Peppa Pig: Series Five #2

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Peppa Pig: Series Five #2 Rant

Reviewed: 11/25/2018

Let The Glitter Mess Begin!

Okay fans; I have now decided to rant on this series full time, because I do in fact like this show enough that I can handle the best and worst of the Pig family from Great Britian. Okay; so we finally begin Series 5 as we start as the gloves are finally off of this show as it turns from just a normal pre-school show into a legendary pre-school show. So; how do these episodes fare? Let's rant on shall we..?!

All the episodes are done by Neville Astley, Mark Baker and Phil Hall. Animation is done by Astely Baker Davies animation; with the two mentioned creators and Phil Davies.

Easter Bunny: So, we begin with episode #220 on the animation paper as we head to Rebecca Rabbit's residence as all the kids arrive to meet and greet with Mummy Rabbit, Rebecca Rabbit and Richard Rabbit on top of the residence. So, there is going to be another Easter Egg hunt and of course, Peppa -- the troll that she is -- is all ready, steady, go and everyone scatters in various directions, prompting Mummy Rabbit to yell stop at this nonsense, because the Easter Bunny is not here yet. Everyone comes out of their hiding spots looking disappointed. Danny asks when the Easter Bunny is coming and Mummy Rabbit says it's soon. So the kids sit down on the grass to wait. HAHA! Mummy Rabbit claims that the Easter Bunny is shy and won't appears if their eyes are open. So the kids close their eyes. HAHA! Time to tell them to go inside Mummy Rabbit; because this is not working. We hear a car honking and of course, Peppa cannot keep her eyes closed for long and they think it's the Easter Bunny; but Rebecca sees that it's Mr. Rabbit in his car. Considering that he's a rabbit; he must be the real Easter Bunny, because it makes too much sense. Mr. Rabbit gets out with his lunch pail and we meet and greet. The kids of course are waiting for the Easter Bunny. Mr. Rabbit walks past everyone and goes down the hill to check his carrot patch. Mummy Rabbit repeats her promo about the Easter Bunny and everyone goes into the house down below. It is under a hill after all. All the kids run into Rebecca's bedroom as we exchange notes for a long ass whomping time about the Easter Bunny. I'm sorry to skim through this because the video quality of this episode is piss poor and that's all I had to work with. Plus; some idiot retailer in Mexico sold Smash Brothers Ultimate (and this was a legit cart; not a game gotten from a game copier; so it was a legal cart) two weeks before it was supposed to and the game is getting leaked like crazy. It also doesn't help that Nintendo had lied about the number of music tracks and spirits in the game (it's about 1000 music tracks and almost 1300 spirits). Worse; the music leaks reveal a massive spoiler for the Adventure Mode. Notice I didn't say "World of Light"? There is a good reason for that. You'll know in two weeks time. So, the kids are drawing on an easel as the Easter Bunny apparently has the JETPACK OF STUPIDITY and Pedro is drawing purple underwear and glasses, calling it Superbunny. So, Max from Ruby & Max is the Easter Bunny. I wish that was true and that show made a cameo on this show. Sadly; it didn't happen.

Oh; and the Easter Bunny has a magic wand. Also; Peppa claims that the Easter Bunny is very big in order to carry those Easter Eggs. Word. Suzy then proceeds to flip the paper because the Easter Bunny is invisible. Not anymore; the Easter Bunny use to work for Nintendo Badge Arcade and is now in Smash Utimate as an Assist Trophy. That's not a spoiler; Nintendo confirmed that one themselves. Meanwhile; outside near a bush; someone is hiding Easter Eggs and doing a terrible job of it, so it must be Mr. Rabbit since he was the last one seen outside when the rest of the babyfaces went inside. Back inside the bedroom for more talking as they all look out the window and there is nothing...AND THE ROCK SAYS NOTHING! Speaking of mind tricks, the kids complain about this and there is Mummy Rabbit in the room from behind, aheming them to stop looking outside because there is no peaking. Rebecca apologizes, even though they saw nothing at all. Oh; in comes Mr. Rabbit acting like nothing happened. Why doesn't that surprise me?! Sadly; when Mummy Rabbit asks about the carrots, he has no idea what Mummy Rabbit is talking about. Can you not be any more obvious with the cover there, Mr. Rabbit?! So, Mummy Rabbit asks about going outside now and Mr. Rabbit says it's all right. Everyone goes to the top of the hill and it's the usual "everyone gets one egg" rules; but of course the kids cut the adults off and jumpstart the race out right. Mr. Rabbit tells them not to be frustrated if it takes a long time; but all the kids pretty much find all the eggs hidden in the most obvious of places. Out of respect for poor Sakurai (and yes, this is the wrong show, but still...) I will not spoil the hiding places here. The kids find the eggs in record time of course, because Mr. Rabbit hiding skills are worse than Nintendo's "near final build" misdirection play. Mr. Rabbit doesn't seem to care about this; Mummy Rabbit was selling this though. Everyone returns to the top of the hill and then we notice some rabbit is hiding behind the bush as the ears clearly give it away. The kids want to "creep up" on her; which is super creepy in hindsight. I betcha it's Rebecca Rabbit since she's clearly not in the group...I check the video. See! I can book this crap! So, Rebecca comes out with her egg as she sings a song and hops for a while, it was fine. The kids laugh to end the episode at 4:27 aired; I'm guessing they did the backsplash laugh as well. This was a perfectly acceptable Easter Egg hunt; but remind me to never let Mr. Rabbit hide the eggs ever again. *** 1/4 (65%).

London: Next up is episode #227 on the animation paper as the episode opens with probably the best animated sequence of the entire series which is everyone is at London's famous train station. And yes; while there are various colors and whatnot, every spieces looks like the same type as all of the characters. Real cheap, guys. Mr. Lion also makes an appearance in a business suit and Mr. Labo also appears in tourist gear. So, all the kids, Miss Rabbit and Gigi have arrived from the train and there is lots of giggling. Gigi is confused of where to start the tour and her pronouncation of London confuses me. But wait; Miss Rabbit has a solution: Go find the Queen because she is friends with the Queen and now has connections to her after winning the award in a previous episode. Hopefully, she doesn't faint on command like last time. So, we head to Peppa Pig's version of Buckingham Palace which despite having a guard in stereotypical guard gear; the palace has a red button buzzer and an intercom. Miss Rabbit pushes the red button and we hear the Queen on the other end. The real queen better hope there isn't one installed in the real Buckingham Palace; this could be abused, especially if Peppa's fans get any ideas. Oh; and everyone is wearing their boots. If you cannot guess the final spot right now; you have no business reading this rant. Miss Rabbit addresses herself and the Queen has the gate open and everyone comes inside, just like that. Head inside the throne room as the Queen is knitting a yellow sock with a white toe on it as we meet and greet for a while. Apparently; the Queen in this world still has full rule, but it's limited to the city of London. This has to be a rib on something and I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I should ask Techdirt about it. Anyhow; the Queen is providing the guided tour of London, because Miss Rabbit is her royal friend after all. Miss Rabbit is going to be the next Queen of England at this rate; and hopefully it means she'll never have to work again because that would finally kill the angle of her getting multiple jobs and give her actual rest she needs. So everyone goes out of Buckingham Palace and there is a red double-decker bus (the kind you see in London; and some English cities in Canada). Apparently it's the #15 at Balham as a bus driver as he is not named; but is a gray bear wearing usher gear reading the newspaper as the Queen asks if she can borrow the bus and Mr. Driver thinks she is ribbing him, basically.

