''The Armando Iannucci Shows'' is a series of eight programmes directed by

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

and written by Iannucci with

Andy Riley Andy Riley (born 1970) is a British author, cartoonist, and Emmy-winning screenwriter for TV and film. Riley has written and drawn many best-selling cartoon books, including '' The Book of Bunny Suicides'' (2003) and its sequels, and ''Great L ...

and

Kevin Cecil Kevin Robert Cecil (born 1969 in London) is a British screenwriter. Writing alongside Andy Riley (with whom he has been friends since attending Aylesbury Grammar School), he has won two BAFTA awards, the first for writing the Comic Relief one-o ...

. It was shown on UK's

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 ...

from August to October 2001. Each episode focused on specific themes relating to

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

and

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, around which Iannucci would weave a series of surreal sketches and monologues.

Format

Recurring themes in the episodes are the

superficiality What social psychologists call "the principle of superficiality versus depth" has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato. Historical sketch Socrates sought to convince his debaters to turn from the superficiality of a worldview ...

of modern culture, our problems communicating with each other, the mundane nature of working life and feelings of personal inadequacy and social awkwardness. Several characters also make repeat appearances in the shows, including the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

thug, who solves every problem with threats of violence; Hugh, an old man who delivers surreal monologues about what things were like in the old days; and Iannucci's barber, who is full of nonsensical anecdotes.

Recurring characters

Most of the sketches and characters in ''The Armando Iannucci Shows'' were one-offs, but a few characters did recur: * Armando's Barber (Steve Brody) - An

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

barber who regales Armando with bizarre theories and anecdotes rather than cutting his hair. * The East End Thug ( Alan Ford) - A middle-aged

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

villain who can solve almost any problem through the medium of violent gangland threats. * Hugh
Hugh Cecil
- an old man who visits Armando and recalls his past, his reminiscences containing a modern twist. * The Television Executives ( Tony Gardner, Darren Higham, Melanie Hudson and Stephen Mangan) - a group of TV executives unable to conceive of anything other than in terms of a TV pitch. Usually end up congratulating themselves with a

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

("We're so good at telly").

Episodes

Each episode is themed around a certain subject. The following episode order is according to the DVD which had its contents significantly reshuffled from the original broadcast timeline.

Music

The original broadcast version featured a number of modern classical pieces including: *'' Spiegel im Spiegel'' –

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

– Angela Yoffe and Vadim Gluzman *'' Shaker Loops'': I. Shaking and Trembling – John Adams, London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's *''Tracery'' – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan *'' Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten'' –

*''

Symphony of Sorrowful Songs A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

'', 2nd movement – Henryk Górecki Other classical pieces included: *"The Aquarium" from '' The Carnival of the Animals'' –

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

*''

Serenade to Music ''Serenade to Music'' is an orchestral concert work completed in 1938 by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, written as a tribute to conductor Sir Henry Wood. It features an orchestra and 16 vocal soloists, with lyrics adapted from the disc ...

'' (orchestral version) –

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

*'' Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'' – Johann Sebastian Bach *"Herr, unser Herrscher" from ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'' – J. S. Bach Some of these pieces had to be removed from the DVD due to rights issues, and were replaced with stock library music. There is also a snippet of an imaginary modern opera, "Ibiza Uncovered", that is very close to the style of the opera of John Adams.

Reception

Iannucci has been quoted as saying it is the comedy series he is most proud of making. He told '' The Metro'' in April 2007 "''The Armando Iannucci Show'' on Channel 4 came out around

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

, so it was overlooked for good reasons. People had other things on their minds. But that was the closest to me expressing my comic outlook on life." The show is also notable for its use of music, the quality of its direction and the often extensive use of CGI effects. A DVD of the series was released on 4 September 2006 after years of wrangles due to music rights issues. Empire called the show "a lesser effort, even if this does display flashes of the wit behind '' The Day Today'' and '' The Thick of It''."

References

External links

*
The Armando Iannucci Shows
' at the former

BBC Guide to Comedy BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the children ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armando Iannucci Shows, The 2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 2000s British comedy television series Channel 4 comedy English-language television shows