The Mitchell and Webb Situation

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The Mitchell and Webb Situation
Mitchellandwebbsituation.png
The opening titles of the show
Also known asThat Mitchell and Webb Situation
Genre Sketch comedy
Created by David Mitchell
Robert Webb
Directed by David Kerr
StarringDavid Mitchell
Robert Webb
Olivia Colman
Gus Brown
Susan Earl
Theme music composerThe Holloway Brothers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Producer Simon Lupton
Camera setup Andy Hollis
Original release
Network Play UK
Release6 October (2001-10-06) 
10 November 2001 (2001-11-10)
Related
That Mitchell and Webb Look
That Mitchell and Webb Sound

The Mitchell and Webb Situation is a British sketch comedy television show originally shown on Play UK in 2001. Written by and starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, it lasted for one series of six episodes and was released on region 2 DVD in 2006 by Eureka Video. [1] It was rebroadcast on BBC Two in October 2008 (as That Mitchell and Webb Situation). [2]

Contents

Production

David Kerr storyboarded each episode exhaustively, allowing the entire series to be filmed in a space of just fifteen days. Most of the filming took place at the United States International University of Bushey (formerly the Royal Masonic School for Boys). [1]

Reception

The Mitchell and Webb Situation DVD cover. Themitchellandwebbsituation.jpg
The Mitchell and Webb Situation DVD cover.

A negative review came from Empire , who called it "extremely hit and miss. Emphasis on 'extremely." [3] DVD Times wrote: "We're faced with a duo trying to find a voice and as a result the material misses more often than it hits. For every sketch that works there's also one that doesn't, another that goes on for far too long, another that's undeveloped and another still that's simply over-egged." [4]

In an interview with Wessex Scene, Mitchell stated that he was "more proud of the way it turned out than annoyed that it was only aired on a small channel." [5]

Sketches

Although there are no recurring named characters as seen in many other sketch shows, there are some recurring sketches. Two sketches appear in every single episode:

Other sketches are only recurring within a single episode, such as:

A sketch about a miscarriage in an abortion clinic was cut from the show as Mitchell and Webb agreed that it was inappropriate, and that their intention may have been misconstrued. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Mitchell, David; Webb; Robert (2005). The Mitchell and Webb Situation DVD - Interview with David Mitchell and Robert Webb (DVD). Eureka! Video.
  2. "BBC Two - That Mitchell and Webb Situation, Episode 1". BBC Online . Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. Thomas, William (18 April 2006). "The Mitchell and Webb Situation | TV Show – Empire". Empire . Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. Nield, Anthony (26 January 2006). "[The Mitchell and Webb Situation review]". DVD Times.
  5. Richman, Darren (7 March 2005). "David 'peep show' Mitchell Interview". Wessex Scene. Archived from the original on 3 August 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.