let us know what you think - this time we have the third and last part of an interview with Iain Lee.

Have a listen to it Here , and we are also on iTunes. Or you could use this RSS feed.

This Wednesday saw an eclectic line-up of comics, magicians and people “off-the-telly”, let down only by the sad absence of Issy Sutie due to illness.  Carl Donnelly continued to prove himself as one of the best MCs on the London circuit, preparing the audience for Wil Hodgson.

Hodgson is probably more of an acquired taste than the other acts with his tales of life as a pink-haired man, with My Little Pony tattoos, in a small town.  His laughs come more spread out than most of the comedians tonight, but are worth it for his story-telling skills.

Joe Wilkinson provided a set that seemed more like a preperation for next years Edinburgh festival as he gave us good material that was pretty much unconnected but was very funny nonetheless.  Resident act Brian Gittins was joined on stage by Richard Sandling - a saving grace for me who has never warmed to Gittins but finds sandling hugely enjoyable.

Trevor Lock had a brilliant set, playing with the mike stand, the audience and their comedy preconceptions in a very anarchic way.  “Him-off-the-telly” Iain Lee is gingerly venturing back into stand-up after a decade away - but showed little sign of nerves as he commandeered the audience quickly before delivering some strong jokes, and ending on a painfully funny bad joke - a brave ending.

Headline act Peter Firman combines traditional magic tricks with some funny lines.  I’m afraid for me neither of them were strong enough for a closer of the night.

‘Rhod Gilbert & The Award-Winning Mince Pie’ begins in a service station, at about 2.40am.  Armed with a travel pillow, a flask and a very powerful torch, Rhod aggressively demands to know more about the ‘Award-Winning Mince Pie’ on display on the counter.  Suddenly aware of what he is doing, he is forced to acknowledge that he may be having a very mild nervous breakdown.  How did it come to this?  He doesn’t even like Mince Pies.  The pressures of living in a tedious, pointless and absurd world surrounded by idiots have finally taken their toll.  Perhaps he should never have left his fantasy world of Llanbobl in the first place.  This is the slightly ridiculous story of how one Mince Pie broke the camel’s back.

The 2009 tour starts in Doncaster, Darlington and Salford in mid January, and ends on 29th March at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre.

Find out the full tour listings.

So I am afraid the final part of the Iain Lee interview podcast is still to come - however if you are a fan of Iain Lee, you can see him tomorrow (Wednesday 19th November) at Knock2Bag comedy club in Shepherds Bush.  If you can’t make it then we shall be adding a little review to the end of the re-recorded podcast for the end of the week.

With an ability to both charm and offend the crowd in equal measure, he is regarded as one of comedy’s fastest rising young stars. Over the last year Jim had recorded his first live DVD, signed a development deal for his own TV show, hosted the American NME Awards in Los Angeles and has had an HBO special commissioned in the States. The NME event he was reported as having something of a falling-out with Kelly Osbourne, after he said sarcastically: ‘I think she’d be famous even if her dad weren’t famous - she’s just that good.’ And when she spat at him, he came back with: ‘Wow, Kelly Osbourne spitting – that’s not what I read on the internet’.

Jim succeeds with jokes that most comedians wouldn’t touch. With an ability to both charm and offend the crowd in equal measure, he is regarded as one of comedy’s fastest rising young stars. His brash confrontational style has made him one of the most sought after comics on the world stage.

Venue: Leicester Square Theatre
Date: 15th December 2008
Time: 9:30pm
Tickets: £15
Box Office: 0844 847 2475 / www.ticketweb.co.uk

In 2009 Brand takes his particular style of schtick around the UK, touching on Reading, Birmingham, Oxford, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, Glasgow and a number of venues in London.

Get your tickets here.