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DVD Description
What do vampires, television chefs, artefacts of antiquity, Morten Harket, World War Two and threesomes have in common? Absolutely nothing…
But never fear, the new series of the BAFTA award-winning Armstrong and Miller Show will unify this bewildering array of ancient and modern concerns by the medium of sketch comedy. Such a dark art…
In this third outing, many of the classic characters are back and served up alongside a smorgasbord of new faces that include Pharius and Horschtadt, a pair of baroque vampires who are flummoxed by the modern world; The Outdoor Chefs, whose ‘live off the land’ philosophy is constantly thwarted by their cosy middle class leanings; ‘Simpkins of the France’, a pretentious ex-pat Brit who despite having only lived in Paris for six months, has forgotten how to speak basic English; and Phil and Ken the self-made men – two brash businessmen who speak ‘no nonsense’ nonsense.
But never fear, the new series of the BAFTA award-winning Armstrong and Miller Show will unify this bewildering array of ancient and modern concerns by the medium of sketch comedy. Such a dark art…
In this third outing, many of the classic characters are back and served up alongside a smorgasbord of new faces that include Pharius and Horschtadt, a pair of baroque vampires who are flummoxed by the modern world; The Outdoor Chefs, whose ‘live off the land’ philosophy is constantly thwarted by their cosy middle class leanings; ‘Simpkins of the France’, a pretentious ex-pat Brit who despite having only lived in Paris for six months, has forgotten how to speak basic English; and Phil and Ken the self-made men – two brash businessmen who speak ‘no nonsense’ nonsense.
Special Features
- How to make an Armstrong and Miller sketch
- The Node
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Good in parts - very good, in fact - but the general level inspires more of a wry chuckle than an open laugh. The old school vampires show A&M doing what they do best (winsomely sad old fogies caught in an incomprehensible world) but too many sketches rely on catch phrases that are a bit tired by the second airing. Even the dear, beloved airmen are getting a tad frayed around the edges...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
No-one could accuse A&M of being innovative, "out there", or close to the knuckle. They operate in the well established comedy genre of the short sketch TV show - ground that has been tilled since Noah and Ham performed the oft-repeated "Dead Parrot" sketch for the other residents of The Ark. The material (A&M's, not Noah's) is largely uncontroversial, steering well away from the political rocks and shoals and sailing the relatively calm waters of social observational comedy (I seem to have overdone the nautical theme, I'm afraid).
A&M rely heavily on catch-phrase comedy and on recurring characters. While the format hasn't changed in the third series, there is a new crop of phrases ("I forgot to put the bins out", "Any chance of a threesome?") and plenty of new characters, including a couple of not terribly dedicated Geordie survival-cookery experts (Flint and Rory - are they aping the Hairy Bikers? Surely not!) and two rather out-of-their-depth olde-worlde vampires (Pharius and Horschtadt). Many of the characters from the previous series return, albeit less frequently, so you will meet once more with Brabbins and Fyffe (my all-time favourites), Dennis Lincoln-Park, the chav pilots and the socially climbing neanderthals. To go with this are the usual cast of (excellent) supporting players from the previous series, such as Jim Howick, Dan Renton-Skinner, (the gorgeous) Jessica Ransom and Katherine Jakeways.
Does it work? Is it funny? Going by the first two series, which /were/ very funny and worked very well, despite the conventional and rather unadventurous format, one would hope so. Unfortunately, though, the material has worn a little thin by this third outing and, despite the influx of new ideas, the laughs are fewer and farther between than one would hope. This new stuff is too much like the old stuff to be really funny and even the old stuff is starting to feel a little flabby and worn. Overall, A&M have gone, in my humble opinion, from first rate TV comedy (Series 1 and 2) to second rate and I would suggest that they need to work a lot harder on the laughs before they go to a fourth series.
Do take heart though. There is plenty of humour in these six 30 minute episodes and fans of the first two series will generally want S3 despite its faults (I formed my opinions on the TV broadcast of the series and bought the DVD regardless). It remains, however, a much weaker offering.
The DVD includes only a few extras, a short sketch by A&M's alter egos Craig Children and Martin Bain-Jones and a "How to write a comedy sketch" featurette.