Now; in any other story and with any other character, this would be a rib; but this is the Queen we are talking about and her word is LAW; so she shows off her crown and the bus driver not only agrees to let the Queen borrow the bus, the Queen is going to actually drive the bus. Now THAT is funny! So, everyone gets in and everyone goes up to the top of the double decker bus as the bus driver salutes the Queen and the Queen rings the bell to signal that she's the tour guide for this tour. And who says the Queen doesn't do any work around here? So, our first stop is at Big Ben, which Edmond has to correct the Queen by claiming that the bell is Big Ben, not the tower. So, what is the tower's name? He never addresses this. It's Elizabeth Tower, named after the Queen. I was hoping he would address this; just to blow everyone's mind watching it. I just love how the Queen decides to just walk up and join the group upstairs as Edmond declares himself to be a clever clogs and the Queen reacts like Edmond just said a swear word; but in disappointment, rather than anger. Also; the Queen literally calls Edmond an elephant, thus making Gigi's comment in The Zoo even more hilarious. More on that later in this rant. Lots of stylized cross as Big Ben rings and the birds fly away. It rings three times, it's 3 o'clock. If it rings six times; it's six o'clock. Pedro Pony -- the epitome of clueless -- asks if it rings a hundred times and the Queen gleefully answers that one for me. Pedro, meet common sense. Common sense, meet Pedro. I'll let you two get used to each other. So the Queen heads back to the driver's area of the bus as we head to Tower Bridge; which is an obvious draw bridge. However; Mrs. Grey Squirrel; a British police officer, stops the bus dead in it's tracks. Wait; if the Queen word is law, then why doesn't the Queen just tell the officer to let her cross first? I guess even the Queen is not a jerk, which is an improvement, I guess. A sailing boat heads towards the bridge on the river as the kids panic that it will crash into the bridge; but it's a drawbridge; so the bridge lifts up with ease and the sailing ship crosses the bridge, drawing awe from the kids. Despite the ship being in the middle of crossing, the Queen demands to pass right now; but Mrs. Grey Squirrel refuses because another ship is sailing, even though we never see it. Couldn't they just redub the line saying that the ship hasn't finishing crossing yet and the Queen being impatient?! So, this is kind of dumb.

The Queen has had enough of this "rule of law" crap and decides that the bus is crossing this bridge right here, right now. While the bridge is drawn straight into the air. Rule of law? What's that? Safety? What's that? Gravity? Okay; you get the picture. Yes folks; the Queen is backing up the bus and drives away causing Mrs. Grey Squirrel to sidestep away. The Queen drives and ramps off the drawbridge high into the air, like she is in a ski jumping competition. Sadly; if she was a ski jumper, she would have gotten fully away with this. However; the bus is huge on it's own and it lands short of the mark; teetering in the middle on the other drawbridge side. And again; if the Queen is the ruler and this is not a democracy, why didn't she order Mrs. Grey Squirrel to tell the second ship to stop?! So we tease them going into the river; but wait! The Queen tells all the passengers to walk to the front of the bus. They all obey -- she is the Queen after all -- and this works as the bus drives down the ramp and away from Tower Bridge safely. This was also funny. So, we drive for a while after cheering and the Queen ringing the bell and everyone's having a great time. You don't say! I'm sure enjoying this episode, although not as much as Simple Science. So, Pedro asks why most buses are not open like the London one and of course, it begins to rain and Pedro finally gets it, which is a vast improvement from his usual cluelessness earlier. So, the logical thing to do is go downstairs -- which has as many places to sit as on top --; but of course, this is Peppa Pig; so everyone brings out their umbrellas and giggles. Sure; it works. However; this is quite redundant if you ask me. So, next up is Trafalgar Square and the name plate on the front is analog compared to the digital ones used in most buses today. In fact; the bus has smart voice to tell you the location; which makes it much easier for me to get some shuteye on long trip before I reach the next destination since the destination is forty minutes long. So we head to Trafalgar Square, which is basically a concrete square with fountains, statues and a large building as the whole place is filled with...puddles! DING! You can guess the finish right now without even seeing it. Even the birds are splashing in puddles as Peppa offers the Queen a splashing good time. It's kind of sad when the Queen has already jumped in muddy puddles in the last episode. Queen's umbrella is the British Flag colors by the way as the Queen accepts and of course we get the always funny visual of the Queen jumping in puddles; and it appears the color stylist forgot to make the water blue and it looked muddy. Zoom out as everyone loves to jump in puddles; including the Buckingham Palace guard. Somehow; Mr. Bull, Mr. Rhino, Mr. Labo, Mr. Lion, Mrs. Cow along with Delphine Donkey and even Belinda Bear made the trip! This ends the episode at 4:30. This was a great episode with wonky logic and an anticlimatic finish. This is the best Queen of England of all time! **** 1/2 (90%).

Molly Mole: This is episode #225 on the animation paper as the episode opens on the school house on the hill as all the cars arrive with parents and students as they head into the school hall. Sadly, it's all the big kids as they all sit down and Gigi Gazelle introduces us to a female mole anthro wearing a purple dress and cyan blue rimmed glasses. This of course is officially Molly Mole's debut. Molly is voiced by Rosie van Hulzen and this is her debut as a voice. Jen Pringle and John Sparkles voice her parents; nothing special. She also has Rebecca Rabbit's squeak sound effect, although that means nothing since Baby Alexander had Richard Rabbit's crying sound at first before moving to that siren wail BA uses now. Molly Mole appears shy at first as Gigi tells Rebecca and Peppa to look after her and get her use to school life. So, everyone runs out (already?) for fun and exercise at the playground, which has been rebuilt to make sure no concrete is present. Just in case Daddy Pig gets triggered, because you never know... We head to the sand pit with the trio as Rebecca explains how a sand pit works and Molly Mole digs a U-shaped long hole and comes out the other side. This is so much better than Gerald's debut, that is for sure. Everyone is playing as the bell rings as Molly proclaims that moles are good at digging. That is true and they dig fifteen feet an hour; but they only dig about three and a half feet tops below the surface. So, Molly Mole's digging skills have to be hyperboled quite a bit for the logic to work in this show as you'll see later on. Here come the parents as Mrs. Mole arrives along with Daddy Pig as Molly asks if Peppa can come to their house to play and Mrs. Mole accepts without question. Daddy Pig also accepts the terms and decides to pick her up later. Jump cut to the boring road stage left as Mrs. Mole is driving the car westward with Peppa and Molly in the back. They stop at Rebecca's home (which is a giant hill with holes in it) as Rebecca comes out. Geez; Mummy Rabbit's car is fast! Peppa is confused, as I was at first as Rebecca meets and greets the car. So, we discover that Molly Mole is Rebecca Rabbit's neigbour and this explains why Gigi was telling Rebecca to break her into play group, so to speak.

Molly is actually living underneath Rebecca's house, which makes sense, although they have to hyperboled this to make it work since rabbits dig six to ten inches. Always assume that inches equals feet plus more in this show. Namely Pedro's clown shoe feet. So the babyfaces minus Rebecca walk in through the gaping hole on the bottom base of the hill and there is a lot of dirt piles, with buckets, shovels and pick axes. Why the pick axes and shovels when the moles are natural diggers? I can understand the buckets and dirt being there, though. Especially when in the next scene; Mr. Mole is in what will be Molly's bedroom digging the area with his bare hands. I guess even anthro moles have their limits. I love how he is doing all this digging and the room looks almost finished. Must be the new bathroom that is being installed. Mr. Mole turns around and we meet and greet for a while. Jump cut to Daddy Pig arriving at Rebecca/Molly's residence and parks on the hill like a moron. Daddy Pig jumps out and picks the top hole, yelling hello and out comes Mr. Rabbit as he explains that Molly is living underneath the house and Daddy Pig is confused; while Mr. Rabbit is excited about this. Out comes Peppa from the real entrance to Molly's house as she greets Daddy Pig. Out comes Molly Mole and Mrs. Mole for more meet and greet. They all go inside as Mrs. Mole explains the mess as they are building extensions and Daddy Pig is an expert on extensions. Yeah; I'll bet. I wouldn't ask for advice if the extensions involve concrete though. Mrs. Mole declines as expected as they head to Molly's bedroom as Mr. Mole meets and greets Daddy Pig. Mr. Mole claims that he's almost finished as Daddy Pig asks if the ceiling is a concrete or metal lintel and Mr. Mole is confused and asks what that is. So, Mr. Mole's gimmick is that he doesn't want advice nor need it as they are digging holes for door; including one in the ceiling and Mr. Mole goes through the floor of the Rabbit's living room as everyone is sitting on the couch, or sofa or on the floor; being themselves and they do not even sell the fact that Mr. Mole dug right through their own floor! A wooden step ladder was written in by teleport as Mr. Rabbit finally gets it and calls it a good idea. Of course! So, it's time for tea and Mr. Mole comes back down for tea as there is even more meet and greets. Way too many in this episode! Everything's fine says Mrs. Mole as Mr. Rabbit leaves and Rebecca comes in. I just love that they now have a direct way to visit each other despite the previous way is only slightly less direct. Molly and Rebecca agree to be best friends, there is lots of squeaking and the rest of the babyfaces do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30. A better debut for Molly; otherwise, this was just good. *** 3/4 (75%).

Grandpa Pig's Greenhouse: Next up is episode #224 on the animation paper as we begin this one on the white house on the hill as the car arrives and George and Peppa get out. At least they are not parking on the steepest part of the hill this time around. Peppa and George run down the hill towards Grandpa Pig's greenhouse with Grandpa Pig standing next to the greenhouse with a watering can. George then spots the BOUNCY BALL OF DEATH and grabs it. He kicks the ball and it bounces off the greenhouse and nothing shatters. This still causes Grandpa Pig to panic and cringe. See; his greenhouse is made of glass and it breaks easily. George kicked that ball hard and couldn't shatter it. Either George is weakass; or that glass doesn't break easily. Grandpa Pig then throws the ball away and it bounces off Granddad Dog's greenhouse (which looks like a Z-grade greenhouse) glass door; and that doesn't break. Geez; glass is much tougher in England than it is in Australia. Granddad Dog comes out and protests this outrage and kicks the football/soccer ball (Oh; so that's what that rubber ball was?) at Grandpa Pig; but Grandpa Pig catches it and proclaims that people in glass houses shouldn't be kicking footballs. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Of course, this continues the really lame feud between Granddad Dog and Grandpa Pig. Granddad Dog is winning this one because his tomatos are clearly bigger than Grandpa Pig's. No; I'm not making any sexual jokes here; the tomatoes grown in Granddad Dog's green house are much bigger than the ones grown in Grandpa Pig's greenhouse. Then they snort, bark and smile because they are the best of friends. Then end this bickering angle, then! So, the pigs all head inside as Grandpa Pig explains why his greenhouse is literally a glass house, which is that it brings light in. Okay; good to know. Peppa notices a giant pot of basil plant as it's pronounced bas-il in Britian; instead of bay-sil here in North America. Grandpa Pig blows off Granny Pig because growing basil takes no skill to make. Dump seeds into soil and let it go. Doesn't that basically apply to a lot of plants? Apparently; growing tomatoes takes hardcore skills. However; they are small tomatoes and Peppa tastes one; and it's all a bunch of nothing. Something tells me, Granddad Dog's growing skills are much better than Grandpa Pig's. In comes Granny Pig and it appears that they have finally killed the "x Ig" stutter angle for George dead as well. Of course, Grandpa Pig has to inform Granny Pig that the tomatoes are not ready yet; but Granny Pig wants to make tomato salad right now; so she decides to pay Granddad Dog a visit after hearing about his tomatoes from Peppa Pig.

Grandpa Pig is stammering in protest and of course he's a jealous old pig because Granddad Dog knows what he is doing, obviously. Grandpa Pig also doesn't like seeing ugly things, despite his ugly attitude towards them. So, Granny Pig calls for Granddad Dog, (cuue (?sp); or something. If anyone knows the spelling of this, please let me know.) and in comes Granddad Dog as Granny Pig asks if she can borrow some tomatoes (that was amusing) and Granddad Dog accepts because they are too big and he has too many of them. So we head inside his greenhouse as it's much darker than Grandpa Pig's greenhouse. So, in other words; tomatoes require a lot less light and basil requires more light to grow. Grandpa Pig claims that the bigger is not better, Peppa eats the tomato and proves him wrong. Granddad Dog offers them to fill up the basket and even has a great recipe; but it requires basil, which he hasn't been able to grow. Oh; and just to make Grandpa Pig look even more like a toxic macho man, he simply threw seeds into a corner and winged it, just like the basil. And even with less grace than Granny to boot. Let nature take it's course, indeed! So, everyone into Grandpa Pig's greenhouse as Grandpa Pig tries to save face, but Granny Pig cuts that off, and even Peppa nicely thinks that this verbal beating Grandpa Pig is taking has gone too far. When the troll think you have gone too far; it's time to stop! So, we head outside as Granddad Dog makes the Basil Tomato Salad at the picnic table using tomatoes and basil, DUH! Also, it contains olive oil, pepper and a pinch of salt. Everyone chows down on tomato salad as the male adults all praise each other and Peppa calls this the best salad ever as everyone laughs to end the episode at 4:30. This was just there, although Peppa's trolling control has improved since this show started. ** 1/2 (50%).

