The Peter Serafinowicz Show

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The Peter Serafinowicz Show
Series logo
Format	Comedy sketch show
Created by	Peter Serafinowicz James Serafinowicz
Starring	Peter Serafinowicz
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Original run	4 October 2007 – present
External links
Official website

The Peter Serafinowicz Show is a BBC Two comedy sketch show written by and starring Peter Serafinowicz. The first series started on the 4 October 2007 at 21:30 as part of the newly launched "Thursday Are Funny" brand on BBC2.

1 Format
2 Background
3 Ratings
4 Recurring characters and sketches
5 Awards
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Format

The show is a mixture of sketches based on parodies of British television, using Peter's and other actors' impressions of notable television personalities. Examples include Heads or Tails, which is a parody of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, using the same mannerisms as Chris Tarrant.

[edit] Background

The show was commissioned after Peter posted O! News, a parody of E! News, on YouTube, under the name Mr Hennigan King.[1]

[edit] Ratings

Episode	Airdate	Ratings	Audience share
1	4 October 2007	1.5 million	7% [2]
2	11 October 2007	1 million	5% [3]
3	18 October 2007	800,000	4% [4]
4	25 October 2007	900,000	5% [5]
5	1 November 2007	900,000	4% [6]
6	9 November 2007	800,000	Unknown [7]

[edit] Recurring characters and sketches

O! News: A parody of E! News, featuring apparent programme teasers and celebrity interviews.
Acting Masterclass: A famous actor gives acting tips to a group of trainees. Actors featured have been Michael Caine, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Robert De Niro, Ralph Fiennes and Marlon Brando (With the body of Jabba the Hutt).
Brian Butterfield: A middle-aged businessman who appears in various types of commercials to advertise products or services (which in this case are mostly rubbish), such as a karaoke bar, Dieting, Hotel, Injury Lawyer and private detective services. Another such business is you calling up to get the time, which is usually incorrect. This character is somewhat similar to actor Basil Soper who stars in the Personal Injury Helpline adverts.
A Guide to Modern Life: A spoof on British self-help TV programmes in the seventies. Advice is given on acts of major life changes ('Let's Get Married', 'Let's Have a Baby'), as well as more unusual acts ('Let's Have an Orgy'). Simon Pegg generally does a voiceover.
Buy It Channel: A parody of shopping channels in which a different comical aspect occurs in every set of sketches. For example, one episode featured a presenter as a vampire, whilst another showed both presenters trying to rid the studio of an ant infestation.
Michael-6: A robotic talk show host who attempts to help his troubled guests. Although having advanced technological chat-show host features, such as gender scanning and lie detection systems, he has a tendency to malfunction at the end of every sketch, causing harm to a studio member. His malfunctioning usually involves the secretion of white fluid, similar to that of the robotic lifeforms in Westworld or the Alien series.
BBN News: A newsreader attempts to improvise reading the news, only to be buzzed every time he says something incorrect. Thus the sketch becomes a battle to read the entire story correctly. It is possibly based on ITV News, with a similar set and the same opening sound. The title of the sketch is also a combination of the abbrevations "BBC" and "ITN".
Ringo Remembers: A documentary in which Ringo Starr reflects on particular (fictional) points in his career.
Sinister: A company that makes odd food items. Examples include Internet Ham (a type of ham ordered online) and a cross between furniture and M&S adverts. The slogan of Sinister, "A family company", is the same as the company H.C Johnson.
Parodies of various adverts for products. One of these is Gem Mania, which allows people to put gems on anything. Near the end of the advert, the special offers are increased from 1 to 2, 4, 8 and infinte. This advert is hosted by two ladies named Lola Llarlagh and Nancy Cholesteroles.
A multi-part pop culture parody which runs through the entire episode. In one example, Star Wars character Darth Vader falls for Commander Ada Larkin, a female co-worker wearing a pink version of his armour. The sketches cover his ill fated attempts to court her.
Various parodies of sex line commercials featuring different types of call workers, such as pirates, cavemen, zombies, drunks and Basil Fawlty impersonators.
Parodies of adverts for the current trend of magazines which include free gifts every issue, such as an Elephants and Trains magazine and a magazine with Rings, Wings, Bings (Bing Crosby), Mings, Stings, Kings and Tings.
Detective drama shows have been parodied, such as Columbo and a multi-part parody of putting Poirot and Marple together where they distract their assistants, so they can "have it off" with each other, in the last part, when poirot finds out that he made Marple pregnant, he ran out of the window.
There has been a parody of Laurel and Hardy called "Soap and Water", where Stan Laurel was repeatedly saying the F*** word, resulting in him and Oliver Hardy being arrested.
Parodies of gameshows such as The Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Parodies of reality shows such as The X Factor and Big Brother.