Tuesday, December 04, 2001

I spent a couple of minutes last night rhapsodising to Marcus about Dr Terrible's House Of Horrible. "It's brilliant - it's wossisname - that Alan Partridge, Paul Calf fella - Steve Coogan. Every week they spoof a different era of horror film."

A pity, then, that last night's was the episode in which they chose to parody lame 70s schlock films. It was such an accurate piss-take that it was itself dreadfully dated, with hammy soap-opera acting and pseudo-psychedelic effects. This episode didn't have much to recommend it, apart from the exchange between an elderly gypsy woman and a property developer: "Three generations have lived on this site." "Yes, but only for the last two months!" The 70s period details were all there - even the names were delightfully 70s telly: property tycoon Denham Denham, columnist Stephanie Wise and revolutionary architect Michael Masters

Last week's episode, The Curse Of The Blood Of The Lizard, spoofed Hammer horror films, with a mad Scottish scientist searching for a potion to make humans flame-resistant. He hit upon the idea of using reptile blood, which seemed to work, but had the unfortunate side-effects giving the patients a hideously long tongue and a taste for flies. One poor sod was so depressed by the side-effects that he hung himself. With his tongue.

The brilliant lines kept coming:
"Not the chameleon serum theorem!"
"Let me be as plain as a kilt with no tartan"
"Let me be as blunt as a Scotch egg"

In next week's episode, World Champion ballroom dancer Lester Crown's career is cut short when he loses his feet in an unfortunate freak brush with a giant pair of scissors!

The series is produced by Baby Cow Productions. Geddit?

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