I liked this a lot.
For a start it’s a format I’ve not seen in ages, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a US version.
For all intents and purposes this is like the shows Jasper Carrot and Victoria Wood had on the BBC when I was growing up. It’s a mix of stand-up and sketch (with some song and drawing/animation for added fun).
OK, in writing that I now realise I have seen a US version. Dave Chappelle of course had some notable success with that very format. But that felt more like a sketch show bookended by stand-up. Martin’s success here is the ever shifting delivery of his gags. You sense he’s not doing a sketch to explore that situation, but rather there is a gag that works better in a sketch than stand-up. And vice versa.
Martin’s appeal lies not so much as innovation, most of his gimmicks have clear precedents from Steven Wright deadpan one liners to Dave Gorman’s powerpoint stand-up. It’s his mastery of so many aspects that is his appeal. I was chuckling all the way through, only the cop sketch seemed a little weak, and even that had a strong finish that subverted the whole point of the sketch.
And it’s all tied together with the whimsical visuals his spots on the Daily Show had. Some might find it border on cutey preciousness, but whimsy is A-OK in my book.
Very promising start.
