A lot of people, both inside and outside the UK, assume that the best TV comes from the BBC. Sure, Doctor Who is great and there have been some great drama series from our publicly-funded friends over the years, but on balance, it’s clearly Channel 4 that has the best stuff.
Spaced, Black Books, Brass Eye, Peep Show — there’s a veritable plethora of excellent shows out there, most of them in the comedy genre, and the vast majority of which involve –and are written by — the same people.
The latest Channel 4 show to be up and coming is Fresh Meat, a new show from the creators of Peep Show. Peep Show is known for featuring that uniquely British brand of uncomfortable humour, and Fresh Meat continues that tradition suitably aptly, though with something of a more surreal edge at times.
The show is based around a small ensemble cast of first-year students, and is mostly set in their shared house where they’ve been thrown together as tends to happen in the early days of university. The setup is perfect for some character-based comedy, and writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain take full advantage of this fact. The characters have some great chemistry between them, and each of them is just bizarre enough to be memorable without crossing the line into complete stupidity. Highlight of the show has to be Howard, a Scotsman of indeterminate age who has lived in the shared house for longer than he perhaps should have. Howard is introduced drying off some chickens (if I remember correctly) with a hair-dryer, while not wearing any pants.
Ironically, throughout the subsequent episodes, it’s Howard that turns out to be, if anything, the most normal, sensible of the characters. Man-eating Vod regularly overindulges in various chemical substances and isn’t quite aware of what she’s doing; Oregon is self-consciously trying not to be lame (and ends up regularly cracking those jokes that no-one ever laughs at); Josie and Kingsley have an infuriating will they-won’t they relationship and Jack Whitehall’s JP character is endearingly obnoxious.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see a show based around a cast of students which doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s all too easy for shows to get caught up in interpersonal relationships and betrayal and whatnot, and before you know it you’re Hollyoaks. And no-one wants to be Hollyoaks. Thankfully, Fresh Meat is not Hollyoaks.
It’s early days for the new show as yet, but early indications are promising. It’s amusing and filled with entertainingly puerile gags in a Peep Show/The Inbetweeners sort of style, but has a good sense of an unfolding plot, strong characters and a pleasing cameo appearance from Robert Webb.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the show yet, UK residents can catch up with it on YouTube.
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