People Like Us – The Complete Series (1999/BBC DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C+
Willy
Smax is a Music Video director you may not have heard of, but you have likely
seen his work. Besides memorable clips
for Eurythmics (It’s Alright (Baby’s
Coming Back), Missionary Man, King & Queen of America), Swing Out
Sister (Surrender) and Blur (Bang), he has participated in TV
projects even less familiar to U.S. audiences.
People Like Us (1999) is a
mockumentary series that gives a good approximation of the serious British
documentary approach and even though they get it right, the series stretches
out a bit.
He is one
of several directors of the 12 episodes in this Complete Series set and I give all involved credit for even coming
up with this many shows, but unless you find the approach very funny, it will
play out very quickly and early so this is an acquired taste. It compares well to (the recently reviewed) Graham Kennedy’s Coast To Coast, a
send-up of news programs I recently looked at in that it is of the school of
“straight-faced” comedy and even more so than a U.S. counterpart might, even if
it were serious. For a change of pace,
you might want to try it out just the same.
Otherwise, skip it.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 x 1 image is a little soft, like it was shot in
digital High Definition and has some shaky camerawork that is not as bad as
most shows, but still too much. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and clear, sometimes purposely imitating
location audio at times. There are no
extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
