Posted in
|
Dan Patterson
|
|
||
|
Genre
|
|||
|
Media
|
Book
|
||
Publisher | Boxtree | ||
ISBN | 9780752226958 | ||
|
Reviewer
|
Simon
|
Synopsis
Now in its seventh year, Mock the Week is the biggest comedy show on BBC2, regularly drawing 5 million viewers every week and making stars of Frankie Boyle, Dara O'Briain and Russell Howard. Packed with enough jokes to fill a whole new series, Mock the Week: This Year's Book! is a colourful riot of near-the-knuckle humour; the perfect gift for the show's devoted fans this Christmas. Categories include:
UNLIKELY DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS: Fart (noun) - expulsion of trapped methane from the anus, possibly the funniest thing ever.
UNLIKELY AGONY AUNT LETTERS: Dear Agony Aunt, I keep getting dangerous advice from hugely unqualified people - what do you suggest I do?
CARDS YOU NEVER SEE IN A NEWSAGENT'S WINDOW: Child Minder Available - He may be small, but he's rock hard.
UNLIKELY OBITUARIES: Died suddenly and peacefully on an electric chair at the New York State Penitentiary.
UNNERVING THINGS TO HEAR IN A MEDICAL EXAM: ‘So how bad is this premature . . . eeearrgh!'
UNSUCCESSFUL JOB APPLICATIONS: You must hire me, before I kill again!
Review
I enjoyed this book a lot, and found it very funny. It's basically a selection of silly one liners to scenarios like Rejected Exam Questions, Unlikely Lines from a Political Memoir or Bad Things To Hear in a Costume Drama, just like the last round on each episode of the TV series. If you're familiar with the show then the humour is often close to the bone, and a bit silly at times, so may not be for everyone.
However, it's definitely a fun book to dip in and out of, and when I was reading, I could imagine Frankie Boyle, Hugh Dennis and Co reading out the jokes, which was often hilarious.
Some of the "scenes" were funnier than others and can be hit and miss but there are lots of them which is the beauty of this in my view - like any joke book, if one gag doesn't appeal, perhaps the next one will.
I don't know exactly if the show's regular writers came up with the jokes but in my opinion, the writing style on display here is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the show.
This is a very well presented hardcover book with each set of jokes on the page designed in a way that reflects the theme which is a nice touch. So "Unlikely lines from a superhero film" is on a page full of comic book style art, and in "Ill advised Chat-Room Names" the names look as if they're on a PC chat screen. This shows a good amount of care has gone into the presentation of this book and I think this also adds to the humour, it wouldn't have been the same if they'd just been printed on blank pages.
I recommend this book to mostly anyone who likes to laugh, though if you're squeamish about MTW's particular brand of dark and/or childish humour (and offended by strong language) this may not be the book for you.
Overall I found this an enjoyable, entertaining book and in particular, fans of the TV show (like me) should get pleasure from it.
If you enjoy what we provide, please consider making a donation.