A&M rely heavily on catch-phrase comedy and on recurring characters. While the format hasn't changed in the third series, there is a new crop of phrases ("I forgot to put the bins out", "Any chance of a threesome?") and plenty of new characters, including a couple of not terribly dedicated Geordie survival-cookery experts (Flint and Rory - are they aping the Hairy Bikers? Surely not!) and two rather out-of-their-depth olde-worlde vampires (Pharius and Horschtadt). Many of the characters from the previous series return, albeit less frequently, so you will meet once more with Brabbins and Fyffe (my all-time favourites), Dennis Lincoln-Park, the chav pilots and the socially climbing neanderthals. To go with this are the usual cast of (excellent) supporting players from the previous series, such as Jim Howick, Dan Renton-Skinner, (the gorgeous) Jessica Ransom and Katherine Jakeways.
Does it work? Is it funny? Going by the first two series, which /were/ very funny and worked very well, despite the conventional and rather unadventurous format, one would hope so. Unfortunately, though, the material has worn a little thin by this third outing and, despite the influx of new ideas, the laughs are fewer and farther between than one would hope. This new stuff is too much like the old stuff to be really funny and even the old stuff is starting to feel a little flabby and worn. Overall, A&M have gone, in my humble opinion, from first rate TV comedy (Series 1 and 2) to second rate and I would suggest that they need to work a lot harder on the laughs before they go to a fourth series.
Do take heart though. There is plenty of humour in these six 30 minute episodes and fans of the first two series will generally want S3 despite its faults (I formed my opinions on the TV broadcast of the series and bought the DVD regardless). It remains, however, a much weaker offering.
The DVD includes only a few extras, a short sketch by A&M's alter egos Craig Children and Martin Bain-Jones and a "How to write a comedy sketch" featurette.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this DVD because I attended an A&M recording in 2010 and wanted a souvenir of a very enjoyable experience.
It features all 6 half hour episodes of the third BBC series (aired from October 30th to December 11th 2010.)
This series features many classic characters, WW2 Airmen (not as frequent as previous series) Brabbins and Fyffe, Neanderthals etc, and some new faces, including Vampires Pharius and Horschtadt, Simpkins of the France, Geordie chefs Flint and Rory, and many more.
Bonus Features:
*THE NODE DVD SPECIAL (4 minutes.) Craig Children (MILLER) and Martin Baine-Jones (ARMSTRONG) are two clueless web critics
discussing the Armstrong & Miller DVD.
*HOW TO MAKE AN ARMSTRONG AND MILLER SKETCH (17 minutes.) Interview with Alexander and Ben in which they let us in on their show writing process, with behind the scenes videos of the script read through, initial audience tryouts & the final recording.
Laugh out loud outtakes are also included (3 & a half minutes.)
A thoroughly enjoyable series which I highly recommend.
It features all 6 half hour episodes of the third BBC series (aired from October 30th to December 11th 2010.)
This series features many classic characters, WW2 Airmen (not as frequent as previous series) Brabbins and Fyffe, Neanderthals etc, and some new faces, including Vampires Pharius and Horschtadt, Simpkins of the France, Geordie chefs Flint and Rory, and many more.
Bonus Features:
*THE NODE DVD SPECIAL (4 minutes.) Craig Children (MILLER) and Martin Baine-Jones (ARMSTRONG) are two clueless web critics
discussing the Armstrong & Miller DVD.
*HOW TO MAKE AN ARMSTRONG AND MILLER SKETCH (17 minutes.) Interview with Alexander and Ben in which they let us in on their show writing process, with behind the scenes videos of the script read through, initial audience tryouts & the final recording.
Laugh out loud outtakes are also included (3 & a half minutes.)
A thoroughly enjoyable series which I highly recommend.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Mammoth boring! Spear boring!
More essential comedy from Alexander and Ben.
Intelligent and very, very funny. Almost no bad sketches in the whole series.
Buy it.
Intelligent and very, very funny. Almost no bad sketches in the whole series.
Buy it.
Published 16 months ago by Tchitcherine
Best is yet to come!
Obviously not a review of the Series 3 DVD, but a taster of what is to come. A & M have just started their live tour and having seen them at Wolverhampton, I can thouroughly... Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Jones
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