The Armstrong And Miller Show
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''The Armstrong & Miller Show'' is a British
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
produced by
Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...
for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. It features the
double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...
Armstrong and Miller Armstrong and Miller are an English comedy double act consisting of the actor-comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. They have performed in two eponymous television sketch shows, the satirical ''Timeghost'' podcast, and many individual ...
and a number of notable scriptwriters including
Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...
, co-creator of '' Outnumbered'', and
Jeremy Dyson Jeremy Dyson (born 14 June 1966) is a British author, musician and screenwriter who, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is one of the League of Gentlemen. He also created and co-wrote the West End show ''Ghost Stories ...
, co-creator of ''
The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives o ...
''. It ran for three series between 2007 and 2010 and was nominated for two BAFTAs, winning one. The series followed on from ''
Armstrong and Miller Armstrong and Miller are an English comedy double act consisting of the actor-comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. They have performed in two eponymous television sketch shows, the satirical ''Timeghost'' podcast, and many individual ...
'' on the
Paramount Comedy Channel Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US versi ...
and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
between 1997 and 2001.


Production

Three series of ''The Armstrong & Miller Show'' (not to be confused with the earlier show ''
Armstrong and Miller Armstrong and Miller are an English comedy double act consisting of the actor-comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. They have performed in two eponymous television sketch shows, the satirical ''Timeghost'' podcast, and many individual ...
'') were produced by
Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...
for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
between 2007 and 2010 (no series was produced in 2008). It marked the first return of the comedy duo to TV since their previous sketch show ended in 2001. A fourth series was hinted at by Ben Miller in 2012, but there has been no mention of it since then.


