Improvisation My Dear Mark Watson
The brilliant Mark Watson hosts a one-off improv show with a twist joined by Rufus Hound, Stephen K Amos, Josie Long and Isy Suttie. Catch it - only on Dave - on Saturday 9th July at 9pm.
What do you get for the comedian who has everything? A brand spanking new improv show dripping in fancy-dan gadgets and games so clever they've all been given honorary degrees from the Institute for the Seriously Bright, that's what.
Stand up comics are naturally pretty razor-sharp when it comes to thinking on their feet – that's what happens when you have to do your job in a place where drunk people are allowed opinions. They've got to do something with all that sparky off-the-cuff wonderment, and luckily there's a new place where they can show off their spontaneity – Improvisation My Dear Mark Watson.
Hosted by the genial genius Mark Watson, this is improv with a distinctly modern twist. Through a series of widely different rounds, guests Charlie Baker, Colin Hoult, Rufus Hound, Stephen K Amos, Josie Long and Isy Suttie will be put through their paces like trembling brats at comedy's meanest boot camp. Here's a guide to the devilish challenges awaiting our plucky comics as they dare enter Watson's arena of wit.
Shopping Channel CVQ – we've all sat goggle-eyed in front of shopping channels, even if we don't like to admit it. The sorts of shows where there's a thin line between sales pitch and harrowing cry for help, where a cheap piece of tat is reported to be worth more money than God's shin bones. They're the perfect foil for some fun-poking, then, and that's just what the wits will be doing as they attempt to sell a mystery object.
Rap battle – oh yes. OH YES. This is what the world of comedy has been waiting for and it didn't even realise until now. The genius of a rap battle is its unrelenting confrontation, but rather than trading insults about the relative paucity of their genitals or the massive wedges of cash they have, our comics will be rapping about things of a more earthy, comforting nature. Like nans. Or kittens. Now isn't that better than getting covered in what the youngsters call 'beef'?
Funeral fun – who says Facebook isn't good for something? If you'd despaired of the web and thought there was a better chance of getting laughs from social services than social networking you may be about to have your flabber gasted. With the aid of a 'helpful friend' (cruel-hearted informer) an audience member's life and works are dissected by our comics at a mock funeral. Delivering the sort of eulogy that'd get you booted out of even the most perfunctory of crematoria, the comics rake over the 'deceased's' personality via this priceless online window into their very souls. Or Farmville history, at least.
Green screen – from Facebook to another corner of the Internet where people can assume alternative identities in order to make people want to hang out with them – Second Life. This round lets the comics' imaginations run wild – and thanks to a green screen we can see them in all manner of bizarre situations without their having to actually leave the studio. Warning for those with a delicate disposition: this round may contain lycra.
Remote control – this is a sort of interactive Radio Times, as our funny-makers are forced to re-enact scenes from shows at the whim of the cackling Watson. One minute they might be trying to pretend to vajazzle something, the next they'll be braving the horrors of Loose Women. Oh the humanity...
Sound effects – no, sadly it's not a resurrection of the only good cast member from Police Academy, but instead a chance for our comics to have a funny-off while a series of sound effects are thrown at their unsuspecting brains. Naturally they'll have to incorporate them into the act, however bonkers they might be.
When is it on?
The series is currently off-air.
Latest videos
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Shopping channel
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Channel flipping
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Sound effects
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Mind reading
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Rap battle
Shopping channel
Mark Watson profile
He's appeared on every meaningful stand-up or panel show on TV in the last few years. He's Mark Watson and we want to kiss his face.
Mark Watson's One Night Stand
Dave took Mark back to his hometown of Bristol for a special stand-up gig, supported by Alex Horne and Andi Osho.
Comments
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DavidH92607 | 27 Jan 12
If Dave insist on transmitting this show at times when just one man and his dog are watching, and they are both asleep, then there is no hope for it.
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N3CR0M4NC3R | 30 Sep 11
as a repeat programme yes.. hence the graveyard timeslot, as a pilot i dint think it went down very well and though it may have its few supporters without any proper improvisers let alone an ORIGINAL IDEA it just didnt go down well with the viewers, I'd advise staff to check other forums like digitalspy and see what people have been saying, it's not pretty :D As for my current stand on dave all i am waiting for is the return of red dwarf next year, Until you can grab my attention with something else i shall be laying low
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DavidH92607 | 27 Sep 11
Ha Ha, it's comming back in November!!!
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N3CR0M4NC3R | 26 Aug 11
"The series is currently off-air" .. good choice execs, bravo.. i do hope you took in the public's response to this show and actually CHALLENGED the "creator's" choice to cite this as an original idea when it was clearly as mentioned many times on this thread a copied version of drew careys green screen show.. albeit with poorer animation and bad chroma keying, take a hint and look at the whose line comments, also do a little google.. the people are CRYING OUT for that to return in a proper form or even a re-union special, you clearly have the talent to bring back something as cult as red dwarf so why not make many happy and atleast bring back whose line for a one off special and see the thousands of viewers it pulls in.. just an idea execs, just an idea
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DavidH92607 | 26 Aug 11
Seems that this show is currently off air. Here's Hopeing that not only do DAVE repeat it many more times and commision a series in the near future.
