Before I start, I should say first and foremost that I absolutely love David Mitchell. I think he is a wonderful comedian and most of all, the perfect person for a comedy panel show, which is perfectly demonstrated on the hit show, Would I Lie to You?
This time, instead of being team captain, he was the host in a new Channel 4 format called Was it Something I Said?, a show based around famous quotes from different celebrities all around as well as the panellists.
There are two team of two, one being the team captain,which in this show are I.T Crowd star Richard Ayoade and stand up maestro and 'flawless' impressionist Micky Flanagan, plus two special guests. In addition, there would be a celebrity reader, who's job was to read out the quotes.
The show aired the final episode of the first series last Sunday, so here's a review of the series as a whole.
It may be a biased opinion, but David Mitchell makes a fantastic host, as heard on Radio 4's 'Unbelievable Truth' which he hosts. His relentless logic and sarcastic outlook on the world still remains with this show, especially when he has witty response to the last quote of the day.
The quotes that come up on the show really are fantastic, especially the ones about the panellists on the show. The readers, surprisingly, also proved great entertainment, particularly Brian Blessed and John Craven.
Flanagan can be entertaining, with his random impressions of different people,which let's face aren't all that great. However the real star of the show is Richard Ayoade. His deadpan manner to all manner of subjects, plus his denial for sexual jokes or attention got the greatest laughs everytime.
However, like most starting out panel shows, it hits a few bumps in the road.
The first being that is far too short, which either means it's too good or that it doesn't feel complete. In this case it was the latter, which is probably why I found myself watching the longer versions more satisfying.
The first episode started off great due to Ayoade's banter with Jimmy Carr. However after that the show seemed to falter and after a while just lacked enthusiasm. There were a few good guests such as Robert Webb and Brian Blessed, but it was not enough to bring the entire show alive.
Ayoade, Mitchell and Flanagan still haven't got that chemistry together yet, which make lasting panel shows like such as QI, Have I Got News for You and, as I mentioned before, Would I Lie to You?, which also makes the show feel not so complete yet.
I am not saying the show is a complete goner, but I do think like any starting out panel show, it does need time to grow. Hopefully it will get another series because honestly as much as I critique it, it definitely is not the worst panel show I have seen and after a couple of series it may become one of the best.
Overall great idea, but still needs more development.
3/5