Move To Music: Here is episode #226 on the animation paper as the episode opens at the school house on the hill and then inside as the cow bell is ringing for some reason. Inside is all the big kids, except for Gerald; so I'm guessing this episode was produced before Gerald Giraffe's debut and they are dancing and giggling. Gigi Gazelle picks up a tape recorder and addresses the students as this is the time to use their imaginations to move to music, hence the episode title. So, Gigi turns on some classical music and the children's imaginations are so limited that they are more interested in accuracy in terms of instruments and music; but nothing abstract or creative. Gigi tells them to use their imaginations, not their brains, to paint a picture in their minds on what the music tells us and Rebecca Rabbit claims that it's like a cherry tree on a mountain swaying in the wind. Okay; that was creative, sort of. So, Gigi likes this and wants the kids to be that tree in the wind standing on top of that mountain and swaying. All the kids do this while giggling, which taints the spot a bit; except Pedro F'N' Pony. The clueless one just stand there and probably is thinking that this is too stupid for him. He is above this. Freddy is doing way too much as Gigi stops the music and doesn't even bother to notice Pedro's silent protest. Next piece of music is clearly a marching band with an overloaded tuba playing in the background. After a bit, the music stops and Pedro responds by claiming that this sounds like a cherry tree swaying in the wind on the top of a mountain. Pedro Pony's imagination is also clueless, and proves why applying imagination to the real world absolutely sucks. Pedro tries to claim that it's a quick version of the same spot; but Danny Dog cuts him off and calls it the music of a marching band. The kids all march to the beat; except for Pedro, although his head moving is a slight improvement from the previous spot. Then everyone got to the music chest and gets instruments and performs the music in time as a marching band. Gigi likes and then stops the music way too soon in my view. Time constraints; what can you do? Everyone drops their musical band stuff on the ground.

Gigi proclaims that she has the next piece of music and this one is really complex and beautiful and she wants the children to really think about this one. Gigi turns on the music and sounds like a classical music piece and then turns into space junk music, kind of like music from the Mother series. The children come up with lots of good answers, including space and robots from the future. Meanwhile; Gigi is embarrassed because the tape recorder is screwing up the entire piece of music. Time to get a CD player Gigi; that tape recorder is clearly on it's last legs. The tape even more so. The kids don't care and they perform alien and robot spots for my pleasure. Freddy's nose nearly bumps into Gigi; and this was the best part of this entire episode right there: The kids all being creative while Gigi cannot get the tape recorder to stop playing. Finally; somehow, she gets the tape recorder to work and everyone sighs and tells her that this music bores them. HAHA! Gigi claims that this is real music and it reminds her of a garden on a hot sunny day. It reminds me of music lessons in school; so Gigi has a better imagination than I at least. The kids want more space music; but Gigi calls it not music because the machine broke and then turns off the music and the kids groan. Gigi admits that not everyone likes the same things as there is more wanting of the space music. So Gigi decides to play more music and it's the Muddy Puddles song; and if you cannot guess the kids' answer to this, you have no business reading this rant. DING! All the kids go outside and it's time to jump up and down in muddy puddles. In pre-school shows, it's the solution and cause of all your problems! Everyone jumps in muddy puddles, everyone loves to move to music, everyone does the backsplash laugh, everyone sings to end the episode at 4:30. This was a really fun episode and Gigi losing it with the tape recorder is so many buys! **** (80%).

The Police: Here is episode #228 on the animation paper as we head to the school house on the hill as Peppa, Danny, Suzy, Zoe, Freddy and Pedro F'N Pony are riding around the school on their bicycles; so more Queen music please. Gigi Gazelle is standing next to some pylon cones and a sign in blue with a white arrow in front of the school. Everyone stops at the front after having a good time as Gigi informs us that the BAD EPISODE POLICE are coming to arrest them for bad trolling! Oh wait; it's just the police here to talk about bicycle and traffic safety. My wet dreams don't matter. The kids then get into an argument about what the sirens sound for a British police car. This takes a long ass whomping time as Gigi is trying to tell them about today's lesson and then we hear a siren that sounds more like an American police car as the police car arrives and out comes Mr. Panda and Mrs. Grey Squirrel (the same one who was the guard at Tower Bridge in London; only in yellow and driving the car because the driver is on the right side of the car in Britian. Mrs. Grey Squirrel is voiced by Judy Flynn and Mr. Panda is voiced by British comedian David Mitchell and according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!): Before his break into comedy, Mitchell worked as an usher at the Lyric Hammersmith theatre,[13] and in the cloakroom of TFI Friday among other jobs.[14] Mitchell's first project with Webb was in January 1995, a show about a nuclear apocalypse[15] entitled Innocent Millions Dead or Dying: A Wry Look at the Post-Apocalyptic Age.[16] Webb later described it as being "fucking terrible".[12] After leaving university he and Webb began performing a number of two-man shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.[8] As a result of their performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, the duo were given the chance to write for Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller and for series two of Big Train.[10]

After minor work on The Jack Docherty Show and Comedy Nation,[17] their first break into television acting was in 2000, on the short-lived BBC sketch show Bruiser, which they primarily wrote, and starred in. The show also featured three time BAFTA winner Olivia Colman, who would become a regular cast member of Mitchell and Webb projects, and Martin Freeman, later of The Office fame. Other cast members included Matthew Holness and Charlotte Hudson. Additional material for the show was provided by various people, including Ricky Gervais and James Bachman.[18] In 2001 the two men were commissioned for a sketch show of their own, entitled The Mitchell and Webb Situation, which ran for six episodes on the now defunct channel Play UK.[10] The show was reasonably well received. Wessex Scene's Darren Richman said "what the series lacked in budget, it made up for in magnificent material" and went on to call it "far superior to the vastly overrated Little Britain" and "perhaps the greatest forgotten sketch show of modern times."[8] Eureka! TV, which released The Mitchell and Webb Situation on DVD in 2005, said that the show "gushes forth an hilarious stream of surreal and quirkily inventive sketches", as well as calling it a "cult success".[19] In the 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."[8] Mitchell and Webb's next project came in 2003, with starring roles in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show, as flatmates Mark Corrigan and Jeremy Usbourne respectively.[20] The show originated from writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain's failed attempt to complete a team-written sitcom for the BBC; they had an old script that they wanted to revive and Mitchell and Webb helped out, with it eventually evolving into Peep Show.[7]

