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'Welcome, to Families at War! Welcome whoever you are!' is what Vic 'n' Bob may have sung at the beginning of Families at War if it was Shooting Stars, which it isn't. It's Families at War. Yes, those crazy kids of surreal comedy (although they very rarely mention fish) Mr Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer have come up with a show that mixes they're madcap sense of humour with The Generation Game, although with Jim Davidson doing the Generaltion Game, maybe they didn't need to do that after all (note: irony). Two families of three are introduced in the Vic 'n' Bob style and so is Alice Beer, the referee for the days contest. We are also introduced to the panel of twelve judges who will decide the outcome of the show, each week they are made up of different things, one week it will be a panel of shoe-sellers, the next week it will be made up of six pairs of identical twins. do you see? Vic or Bob (the captains) chooses which person from each team will duel off against each other first. The iea of the show is that we try to find the family that is the most talented so each person shows off their talents but in a weird Vic 'n' Bob way. A nurse for example might be required to change a hospital bed but with a dog lying on it (whilst Vic 'n' Bob serenade it), or a dancer will dance with the cast of Happy Days. Oh yes, no expense has been spared in order to provide the ultimate in Saturday night entertainment with the heady like of Steps also featuring in an episode. After two people have faced off, the Vic or Bob plead to the judges to vote for them such as "please, vote with your hearts and your minds, and not with your sinuses". The panel of Judges decide who they thought was more impressive by voting in their keypads. When the results are in, the LED displays tell us how many voted for which family. Then, if this is round's two or three, we see the total scores after which the family in the lead would be required to dance to a well known summer dance party hit, you know, in the Vic 'n' Bob stylee. The problem so far is thast, well, it doesn't really hang together very well. It's by no means tragic, but there's something very important missing, it just isn't satisfying really. Viv And Bob are as funny as you've ever found them but the game seems to lack something. The losers at this point go home with trophies but the the winners go through to a round that almost makes up for the rest of the show, The Cubiscus. You know those arcade games you see on piers occassionally where you control a crane and attempt to pick up prizes? This is this. One of the family members moves it up and down, one horizontally and one vertically. The idea is to pick up the prizes and any that go down the chute are theirs to keep. But it's not as simple as that! This is one of the most hilarious parts of the show because the crane is actually The Grabbing Spider. And who is the Grabbing Spider? "I'm the spider!" yells Vic or Bob, dressed up in the Grabbing Spider's outfit ready to grab the prizes and post them through the chute, controlled by the family. "But who is the Spider's keyboard player?" "I'm the Water Boatman! I live in your Drains!" or "I am the Aphid! I eat your tomatoes!" This bit is great. All the prizes are on podiums and the players have 3:00 to get as much as they can, except it's not as simple as that! What I can't convey to you is the sheer madness of the thing. The Spider can't keep the flap to the chute open so it can deposit things down it and drops them chucking them in. The Spider often knocks all the podiums with the prizes on in a mad out of control moment. The Spider will shout "I am the Spider!" every couple of seconds whilst the other one on the keyboard will shout out "I am the Water Boatman, I live in your drains!" All to the tune of That Jean-Michelle-Jarre Song (TM). It's totally original. And it's hystrically funny. And with such an absolutely brilliantly top end game it such a shame that the rest of the show lacks so. It just lacks pace I think but otherwise I can't put my finger on why it doesn't work, which is a shame you know. Verdict: 5.5/10 - Can you sit through 40 minutes for the end game? Such a shame really. But Vic and Bob are funny, and if you like them lots I will forgive you for upping the verdict by one. |
Copyright Nicolas Gates 1999, mail me at nickgates@mfit.freeserve.co.uk
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