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KennyE72654 | 7 Jul 11
This show is very funny, but it annoys me in the fact that the show is credited as an original idea by Lee someoneorother. This show is actually a rip of the show Drew Careys Green Screen show, which aired in America (but turned down by Channel 4 and the BBC) in 2004. So in essence, this Lee fella can't have claimed to come up with the idea, seeing as he didn't. (sorry, the tv geek in me wouldnt let me let it pass...)
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StacyR39104 | 6 Jul 11
The rap wasn't similar to the hoe down games from Whose Line... it was a rehash of the Rap games in Whose Line. Just like Drew Carey's Green Screen show was just Whose Line with added green screen, so is this. It was a fun show, and I'm glad they brought it to the UK and I thought it was hilarious, but they clearly said it was the only improv show to be done with a green screen and that was just plain wrong of them.
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PaulH49716 | 6 Jul 11
I really enjoyed this show, so what if a lot of the basic idea isn't that original. When it comes down to it, it's the performers that make itHave always enjoyed Mark, Stephen K and Rufus. I've only seen Charlie Baker and Colin Hoult a couple of times before and liked what I saw them do. But most of all I was very pleased to see Josie Long who has made me laugh and who I've fancied the pants off for a few years now and Isy Suttie who've I've loved to pieces since she started playing Dobby. All 7 made me laugh a lot when I just watched the recording I made of the show just now. More of the same please
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mattJ65382 | 6 Jul 11
I've just watched 'Improvisation my dear mark watson' and thought it was great. I've read all the posts here and while they do make a good point about originality and the use of CG deminishing the power of improv, I do think that it needs to be taken for what it was, a quirky, funny and unusual (if not wholly original) take on a popular style of comedy. Is anyone out there going to complain that the rap game was very similair to the hoe-down games of 'Whos line is it anyway', no, because its bringing it to the newer generations and doing it as well creating new laughs. Ideally what I would like to see is another episode with Rufus Hound, Colin Hoult, Ed Byrne on one team and Greg Proops, Colin Mochrie, and Ryan Stiles on another for old vs new skool battle. I'd love to see this made into a series but judging by the lack of posts on here I doubt its created enough of a buzz for Dave to bother. xxxxxx YOU DAVE!!!! *shakes fist* ........Or you could always bring back 'Who's line is it anyway'.
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DavidH92607 | 6 Jul 11
This ought to be made into a series.
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DavidH92607 | 6 Jul 11
hello I watched this show last night. My ribs ache from laughter. I was fortunate to have been an audience member when the show was recorded at the BBC Tv Centre. The setting there was sureal as the studio was just one green space. 3 hours of laughter at and with the performers not knowing what the final product would be. The graphics proved to be an excellent enhancement to the show, I do not envy the editors role of condensing 3 hours of recording into a 40 minute slot. Unfortunately some very funny pieces, like the ventriloquists, didn't make the final cut . I lost count how many times the recording was stopped because the performers strayed off their marks. I half expected a green box to appear on set and a performer put atop it to perform only to be stopped midflow by the floor manager calling cut, explaining that the performer was sttod on the wrong mark. Then post Production could have subsitiuted the green box for a prone Mark Watson. It was just an idea! Just as my team name sugestion was! The Peaceful Plonkers. lol
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sarahP20073 | 6 Jul 11
This is an a talented collection of people that have been forced into a situation that - to me- must have be misrepresented to them. I really can't believe that this collection of people would put their name to this , if they had any genuine idea of what it would look like when broadcast. The producers seem to have completely misunderstood the entire concept of 'improvisation'. The point of which is surely to allow the performers to flex their creative muscles and inspire the audience to IMAGINE scenarios, settings, props, costume by the sheer conviction of their performance. That IS what is fantastic about improv and indeed about so many comedians - the ability to think on their feet and be in the moment. Any post production addition is so misplaced, in my opinion, it negates all of the 'in the moment' magic' that is the genuine heart of truely good improv. Please lets see the performers- not the add ons.
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JamieH78001 | 5 Jul 11
Im watching this atm and it is hilarious! i loved the rap part aswell XD is this a one of show? becuase i think i heard that somewhere :(
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HelenL80420 | 5 Jul 11
Me and my sister are watching this at the moment and are in stitches!! Awesome!!! =D x
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StacyR39104 | 5 Jul 11
I came here to make that exact point, N3CRoM4NC3R. Drew Carey's Green Screen Show was much better than this. And even then, it was just Whose Line Is It Anyway with added Green Screen. This isn't an original concept in the slightest.
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N3CR0M4NC3R | 3 Jul 11
dear DAVE.. please note that your advertisement of "improvisation my dear watson" as the "first improv show to be done fully with green screens" is NOT TRUE, Drew carey did it years before you and it worked a LOT BETTER, I've already read reviews of the pilot recording and i dont think it is going to be very pretty
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DavidH92607 | 27 Jan 12
View all commentsIf Dave insist on transmitting this show at times when just one man and his dog are watching, and they are both asleep, then there is no hope for it.