Despite low viewing figures (which almost got the show cancelled after series three)[21] the show was received to wide critical acclaim.[17] The British Sitcom Guide called it "without a doubt one of the best sitcoms of the decade."[20] Ricky Gervais has been cited as saying "the last thing I got genuinely excited about on British TV was Peep Show, which I thought was the best sitcom since Father Ted".[22] The BBC hailed Mitchell's performance in the series, citing that "As Mark Corrigan, David reached out to all those middle-aged men in a twentysomething's body, who believe drugs are boring and systems are necessary if society is to function at all."[10] Mitchell has stated that he empathises with Mark and enjoys playing him and that he "agrees with many of [Mark's] opinions."[8] Peep Show aired nine series, which makes it the longest-running sitcom in Channel 4 history.[23] In 2009, Mitchell won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance for his work on Peep Show, after having lost in the same category the year before.[24][25] He was nominated again in 2010.[26] He won the award "Best Television Comedy Actor" at the 2007 British Comedy Awards,[27] and the pair shared the 2007 Royal Television Society Award for "Comedy Performance".[28] They were also jointly nominated for "Best Television Comedy Actor" at the 2006 British Comedy Awards.[29] Peep Show itself has also won the BAFTA for "Best situation comedy" in 2008,[30] and the British Comedy Award for "Best TV comedy" in 2006,[31] and retained it the following year.[27] It also won "Best TV Comedy" at the South Bank Show Awards,[22] and claimed a Golden Rose in 2004.[32] After the success of Peep Show, Mitchell and Webb returned to sketch comedy with their BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound, which ran for five series.

The show was adapted for television and became That Mitchell and Webb Look. Producer Gareth Edwards described it as "the shortest pitch [he had] ever written".[12][33] The show ran for four series.[34] Towards the end of 2006 the pair made their first tour, with a show called The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb.[35] The tour was criticised as just "a succession of largely unrelated scenes" by The Guardian's Brian Logan, who gave it a rating of two stars.[36] That Mitchell and Webb Look won them the BAFTA for Best Comedy Programme or Series at the 2007 awards,[37] and they earned a further nomination for it in 2009.[38] It was nominated for two British Comedy Awards in 2006: Britain's Best New TV Comedy and the Highland Spring People's Choice.[29] Their stage tour The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb was nominated for the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Comedy,[29] and That Mitchell and Webb Sound won a Sony Silver Award.[39] Their first film, Magicians, was released on 18 May 2007. It was directed by Andrew O'Connor and written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain.[40] Mitchell played the role of a magician named Harry.[32] Later in 2007, the pair recorded a pilot BBC Radio 2 sitcom entitled Daydream Believers, in which Mitchell played Ray, a science-fiction writer.[41] The show was previously a one-off television pilot from Channel 4's Comedy Lab, and also starred Mitchell and Webb.[42] Mitchell and Webb's first comedy book, This Mitchell and Webb Book, was published in 2009.[43] A second book is in preparation.[44] They also wrote and filmed Playing Shop, a comedy television pilot for BBC2 about two men who operate a business out of their shed.[45] Although the BBC commissioners were happy with it, Mitchell and Webb scrapped it themselves, as they felt it was too similar to Peep Show.

A new pilot had been commissioned,[46] but the plan was later shelved.[47] Mitchell and Webb voiced a robotic duo in the Doctor Who episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" in 2012.[48] In 2007 the duo fronted the UK version of Apple Inc.'s "Get a Mac" adverts, with Mitchell playing PC.[49] The adverts received much criticism. Writing in The Guardian, Charlie Brooker claimed that the use of Mitchell and Webb in the adverts was a curious choice. He compared the characters of PC and Mac in the adverts to those of Mark and Jeremy in Peep Show, stating that "when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.'"[50] The British Sitcom Guide also criticised the pair for "selling their souls".[33] One journalist called the adverts "worse than not funny", and accused Mitchell and Webb of "an act of grave betrayal" for taking corporate work.[51] In an interview with The Telegraph, Robert Webb responded to the duo's critics, stating that "when someone asks, 'Do you want to do some funny ads for not many days in the year and be paid more than you would be for an entire series of Peep Show?' the answer, obviously, is, 'Yeah, that's fine.'"[51] In the same interview, Mitchell also said: "I don't see what is morally inconsistent with a comedian doing an advert. It's all right to sell computers, isn't it? Unless you think that capitalism is evil – which I don't. It's not like we're helping to flog a baby-killing machine."[51] In 2005, the duo were placed ninth on a list of the United Kingdom's best television talent,[52] and were named twelfth in a Radio Times list of the most powerful people in television comedy.[53] As well as his work alongside Webb, Mitchell has appeared on his own in several shows. He played technical expert Owen in the Radio 4 sitcom Think the Unthinkable in 2001.[10]

He played the surgeon Dr Toby Stephens in the BBC2 sitcom Doctors and Nurses.[10] In 2005 he played Kate's hapless secretary Tim in the BBC's updating of The Taming of The Shrew in its ShakespeaRe-Told series.[54] Mitchell appeared as various roles on the Channel 4 sketch programme Blunder. The show was not well received, with the British Sitcom Guide naming it as the worst thing that Mitchell did in all of 2006 in their "British Sitcom Awards" of that year.[33] He portrayed the recurring character of Dr. James Vine in the BBC sitcom Jam and Jerusalem.[55] Mitchell had a small part in the film I Could Never Be Your Woman, playing an English writer, also named David.[22] While in Los Angeles to record the part he decided that he did not like the area much, and preferred filming in Britain.[6] He wrote for series five of the BBC2 impressionist sketch show Dead Ringers,[56] and voiced Mitch in the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb.[57] He also narrated the reality show Beauty and the Geek.[10] Following the success of Channel 4's Alternative Election Night in 2010, which Mitchell hosted with Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and Lauren Laverne, the four presented 10 O'Clock Live, a series of live shows looking at the week's affairs. Mitchell has a solo segment entitled Listen to Mitchell. The show ran for three series.[58] Mitchell has presented four series of the online video show David Mitchell's Soapbox, a series of short monologues co-written with John Finnemore for ChannelFlip. In these monologues Mitchell has criticised a variety of subjects, including the BBC show Doctor Who [59] and 3D television.[60] Matt Warman of the Daily Telegraph suggested that the series could be a sign that new comedy will increasingly become available online, rather than on television.[61] The series has been released on DVD.[62]

