All About the Bants: Review

All About The Bants
Star rating: ****
ITV 2
Sunday 1st November 2015

 

 

All about the Bants was all about the hidden surprises for a number of people unwittingly becoming stars or rather victims of Tinchy Stryder’s hidden prank show. This was one of a strand of 4 pilot shows broadcast by ITV2 as part of it’s pre-MOBO’s 2015 build up at the start of the month.

Tinchy Stryder

The hidden camera show forma has been around for a long time. I recall the great shows the master prankster, the late Jeremy Beadle, used to pull off. His ‘Beadles About’ show was compulsive Saturday night viewing in it’s hey day. This new show was a tamer version of that show, but fun nonetheless as the team managed to pull of a series of highly amusing sketches. The difference with this show was that most of the people doing the pranks were Black comedians, namely Miss London Hughes and Jason Patterson, with rapper Tinchy Stryder fronting the programme.

There was nothing in the form of a MOBO’s connection other than Stryder and the fact this show was loosely related to ‘black comedy’ and the MOBO’s is about music of black origin.

Tinchy Stryder, Miss London Hughes & Arron Crascall

I loved the first sketch with the estate agents showing around a couple – Miss London Hughes and Jason Patterson who got over amorous during their viewings. Jason was introduced as an actor. Why I don’t know as he’s a comedian.

The sketches were very funny as you saw the couple carrying on as if it was not a viewing.

The massage scenes with the”fake” ghost were hilarious, although one victim didn’t look too impressed and seemed genuinely frightened and froze at the goings on. Funny for the viewer, less so for the victim. I guess that’s always been the modus operandi of such shows.

I wasn’t so keen on the spilt drinks scenes in the restaurant. It was funny up to a point but went on a little too long for my liking. The scenes were all very well executed by Arron Crascall,  Christos Tolerro, Jason Patterson, Leila Farzano, Miss London Hughes and Pixie Le Knot.

This was a fun, light hearted show, delivering plenty of laughs. The camera’s may have been hidden, but the laughs certainly weren’t. I look forward to more of the same.

Review © Tiemo   Talk of the Town

Links:

1. Watch All About The Bants on ITV-player. Available until 2nd December 2015
2. Tiemo’s review of the current and future prospects for Black comedy on television – No Laughing Matter: Black Stand up Comedy – Media Diversified – 23rd November 2015
3. Tiemo review – The Ty and Ky Show – 26th November 2015
4. Tiemo review – The Pranksterz are upon us – 22nd November 2015
5. Tiemo Review – Comedy Gold Unearthed in The Comedy Basement – 21st November 2015
6. Tiemo Entertainments Funny Ha Ha on-line store
7. Dave Chappelle at the Hammersmith Apollo- review – 18th July 2015
8. Tiemo article – Why has Black comedy failed to progress beyond the Real McCoy? – 30th December 2013

The other three ITV2 shows – ‘Pranksterz’, ‘The Comedy Basement’ and ‘The Ty and Key Show’ can all be viewed on ITV Player until 2nd December 2015. Please feel free to share your views on here if you get to watch them.