It’s a shame when something that has so much promise to actually be any good enters the world a staggering, confused mess and sits in the corner trying to garner attention by being loud and abrasive but fails to live up to the potential and is left to pass away in a forgotten heap. Shoddy (and bleak) analogy aside it’s one way to describe The Persuasionists, the BBC’s latest foray into the much loved tradition of British sitcom.
Penned by Jonathan Thake, who before this was writing ads for Pot Noodle, The Persuasionists is one of those satirical, sideways glances at an industry – this case advertising – that attempts to point out just how funny working life can be. That’s what it hopes for and despite having a whole host of talent behind it and on screen (and Iain Lee is there too) it’s just a crushing disappointment that the writing and presentation just panders to a worn-out sitcom formula.
The Persuasionists with Adam Buxton and Iain Lee
It’s as if Thake watched hours of Father Ted, The IT Crowd and Black Books (basically anything Graham Linehan has been involved in) and thought that the way to make a sitcom work was to stick a bunch of mad characters in an unusual environment and the laughs should come rolling in. However, he possibly forgets that good comedy needs witty jokes, likeable people with relatable circumstances, a focused plot and a degree of intelligence.
What it doesn’t need is tired old stereotypes with crazy foreigners, a lunatic boss and a ditzy blonde to fill in for an actual working script. If the comic abilities of Adam Buxton, Jarred Christmas and Daisy Haggard are just going to be wasted then why not just get a host of failed stand-ups to embarrass themselves on mainstream TV. Andrew Collins is credited as Script Editor and given his own success with Not Going Out and the brilliant podcast he does with Richard Herring it’s surprising what he lets slide.
Advertising Sitcom on BBC
The first episode featured a client for ad company HHH&H called Cockney Jim and it’s instantly obvious what line the jokes are going to take even before Lee Ross saunters onto the screen bellowing clichéd threats. And that’s before the whole thing descends into “your mum” jokes and the pathetic gay stuff pops up in episode two.
Count Buckules and Christmas really try their best to ring out any drop of humour from a largely poor script that eventually you want to laugh through sheer sympathy. It’s a sad state of affairs when Iain Lee comes across as the best actor. Simon Farnaby as Keaton will no doubt make the shortlist for most annoying creation of the year, although he's slightly less infuriating than the badly timed canned laughter.
The original title was The Scum Also Rises, which is somewhat funnier and cleverer than ploy-syllabic, clumsy mush that remains. If this is a sign for 2010 then Science help us all. Two episodes in and The Persuasionists could get better; there are countless comedies that have gotten off to a shaky start, but it would really need to cut the quirkiness and work an actual plot around the situation. Come on BBC, stop peddling out rubbish like this and just give Stewart Lee another series to play about with.
The Persuasionists is on BBC Two every Wednesday at 10pm.
Steven Cookson - Steven Cookson is a writer and attempted journalist based in Howden. Originally from Chester, that Hollyoaks place in North-West of ...
