The Mitchell and Webb Situation

Did You Know?

• David Kerr storyboarded each episode exhaustively, allowing the entire series to be filmed in fifteen days.
• Most filming took place at the United States International University of Bushey, formerly the Royal Masonic School for Boys.

Reception

Empire gave a negative review, describing the show as "extremely hit and miss. Emphasis on 'extremely'." DVD Times wrote that the duo were "trying to find a voice" and that the material "misses more often than it hits," noting that for every successful sketch there was one that did not work, went on too long, was undeveloped, or was over-egged. In an interview with Wessex Scene, Mitchell said he was "more proud of the way it turned out than annoyed that it was only aired on a small channel."

Sketches

The show has no recurring named characters, but two sketches appear in every episode. One features two writers attempting to dream up scripts for things that already exist, such as religion, fairy tales, or the human reproductive cycle; they debate how the item should work and often conclude that the real-life version is ridiculous. The other sketch, shown during the end titles, depicts Mitchell and Webb as tramps with a different punchline each episode.

Other sketches recur only within a single episode. In episode 1, a farmer talks about commodities from the ground or animals and his daily routine as if revealing a major money-making secret; a parody of the film Suspicion shows Webb as a would-be murderer trying to poison his bedridden friend, with his intentions easily uncovered; and a man in a pub asks a group to adjust their habits because he and his wife are not having fun. Episode 2 includes two bar staff who make sound effects that cause others to believe an event is occurring, such as a woman checking her phone after they say "Ring ring."

Episode 3 features a man in a pub complaining he has nobody to talk to or nothing to talk about, and an actor afraid he or a stuntman will get hurt during an action film. Episode 4 has a boy asking personal questions to his father and uncle to incite them against each other; a reality cooking show where the participant makes meta remarks about the filming process; and a man taking unusual items (a trumpet, booze, an R/C car, a sex doll) to a public library, assuring the librarian he is not planning to use them.

Episode 5 includes two male colleagues who end their talk with a kiss on the cheek; pretentious hippie backpackers traveling around England as if it were an exotic country; two men in a pub using posh talk to conceal their alcoholism; and a man working as a copy editor for pornographic screenplays.