The Fast Show (1994)
- Genre
- comedy television series
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Length
- 5 seasons, 40 episodes
- Rated
- 15
- Rating
- 7.8 of 10 from 50 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This is a British comedy sketch show with many short scenes and characters. It relies on running jokes and catchphrases for humor. The show moves very quickly from one sketch to the next.
fast-pacedwhimsicalenergeticplayfulabsurdnostalgiccomedicsnappy
What happens
The Fast Show is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran on BBC 2 from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne. Other significant cast members included Felix Dexter, Paul Shearer, Rhys Thomas, Jeff Harding, Maria McErlane, Eryl Maynard, Colin McFarlane and Donna Ewin. Loosely structured and reliant on character sketches, running gags and many catchphrases, its fast-paced "blackout" style set it apart from traditional sketch series because of the number and relative brevity of its sketches; a typical half-hour TV sketch comedy of the period might have consisted of nine or ten major items, with contrived situations and extended setups, whereas the premiere episode featured 27 sketches in 30 minutes, with some items lasting less than ten seconds and none running longer than three minutes. Its style and presentation influenced many later series such as Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show. The show was released on VHS, DVD and audio CD. Some of its characters, such as Ted and Ralph and Swiss Toni, have had their own spin-off programmes. It also produced two national tours, the first in 1998, with the cast of the BBC surrealist comedy quiz show Shooting Stars, and the second, their Farewell Tour, in 2002. Higson announced on 5 September 2011 that The Fast Show would return for a new, online-only series. The series was later shown as two 30-minute parts rather than the original eleven short episodes as part of a 50th birthday celebration for BBC2, the channel on which it originally aired. The cast reunited for a 30th anniversary live tour in 2024 and embarked on another tour in 2025. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show (1994)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
The Day Today (1994)
Armstrong and Miller (1997)
Big Train (1998)
Who Do You Do?
Comedy Nation (1998)
TV to Go- More like this series, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.