All mouth and no trousers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."I hate people who take drugs. You know, like customs officers and policemen." Alright, alright, settle down. "A fella went to the doctor. The doctor said: 'You'll never work again.' The fella said 'Why?' The doctor replied: 'Cos you're a lazy bastard'.
Welcome to Stand and Deliver (10.30pm Sky 1), the new adult comedy show hosted by Mike Reid that supposedly packs a laugh a minute. Not convinced yet? Well, some of the jokes are actually both amusing and original, at least for my twisted sense of humour (minty condoms: a bit like Wrigleys but you can blow a bigger bubble with them), but the majority of the material in this first episode is just a trawl through the same old rubbish, which was never particularly funny when Mike Reid was roaming the stand-up circuit, let alone when he was flogging dodgy cars in Albert Square. These days the material fails to raise even a smile. First up this week is Mick Miller, whose main targets for the show are those stalwarts of the middle classes: opera, French cinema ("you'd need to be a speedreader to read those subtitles") and, of course, Channel 4.
The main aim of this programme is as a backlash against the new wave of stand-ups who are flooding the pubs and clubs with predictable and often dire material. Unfortunately, Stand and Deliver appears to be equally predictable and slightly more depressing. Come back Frank Butcher, all is forgiven.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments