Review of Mad As Hell

I don’t usually write a review for any of Shaun’s work – this is a fan site obviously, so there’s obviously going to be a bit of bias, for which I’m not ashamed. But so many have thrown in their two cents, why not me 🙂

The humour in Mad As Hell is pure Micallef, and was spot on. From the direct jokes like putting Julia Gillard against the wall to the beautifully subtle jokes like the new French president being not far enough to the left for Angela Merkel. The ensemble cast is great too, especially seeing Francis and Roz play their parts perfectly.

Shaun’s wardrobe and look were great. It may seem like an odd comment, but sometimes he can look… strange for strange’s sake.

There was an experiment in showing Shaun’s more serious personality with an interview, but it didn’t make the cut – it’s on YouTube if you want to see it – but hopefully they try something similar again, because it sure caught us off what we expected – in a positive way.

I felt the show was warmer than Newstopia – perhaps the audience were part of that. A few comments have been made over the “canned” laughter. I assure you it wasn’t canned – I was one of the people – but I do think it may have been a little over balanced in the audio mix.

I do feel that the show didn’t breath enough – I felt it rollercoasted through the topics too quickly that you could be enjoying the jokes but not realise the topic had changed. Micallef Program had more drawn out sketches; Newstopia was a little slower and also had ads to punctuate it. There was a lot to fit in to half an hour, but maybe some of it could be lost for the sake of a more balanced pace.

My impression of the theme music was that it felt a bit… weak, especially compared to some of the amazing themes Micallef’s shows have had previously.

But any negatives were tiny compared to the overall brilliance. All up, I think it’s one of the funniest shows on television in a long while, and I think it will only continue be a true standout.

Agree, disagree? Comment! 🙂