Recurring characters and jokes

* Two
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
pilots who speak in upper-class accents but have the language and attitudes of stereotypical modern day teenagers, using colloquialisms such as "blud" and peppering their speech with "like", "innit" and "and shit". * Brabbins and Fyffe, a pair of
Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a scho ...
-like musicians who sing bawdy songs, sometimes hastily censored by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. * An insensitive but caring father (played by Armstrong) with the inability to sugar-coat difficult issues for his son (played by
Tyger Drew-Honey Lindzi James Tyger Drew-Honey (born 26 January 1996) is an English actor and television presenter. He is best known for his role as Jake Brockman in the British sitcom '' Outnumbered'', Citizen Khan as Richard Scab before later appearing in '' H ...
). * Roger (played by Miller) who continually returns home early, oblivious to clues that his wife and best friend Pete are having an affair. He accepts the increasingly ludicrous explanations. * Several
Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
s who negotiate their way anachronistically through modern social difficulties such as job interviews, dinner parties and baby naming. *
Vox pop ( )Vox Populi
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s in which characters describe their quirks and mental illnesses and end with "so that's why I became a teacher". * A plain-speaking
satellite navigation system A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
that advises a driver to avoid certain roads for non-traffic, often 'right-wing' tabloid related reasons. * Dennis Lincoln-Park, a TV historian (played by Miller) who accidentally destroys priceless historical treasures. * A man who tends to reveal too much information about his strange and disturbing hobbies while in polite company, following them up with "Was that a bit too weird?". * A dentist who recounts sordid tales of tasteless encounters to which his patient, whose mouth is full of dental equipment, is unable to object. * Parodies of public information films, voiced by Armstrong, whereby the obvious danger (a child standing on a stool and using a chip pan) is ignored in favour of a trivial change (using a chair instead of a stool). * Various characters (played by Armstrong), including a children's TV presenter with two puppet sidekicks, a benevolent headmaster or a marriage counsellor, engaged in comforting or encouraging conversation with others. After his companions have left the room, Armstrong's character says the words "Kill them" into a hidden intercom in a distinctly "evil" tone of voice. After the credits of the final episode of series one this character is played by the producer with the order directed at Armstrong and Miller themselves. * A
Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...
window cleaner who gives a philosophical monologue consisting of ideas for solving various major crisis facing the world, such as
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
or
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, before finishing with "but what do I know?" * Jim (played by Miller), on honeymoon in Hawaii alone after his wife left him for the DJ on their wedding day, during which he trespasses on the honeymoon of another couple (Armstrong and Jakeways). * Striding Man, a businessman (played by Armstrong), who is pursued by a team of researchers providing him with apparently useless and random information. He is fired in the final episode of series 2, but returns in series 3 as a secondary school headmaster. * A guy who regularly wanders into expensive-looking shops to browse, only to be told by the salesman on hand to "fuck off" if he's not buying anything. * An MI6 agent (played by Miller) is trying to do serious work, but his over-caring boss (played by Armstrong) makes light of these situations and forces the agent to partake in fun, children's activities. * A PE teacher and ex-spy (Miller) who is persuaded to go undercover again, despite insisting that his under 12 boys
Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
team tag along. * Various suave male characters whose intentions are dashed when the other characters in the sketch notice their hairstyle, with the words "Ugh. Ponytail!", and start dry vomiting. * Miranda (played by Armstrong) and Pru (played by Miller) who attempt to run the Dandylions vegetarian restaurant, politely trying not to argue in front of the customers, until a customer's comment highlights their difficulties. A brawl is instigated by the proprietors with the words "Pru, it's kicking off!", perpetually ending with the same unfortunate customer, (
Jim Howick James "Jim" Howick (born 14 May 1979) is an English actor and writer, known for his appearances in television series such as ''Peep Show'', ''Horrible Histories'', '' Stag'', ''Ghosts'' and '' Here We Go''. Early life Howick was born in Chiche ...
), being thrown through a window. * A selection of Regency-era suitors and spinsters whose mid-dance conversational advances are unexpectedly explicit. * The British Prime Minister (played by Miller), who invariably leaves something vitally important behind after a successful meeting (such as his wife, or nuclear launch codes), but is too embarrassed to return and collect it. * Doctor Tia (played by Armstrong), who "lives in Botswana, saving lives. Do you?". He addresses the camera about his insights into local culture, and the fruits of his work, only for the camera to reveal that he is secretly despised by the people he is trying to help. * Various characters experiencing extraordinary success, only to reveal to the camera: "I'm wearing my wife's knickers." * Three children's TV presenters who are publicly humiliated for their inappropriate behaviour, and have to apologise and explain their actions to their audience in child-friendly language. The descriptions in the official
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel suggests that these characters are a parody of
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
. The sketch performed for
Red Nose Day 2011 ''Red Nose Day 2011'' was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. There was a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 18 March 2011 to early the following morning as well as a number of run-up events. The theme ...
explicitly referred to Blue Peter, as does the DVD release. (episode 1 of series 2 only). It appears these sketches are based loosely on the sacking of presenter Richard Bacon and subsequent on-air explanation offered to its child audience. * A parody of
Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British ...
, with Mr Stafford (played by Armstrong) and his butler Veal (played by Miller). Stafford is a bigot who acts with criminal disregard for others, and then asks for Veal's help sorting out the mess. Veal is horrified. * Tony Dorset, an old-school football manager and former player who is employed by
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs (Russian language, Russian: олигархи, Romanization of Russian, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Priv ...
boss Dimitri. Tony lives in fear of Dimitri's fond spot for him, and his boss's Mafioso tendencies, and is never quite sure how to play the situation. * Two out-of-touch
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
-like
vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...
trying to get virgin blood as though they're 'on the pull', yet often beaten by more modern ''
Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...
'' vampires. * A series of dramatic or odd situations in which the climax is spoilt by someone remembering that they forget to put the bins out. * An accident happening to Armstrong, then Miller coming on screen as himself, saying "Um, this isn't funny, but it actually happened to a friend of mine, so..." He then makes slight gestures toward the viewers, such as shrugging his shoulders and raising his eyebrows. * Simpkins (Miller), a recent expatriate to France, who has forgotten his mother tongue. He eventually asks someone for twenty euros. * Wild Cooking with Flint and Rory, a show about a pair of Geordie campers who say that they are going to cook something from the wild, but opt out for an easier, modern alternative due to small 'problems' with the thing they were going to cook. * Couples being interviewed, which at the end of each one, reveals a fact that would end or cause difficulties in normal relationships. * A seemingly ordinary man (played by Miller) who, while viewing items like a house or a car for sale, suddenly acts out various inappropriate scenarios, imagining he is (often arguing) with his wife, Sandra, and children, Jessica and Oliver. * A serious and sometimes dramatic scene involving Armstrong and two women. At the end, Armstrong says, "Any chance of a
threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...
?" He then says, "No, ok," and agrees with whatever they were giving him in the scene. * Two middle-aged, northern women (played by the leads) who own an Anne Summers style sexy lingerie store and rather than being discreet make cheeky comments about customers purchases (series 3 only). * Terry Devlin, a Royal reporter who is always armed with a glass of wine but with little factual information about his subject. This doesn't stop him from sharing his lengthy 'expert' opinion on the happenings in the Royal household. He is often introduced by the news anchor after some unseen 'harrowing' report on a very serious tragedy, highlighting the often inane nature of royal 'news' in general. * One notable sketch in series 1 had Armstrong playing a fictionalised version of himself appearing on the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? in which he learns of the embarrassing backgrounds of his grandparents. Armstrong would appear on the actual programme in 2010, where it is discovered that he is a descendant of
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
.


Chronology

A special compilation episode featuring clips from all three series was aired on 26 March 2011.


Awards

Visitors to
British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, BCG has published guides to more than 7,000 individual British comedies ...
voted ''The Armstrong and Miller Show'' the "Best Sketch Show of 2007". It received a nomination in the 2007 BAFTAs for Best Comedy Series before winning the actual award for the year 2009.BAFTA Television Awards 2009
/ref>


DVD releases

All three series have been released on region 2 DVDs in single- and multiple-disc sets. The first series was released on 24 November 2008. The second series was released on 23 November 2009. The third series was released on 6 December 2010. Sets containing the first two and all three series were made available on 23 November 2009 and 6 December 2010 respectively.


Book

The Armstrong and Miller book was released in 2010.


References


External links

* * *
The Armstrong And Miller Show Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong And Miller Show 2007 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings 2000s British television sketch shows 2010s British television sketch shows BBC television sketch shows BAFTA winners (television series) Television series by Hat Trick Productions English-language television shows Armstrong and Miller