Back in 2010, Channel 4 broadcast the all-star line-up of the 2010 comedy gala in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, the world famous centre for caring for sick and terminally ill children.
Such was the success of the event and the subsequent DVD release that in 2011 they repeated the event, shuffling the names around a little to avoid repetition and aiming for a similar good hit-rate.
After all, what can go wrong with such an event. Egos aside, all that any organizer needs to do is collect the biggest names in comedy and entertainment, get them to do their best material for five minutes (or in the case of Jonathan Ross, talk nonsense be himself) and reap the plaudits and hold up a big cheque displaying a big amount.
Simples!
As the show begins, there is a feeling of the “difficult second album” about proceedings, however – the law of diminishing returns clearly applies to charity comedy galas as it does for movies and TV shows!
With a slightly wooden opening from Dermot O’Leary things go a bit street with the inclusion of N-Dubz, apparently a beat combo of some repute whose audio assaults I had hitherto been unexposed to. Throwing Alan Carr camping it down (come on, he can’t camp it up) into the mix isn’t the best way to raise a smile from this reviewer, but soon the show gets back on track, discarding with the populist O’Leary/N-Dubz/Carr trio in favour of some genuine comedy from the great Dara O Briain. While Carr is soon cast back onto the stage the show pushes on at such a pace that he’d barely noticeable.
This is the beauty of the approach – Jo Brand, Jonathan Ross, Jason Byrne – they all appear in quick succession, plying their best material. If there is someone on the show that you don’t like, you simply skip forward to the next chapter or grab a drink, and by the time you’re done things should have moved on.
In some form of bizarre alphabetical order, the line-up largely features Alan Carr, Andi Osho, Chris Moyles, Dara O Briain, Jack Dee, Jack Whitehall, Jason Byrne, Jo Brand, John Bishop, Jon Richardson, Jonathan Ross, Kevin Bridges, Lee Evans, Mark Watson, Michael McIntyre, Micky Flanagan, Rhod Gilbert, Rich Hall, Sarah Millican, Sean Lock and Shappi Khorsandi.
You’ve no doubt noticed the one imposter – and I’m not talking about Jo Brand – in the shape of Chris Moyles. Most people can take or leave the over-sized radio presenter, self-proclaimed (ironically, apparently) “Saviour of Radio One” and payroll mix-up whinge-bag, but he actually gives good value here with a reasonable impersonation of the late great Freddie Mercury.
All in all, this is a great show – although I have one observation about the stage. No doubt built for spectacle in the massive O2 arena (and for Michael McIntyre’s endless walking about) but the staircase at the back looks like a definite health and safety nightmare. I’m not going to highlight any particular favorite acts as the list above will be enough to tell you whether or not this is worth buying.
In Aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital – Channel 4’s Comedy Gala is coming to DVD on Monday 7th November! Available Exclusively at TESCO Order your copy here: http://bit.ly/rSag3u
(Packaging Design © 2011 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved)