Look Around You

For those of you that haven't ever seen any British schools' TV, especially that of the golden 1970's-1980's period, Look Around You is a send-up of some educational programmes that were, and still are, shown to school children in the UK in order to augment their classroom experience. In the 1970s-80s, having the treat of a TV show to break up the day was a looked-forward to experience for most, as it meant you didn't have to actually do any work whilst the programme was on, not to mention it was about the maximum interactivity availbale at that time (no PCs in the classroom until about 1983!) others seem to think it's an OU send-up actually it's probabaly closer to a 1970's/early 80's school's programme called "Experiment", dangerously close in fact. I think the guy who narrates the series may even be the same one that narrated the proper educational programme.

Look Around You is superb, keenly observed from its source material and surreal in execution. Well worth a watch, especially in the 25-40 age group who witnessed it all for real, but others may well enjoy the silliness of it all as well.

I've written reviews for each season of "Look Around You", as they are very different.

I did watch bits of Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper's cult series when it first aired but having seen it mentioned as being on the iPlayer, I decided to give it a proper go. Whilst I think it had its moments, this first season wasn't quite as funny as I was hoping it would be.

A series of ten-minute episodes, affectionately mocking the educational television shows produced for schools in the 1980's. Each episode is themed on a particular subject and contains "facts" about that subject and a series of experiments around it. The episode encourages students to make notes on certain sections and to hand in their workbooks at the end.

This second season is a spoof of "Tomorrow's World" a science and technology show that aired in the UK in the 1970s and 80s. Hosted by Peter Packard (Peter Serafinowicz), Jack Morgan (Robert Popper), Pealy Maghti (Josie D'Arby) and Pam Bachelor (Olivia Colman), the show introduces modern marvels of the technical age, whilst working towards the live finale, and the Invention of the year competition.

So, there's lots about the episode that I did like. It's very authentic to the period it's aping - so much so I wonder exactly how much is stock footage from the time and how much is new. Serefinowicz and Popper appear in the episode as the scientists undertaking the experiments and various disasters befall them, depending on what the experiment is about. Those and the occasionally nonsense fact put forward can be funny - but what I was hoping for was more playing with the form as the series ran on. It doesn't unfortunately, and the standard elements of each episode remain the same throughout.

The shift to half hour shows, and to spoofing a slightly more recognisable format was, for me, a good one. It's all slightly more traditional in its comedy, with character work and running gags, though still with a surreal twist that is right up my alley. I felt that this season was much funnier overall than the first. Aside from the four principal presenters, each episode has guest stars and those are a litany of comedy royalty. Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Benedict Wong, Matt Lucas, Sarah Alexander, Paul Putner, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost all appear. The parody extends a bit beyond the show, with spoof idents and trailers.

I'd have certainly watch another season of the show in this format, although this was all she wrote for the show and I hope that it finds a wider audience with it's new home on the IPlayer.

Wonderful show - both series.

Series one is based on Schools programmes of the seventies while Series two does Tomorrows world.

Series 2 wins for me as it has Olivia Colman looking stunning.

Look out as well for The Peter Serafinawitz Show - all should be more well known.

Children go to school. Sometimes teachers are lazy and they use educational TV shows.

This is a series of educational TV shows. Luckily they're very short shows so you don't have to concentrate too hard!

If you think the DVD is too short maybe you can watch the testcard to recreate those days off sick.

I was going to write this review in the style of kids/Open University TV... but I can't, it is late. And I'm not the writer of this fabulous series.

Please please see it if you possibly can. 10/10 do not miss.

I didn't realise this comedy series spoofing the golden era of TOMORROW'S WORLD was first broadcast in 2002 and looking at this site's info on the show it originally started off as a series of nine minute sketches . This was probably the right format for the show because watching the 2004 series with episodes that last for 30 minutes I instantly became aware that the novelty out stays its welcome as a large chunk of an episode's running time is taken up with say an operation on a presenter by medibot ( Don't ask ) which drags pace wise and stretches a one trick pony into an unnatural length

A lot of people have spoken on the flaws of DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY especially the point that the show may have been a good idea as a five minute feature in a sketch show . These flaws are identical to the ones seen in LOOK AROUND YOU which bizarrely started off in a format that suited it best . I have to repeat that 30 minutes an episode is too much time for this comedy series to be successful