PhoneShop: Episode 1

A self-proclaimed success story from Channel 4’s 2009 Comedy Showcase, PhoneShop commences its first full series this week with premiere episode ‘Doctor Who’. With top salesman Gary Patel back in jail, hapless Christopher is drafted in to meet his new colleagues, who on the whole are both more established and far stranger than he is.

The admittedly talented comic cast manage to be consistently entertaining from the off, with the opening exchange between boss Lance and new recruit Christopher appearing potentially promising.

Unfortunately, however, the show then descends into the treatment usually associated with BBC Three‘s comedy output. The odd well-written, understated joke is completely overshadowed by the ensuing loud and ‘wacky’ antics that give the proceedings a disjointed feel. As a result the pacing of the show jumps around bizarrely – it’s as if the writers had a variety of comic ideas and could not decide which to pursue, instead opting to chuck them all in.

Co-workers Ashley and Jerwayne (the ironic ‘cool’ characters, complete with absurd speech mannerisms) have been presented far more amusingly and intelligently in shows such as Nathan Barley. Instead much of the dialogue tends to veer into the embarrassing, dated sort of attempts at humour most epitomised by 2010’s other ‘breakout’ disappointment, Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show. By the finale, a contrived ‘rap battle’ scenario involving knowledge of phone packages between rival stores, one could not help but feel that this shall not achieve the Inbetweeners-like success that E4 is undoubtedly searching for.



Airs at 10pm on Thursday 7th October 2010 on E4.

Reviewed by Jared Carnie.