He provided the voiceover for a £1 million government advert for FRANK, warning of the dangers of cocaine, as "Pablo the Drug Mule Dog";[63] and also for the Driving Standards Agency's "The Highway Code".[64] He writes columns for The Observer and The Guardian.[65] He also took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital at the O2 Arena.[66] In October 2009, Mitchell signed a deal with HarperCollins and its imprint Fourth Estate to write a volume of memoirs and a novel. The memoirs, Back Story: A Memoir, was published in October 2012 with the novel scheduled for 2013.[67][68][69] Mitchell plays William Shakespeare in the sitcom Upstart Crow, broadcast in 2016 as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.[70] There have been since two more series, with a Christmas special in 2017 and one due to be broadcast in 2018.[71] He also appeared as Mitch in Phineas & Ferb. He has 16 Writing credits, 34 Acting credits, 3 Soundtrack credits, 1 Producer credit (Back), 91 Self credits (at least six shows as himself as his most recent credits including QI) and 7 Archive Footage credits to his resume. The police get out and apparently saying hello three times in a row in clusters is the police's secret greeting in this show, which the children repeat. So, basically; the kids ride their bicycles to demostrate their abilities to the police officers and Panda tells them to stop and they all do; and the kids get praised. So, next up is what to do when someone steps up in front of you and the kids ponder it over and one of the kids (I'm guessing it's Suzy; the video timing in this video is awful) says to ring the bell. For people who walk; this is good, but for vehicles, bells don't really save you from collisions. I guess it was walkers; because it was considered the correct answer and we move onto the ability to ring the bell. Pedro of course is clueless because horns work just as well, because you are making noise to inform people that you are in the area and to watch out!

Sadly; Pedro got to test the horn and almost killed Panda's eardrums with it. How lucky Perdro was to not get arrested for assault there?! So Mr. Panda leaves to the bottom of the hill and his hearing is fine as we do some walkie-talkie promos with Mrs. Squrriel for a while since there is one more test. These walkie-talkies are called "special phones" by the narrator. Whhhhhyyyyyyy?! So, Mrs. Squirrel tells the kids that when she blows the whistle, she wants the children to bicycle down the hill and use their brakes to not bump into Mr. Panda. I give Pedro and Peppa the best chance of bumping into Mr. Panda, given their track records in this show; but I betcha no one bumps into Mr. Panda here. I check the video...See, I can book this crap! Of course; the problem with this is that Mr. Panda still moved on his own about two feet, thus tainting the spot. So; Mr. Panda calls for Gigi Gazelle to be on her bicycle because even TEACHERS have to do this! Gigi is trying to Gazelle her way out of this; but somehow she's on a bicycle and she is pushed down the hill by Mrs. Squirrel. I should point out that Gigi's bicycle is loaded with food on the front basket of the bicycle. Gigi rings the bell and is actually enjoying this downhill biking and she puts on the brakes and somehow doesn't bump into Mr. Panda. Sadly; she loses points because the apples fell out of the basket when she stops. So close, so damn close. Real officers would be concerned about that; but Mr. Panda seems all right about this. Gigi tells the children to thank the officers for their service and they do as Freddy wants to be a police officer because she loves blowing whistles. Good thing it's not Peppa saying this because the last thing we need is a troll with authority. Oh wait...Freddy does a good job blowing Mr. Panda's whistle, so she has that down pat at least. There is more to being a police officer which include solving mysteries and riding cars with flashing lights. Mr. Panda likes Freddy and then turns around and doesn't WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE~! Mrs. Squirrel is so pissed off by this tree hurting her partner that she makes a note of it for a citation, even claiming that it's on a public highway (where there's no highway to be seen) and tickets the tree! That was funny! The police officer get back in their cars and speed away to end the episode at 4:30. And yes; the narrator literally says that everyone loves the police. You f*cking liar! Also, Mr. Panda is driving this time. I love this episode and the finish was hilarious. Sadly; the narrator was not hilarious at the end. *** 3/4 (75%).

School Project: This is episode #222 on the animation paper as the episode opens on the school house on the hill as it's once again another episode not featuring Gerald Giraffe! We head inside as the big kids are sitting down and Gigi is next to an easel showing off a picture of a castle. Gigi asks what this is and Danny Dog answers correctly on the first try. So, Gigi wants them to build a model castle made of anything as Suzy asks about the glitter and Gigi cringes on cue, but she's fine with it as long as it's not too much glitter and apparently, from her reaction; Gigi once got a lot of glitter in her eye since glitter gets on everything. Oh; and the castle can be of any size as well. This is not going to end well for Gigi, I can just see it now. So, it's home time and everyone runs out of the school as Gigi proclaims that only imagination is limited. Not resources, which you would think would be an issue. So, we head back to the house on the hill as it's morning at the kitchen table with the Pig family having breakfast, Daddy Pig is reading the newspaper and Mummy Pig is reading Ezza Magazine. Peppa finally breaks the ice and informs them that she is doing a class project. So, yes; Peppa waited until the next day to tell them this; instead of after she got home from playgroup! What a troll?! And as expected, the adults begin to panic. There are two tins of yogurt present as Daddy Pig is putting the tins on top of a cereal box and there's Peppa's castle. Peppa blows it off because she wants a legit big castle. With lots of glitter I assume, because Peppa doesn't know what moderation is and if she did, her trolling career would be over. She also wants a castle big enough for her to live in. Oy vey. Scene change to Suzy's house as Suzy is in the kitchen with Mummy Sheep as Suzy is on the internet looking for castle designs, or buying a model castle. I suspect it's the former, because Mummy Sheep is on her cell phone informing her boss that she'll not be in the office because the project comes first; and the boss is okay with this; which means this show's world is much more forgiving than the real world. Suzy also has the power of indecision on her fairy palace she wants, too.

Jump cut back to the kitchen with Peppa drawing and coloring a blueprint for the front of the castle and she drew one perfect cross and one that is upside down. She hates religion as much as I do. Only the real thing is much bigger. Hence, blueprint. Daddy Pig isn't so sure about this because they need a huge box; as the door bell rings and Daddy Pig walks out and opens the back door to reveal Postofficer Mr. Zebra with a giant box addressed to Daddy Pig. Daddy Pig opens the giant box to reveal...wait for it...wait for it...the world's tiniest lightbulb; which indicates how little of a clue Pedro Pony has. POW! OUCH! Ummmm... Daddy Pig takes the bulb and teases giving back the box; but Peppa cuts him off and grabs the box because it's perfect for the castle. Of course! I should note that despite Simple Science happening; Daddy Pig still has a fixation for concrete since he suggests it during this scene and Mummy Pig blew him off for it. Still; whomever is packaging these things really needs to be fined for excessive waste; although Peppa doesn't mind since she has her huge cardboard box. They go inside the kitchen as Mummy Pig is relieved and she has gotten Pedro's sense of cluelessness because this castle is FAR FROM DONE. And as I expected, this castle needs more glitter and that makes Mummy Pig cringe. Since Daddy Pig doesn't cringe on cue, I suspect that he's to blame for the glitter in the eyes that Gigi and Mummy Pig got in their youth. Mummy Pig cell phone rings and she answers it as it's Suzy Sheep wanting to talk to Peppa as Peppa takes over and they exchange notes on the situation, as both kitchens are a total mess while these castles are being built and it's clear that the castle Peppa is building is not suitable for Peppa to live in, not even close. I love how Peppa is claiming that Mummy and Daddy are helping her a tiny bit; even though they are clearly doing 90% of the work. That being said; Peppa is basically doing the same type of work Daddy Pig did in Simple Science, so at least we know who's enabling who here. Anyhow; Peppa hangs up and loves the castle now; but it needs one more thing...Glitter~! Daddy Pig doesn't like it either.

Artist remorse, I assume. So we head to the school house on the hill as all the kids come in with their parents and castles. And as expected, Peppa and Suzy have castles with so much glitter that Gigi Gazelle is covered in it along with the school grounds. I should note that Mummy Pig thinks glitter makes the castle look fake, as if that was going to deter Peppa when imagination creditibily is at sake. Pedro is in a suit of armor with three color feathers on top as Mr. Pony literally created a castle so big and out of stone block, that it is outside and cannot come in. Sad! Peppa is able to at least stand in her castle as there is more glitter -- which is the only thing of note in this scene -- and loves making school projects. Everyone loves making school projects as the other kids do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:20 as Gigi wipes the glitter off her dress. I have a feeling that glitter sales are going to double for the next ten years after seeing this episode. This was okay. *** 1/4 (65%).

The Zoo: So, last up is episode #229 on the animation paper as the episode opens on a boring road with Gigi Gazelle driving the bus today filled with all the big kids, as they are singing a variation of the Bing Bong Song; as they are all going to the zoo. So the bus stops in front of the zoo and everyone gets out and Gigi couldn't resist saying: "Are you all ready to see all kinds of animals?!" BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh boy! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Now, THAT'S a rib if I ever heard one, Gigi. The irony and projection is completely lost on her. Gigi then proclaims that they are going to meet wild animals; which in hindsight, this might as well be a nice looking prison. Then she turns around and is scared to death because a lion had escaped, even though it's clearly a lion athro in a blue uniform wearing a blue hat. It's Mr. Lion; who is voiced by Colin McFarlane and according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!): McFarlane portrayed Police commissioner Gillian B. Loeb in the critically acclaimed films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He has also made numerous appearances in the Doctor Who franchise, playing the character Moran in the "Under the Lake" and "Before the Flood" episodes of the ninth series [1] from 2015. In addition, he also appeared in the third series of Torchwood, Children of Earth, as the American military representative. His numerous TV credits include Judge John Deed, Jonathan Creek, Casualty, Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Holby City.[2] He has also appeared in two of the UK's most-watched soap operas. He starred as DCI Irving in EastEnders as part of the "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" storyline, and appeared on the 6 September 2010 episode of Coronation Street as a consultant neurosurgeon, Mr Jordan. He has also made regular appearances in British TV comedy, in the shows The Fast Show, Randall & Hopkirk, Jeeves and Wooster, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Harry and Paul and The Thin Blue Line. He played Inspector Norris in the Black Books episode The Blackout, Inspector Terrence Brown in the first episode of Dirk Gently and voiced the Judge in the 2016 revival of the sitcom Porridge. He also featured in the CBBC shows M.I. High and Hounded as the evil Dr Muhahahaha.

He will appear alongside Matt Smith and Natalie Dormer in the action horror film Patient Zero, slated for release in September 2018. McFarlane's best-known voice roles include JJ and Skip in the original series of Bob the Builder, and as the narrator on the ITV gameshow The Cube. He has also voiced God and Goliath on Testament: The Bible in Animation, Jonah in the 1997 animated series Captain Pugwash, as well as Bulgy the Double Decker Bus and Beresford the Crane in Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor.[3] In addition, he played the part of dictator Thadius Vent in children's animation Oscar's Orchestra, Elvis the horse in Iconicles, Sparky the dragon in Mike the Knight, and voiced several characters in the episode "The Sweater" of The Amazing World of Gumball.[citation needed]. He played US General Trent Stone in the 2014 original audio drama Osiris by Everybodyelse Productions. McFarlane has lent his voice to numerous video games, the earliest being Joseph D. Tenka in 1997's Lifeforce Tenka. He also voiced Greg in the Buzz! quiz game series, the character Avalon Centrifuge in the 2011 game LittleBigPlanet 2, and provided additional dialogue for Batman: Arkham Knight. He played "The Forgotten One", the central villain of the two downloadable content packs for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.[4] In 2013, McFarlane appeared with Lenny Henry in a critically acclaimed revival of August Wilson's Fences at the Duchess Theatre in London's West End. He debut in 1985 in the TV movie Dutch Girls as Mkwela and the TV series Dempsey & Makepeace as Det./Sgt. Watson. Crawl (Governor) and Legado en los huesos (Aloisius Dupree) are his most recent credits. He has 142 Acting credits, 8 Self credits and 2 Archive Footage credits to his resume. It's been a while since I had a characater debut with a large resume to back itself up. It's also ten o'clock in the morning as the meet and greet ensues. Oh; and it's feeding time, too. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge! It's also quiet time as outside of the animals in their areas, there is no one else there. So, we do the grand tour and a lot of shock and awe ensues. It's what happens when you are sheltered a lot. Mr. Lion recklessly opens and shuts the gate to the tortoise's home. The tortoises climb trees and walk slowly.

Apparently; walking slowly makes them live longer. I call woo on that one, sir. Pedro Pony asks about their life span and it's a hundred years. Mr. Lion is probably talking about the average lifespan as some turtles live for 30 years and some tortoises live 150 years. So, a hundred years isn't so far off the mark. Humans live an average of 60-100 years depending on their habits. So, Mr. Lion officially goes in to feed the tortoises lettuce. Sigh. To be fair; lettuce is not a bad choice, but it isn't the best value in health. There are better choices out there. It's not like feeding bread to ducks though, so I'm not annoyed by this. Tortoise eats up as Gigi talks about animals eating different stuff and Mr. Lion calls Gigi, Mrs. Wilderbeast and she blows him off for it because she's a gazelle and Mr. Lion is another sexist prick who gets his animal spieces mixed up. That's probably why he only cares for animals and doesn't study them. So, Freddy asks about more animals and Mr. Lion has a surprise for them and the hint is that they live in water. This is the most subtle hint in the history of this show, without fail. The kids try to guess and they are all wrong because as they make it to the next area, it's a swimming pool with a giant iceberg in the signal that it's the penguins. However; there is nothing there as everyone is confused. Gigi sees bubbles in the water and a female Crocodile comes up and scares Gigi. Luckly for her; it's an anthro crocodile, known as Mrs. Crocodile, who is voiced by Jo Brand and according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!): Brand was persuaded by agent Malcolm Hardee to begin a career in stand-up comedy, where she acquired the stage name the "Sea Monster". She was part of the British alternative comedy movement, working in London alternative comedy clubs in the mid-1980s, and appearing initially on the Saturday Live television show. She shared a flat with fellow comic and comedy club owner Ivor Dembina.[8] Brand's early style involved her delivering jokes in a bored monotone, one line at a time, with pauses in between. It drew heavily from pop culture and the media, with many jokes containing references to celebrities and public figures. Brand has said that she drank heavily before her first gig, was heckled throughout, and received no applause at the end of the set.[3]

Her Doc Marten boots, large size and short hair led to false rumours that she was a lesbian.[9] In 2007, Brand narrated Laughter & Tears: The Les Dawson Story, a documentary tribute to Les Dawson, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 2007. In 2010, Brand took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March. Brand played the Demon Dinner Lady in the 2011 British live-action film Horrid Henry the Movie. She also provided a voiceover for the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre's 2011 pantomime Aladdin. In August 2015, Brand judged the first ever Class Clowns competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, she also announced the winner at the Gilded Balloon on the night. Brand has written a feature-film adaptation to her novel The More You Ignore Me. She will also star in the film. In 1993, Brand became a resident panellist, along with Tony Hawks, on BBC monologue show The Brain Drain. Her transition into mainstream television continued when she starred in her own series on Channel 4, Jo Brand Through the Cakehole, co-written with comedy writer Jim Miller, who was already her main stand-up writer. Brand has had several solo television series, and presented shows such as Jo Brand's Commercial Breakdown. She had a cameo appearance in a 1994 episode of Absolutely Fabulous entitled "New Best Friend", and also appeared on Star Spell, a spin-off from Hard Spell in 2004. Her television success continued with guest appearances on shows such as Have I Got News for You and QI, to the extent where she became the most frequently appearing guest on the latter, appearing in a total of 34 episodes. As a fan of Countdown, Brand achieved an ambition when she was invited to appear in the show's "Dictionary Corner" as the celebrity guest. She later became a friend of the host, Richard Whiteley, and after his death in 2005 attended his memorial service at York Minster. She has appeared on Countdown as a Dictionary Corner guest 88 times.[10]

In 2004, Brand appeared in a special episode of What Not to Wear, where fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine gave her a makeover. On 25 March 2007, Brand appeared on Play It Again where she was required to learn how to play the organ in just four months. This was in preparation to perform Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for an audience of 8,000 people at London's Royal Albert Hall on the second largest pipe organ in the United Kingdom. In order to practise her performance, she played Dear Lord and Father of Mankind – a favourite hymn of hers at a church service in her former village church in Benenden, Kent, and accompanied dancers at Blackpool Tower. Prior to this, her only experiences with musical instruments had been childhood piano and violin lessons.[11] Brand took part in the first celebrity version of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. In 2007, she appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice. In 2009, she participated in Let's Dance for Comic Relief, another Comic Relief fundraiser, dancing as Britney Spears, reaching the final. She has also been a judge on the show. In January 2013, Brand took part in a special Comic Relief series of The Great British Bake Off. Brand has been a fill-in host on The Paul O'Grady Show and The One Show. Brand co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in the BBC Four sitcom Getting On opposite Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine, for which she won the 2011 Best TV Comedy Actress BAFTA award. The series, directed by Peter Capaldi and Sue Tully, is a gritty and realistic satire on the current state of the NHS, set in a geriatric ward. In April 2009, Brand was as a judge with John Amaechi and Jeremy Stockwell on the BBC Two series The Speaker, charting the search for "Britain's Best Young Speaker".[12] In 2011, Brand presented Jo Brand's Big Splash, a television programme where she performed a stand-up routine and visited people with a love of water and it was produced by her production company, What Larks! Productions.[13][14]

In January 2013 and 2014, Brand was a judge with Andy Banks and Leon Taylor on the ITV show Splash! . On 14 January 2014, Brand presented an episode of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off on BBC Two, a charity version of The Great British Bake Off. In February 2015, she also presented an episode of The Great Comic Relief Bake Off. She is the presenter of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, which premiered on 8 August 2014.[15] A second series aired from August 2015, third from August 2016 and a fourth from August 2017. In 2014, Brand co-wrote and starred as Rose in a comedy pilot for Sky Arts called Damned. The show was commissioned for a full series by Channel 4, airing in 2016; its second series aired in 2018. Since 2017, she has presented the Channel 5 series Jo Brand's Cats & Kittens. She debuted as a writer in Spitting Image in 1988. The More You Ignore Me (as a writer and played the role of Sandra), and Damned (among other Self appearances) as Rose is her most recent credits. She has 14 Writing credits, 14 Acting credits, 1 Producer credit, 194 Self credits and 15 Archive Footage credits to her resume. Mrs. Crocodile has a bucket of fish and she takes care the penguins on the iceberg and everyone is in awe of this. Although penguins eat krill, squid and various forms of sea life, they do eat fish as well. Apparently; they live for the stereotype of catching food with their beaks. They also waddle and jump for a while as the kids giggle. The penguins also swim and we break logic as the glass lookout is somehow bigger than the entire fence at the front; despite the entire area appearing to be short in height. This is just terrible continuity by the animators here. Oh; and if you think I'm kidding about Mr. Lion's sexism: He calls Gigi Mrs. Wilderbeast again. I wish Mrs. Crocodile snapped her mouth on Mr. Lion right there; but Peppa spots the next animal and it's....Mr. Giraffe because that is Gerald's Dad and he's one of the keepers of the zoo. Geez; the irony is so thick, you couldn't cut it with a iron knife. So, Mr. Giraffe and company walk to the white caged igloo area filled with a mini jungle as Daddy Giraffe asks the kids to guess the next animal and they guess all wrong because they hear a crack and out come the butterflies. They feed from flowers as everyone is in awe and now it's time for the anthros feeding time and it's lunch boxes for everyone! Everyone rushes out with their lunch boxes and sit at picnic tables as the narrator proclaims that everyone loves feeding time at the zoo as the episode ends at 4:30 as we get to hear the zoo edition of the Bing Bong song at the end credits. The beginning is well worth the price of admission; but the rest is anticlimatic and Mr. Lion is sexist, so *** (60%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Not much else to say about these sets of episodes, other than London was the Queen driving the bus show and it's always a great visual; while Move To Music was really great, mostly for the broken tape recorder making Earthbound-equse music. The Zoo had an awesomely hilarious opening; but the rest was anticlimatic and there was an episode with lots of glitter. The rest was average to above average. So...

Thumbs up for London and Move To Move; thumbs in the middle for the rest and I'll see you all next time.

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