Well, I thought that after the exciting little piece of radio drama that was Invasive Species, I thought I might give the other Newsbob Industries production that is currently available. Quite a change of pace from Invasive Species, Ambassador Service is quite an interesting piece of radio comedy from the American team on offer here. Why is it interesting? Well, mostly because its funny - damn funny, to be honest.
Now, before I go into any detail, to prevent anyone who's not heard it from getting angry with me, I must include some
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Let me be honest from the outset. American comedy generally just doesn't appeal to me. I don't find it particularly funny. I suspect there are three types of people in the world - those that only like American comedy, those that only like British comedy, and those that like a bit of both. I fall into the second category - the British humour is what makes me laugh. Most American TV sitcoms just don't work for me. I find them too formulaic, too predictable, and basically, not funny. I occasionally smile, but never gut-wrenching laughter. Which is why I was a bit concerned about this release - I honestly didn't think it would appeal to me.
Thankfully, I was proven wrong. There is just so much funny stuff present here. I think what really makes the comedy work here is that it works with such a well-done British formula. The idea of starting off with normality (ie: the Montgomery family), and having them descend into a world where everyone else is just plain weird (the location the play is set in - don't even ask me to spell it!). By keeping this distinction between the characters (and not having everyone weird - a trait most American TV sitcoms use, and as such there's no catch for the audience, and ergo less natural humour), it means we have people we can relate to, and who are able to comment on the silliness present, and thereby voice our own opinions.
As well as this, we have several plot threads woven in throughout the course of the serial. Which was nice - it gives one something to look forward to. Even now, I still have a bit of a giggle when I think about some of the things that happened in this serial - the weird and wonderful characters, the Indian guy who keeps wanting to use Bill's fax machine to mail off his weekly reports to his newspaper's editor, the .odd economy (started by Bill's 11-year old son!), the various establishments in the capitol city... the list just goes on and on.
However, one small complaint that I do wish to level at this serial is the ending - it doesn't feel right. Episode 9 doesn't feel like a final episode - more like the penultimate episode, as if there should be an Episode 10 which wraps everything up just that bit better. Still, this was only a minor gripe, as the rest of the serial was so good that it did make up for this lack of a decent ending. Still, perhaps the open ending here is paving the way for a second serial - I certainly hope so!
The acting is generally quite good in this release, although it is quite obvious to note when people have been recorded at different times and places. Still, this doesn't detract from the performances, which are all pretty damn good. Quite a lot of the humour here in this release comes from the performances, which are perfectly realised to paint just the right mental picture of each character to assist in complementing the comedy aspects present in the script.
The post-production in this release is quite good too. Certainly not going to win any awards for best technical realisation (for example, everyone in the serial sounds like they're walking on wood!), but I gather this was the first NBI release, and ergo pre-dates Invasive Species. If this is the case, then I can see that there's been some definite improvement between the two serials, which bodes well for future productions. That said, this release is certainly solid enough that the post-production doesn't detract from the script or the acting - merely that it just sits there nicely, and does what it is there to do - to tell a story.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Ambassador Service. Certainly far superior comedy is present here, when compared to most other examples of American comedy I've experienced in recent years. An enjoyable little release here from Newsbob Industries. Must get my hands on a proper CD copy someday...
Overall Score: 4/5 (Good)
Now, before I go into any detail, to prevent anyone who's not heard it from getting angry with me, I must include some
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Let me be honest from the outset. American comedy generally just doesn't appeal to me. I don't find it particularly funny. I suspect there are three types of people in the world - those that only like American comedy, those that only like British comedy, and those that like a bit of both. I fall into the second category - the British humour is what makes me laugh. Most American TV sitcoms just don't work for me. I find them too formulaic, too predictable, and basically, not funny. I occasionally smile, but never gut-wrenching laughter. Which is why I was a bit concerned about this release - I honestly didn't think it would appeal to me.
Thankfully, I was proven wrong. There is just so much funny stuff present here. I think what really makes the comedy work here is that it works with such a well-done British formula. The idea of starting off with normality (ie: the Montgomery family), and having them descend into a world where everyone else is just plain weird (the location the play is set in - don't even ask me to spell it!). By keeping this distinction between the characters (and not having everyone weird - a trait most American TV sitcoms use, and as such there's no catch for the audience, and ergo less natural humour), it means we have people we can relate to, and who are able to comment on the silliness present, and thereby voice our own opinions.
As well as this, we have several plot threads woven in throughout the course of the serial. Which was nice - it gives one something to look forward to. Even now, I still have a bit of a giggle when I think about some of the things that happened in this serial - the weird and wonderful characters, the Indian guy who keeps wanting to use Bill's fax machine to mail off his weekly reports to his newspaper's editor, the .odd economy (started by Bill's 11-year old son!), the various establishments in the capitol city... the list just goes on and on.
However, one small complaint that I do wish to level at this serial is the ending - it doesn't feel right. Episode 9 doesn't feel like a final episode - more like the penultimate episode, as if there should be an Episode 10 which wraps everything up just that bit better. Still, this was only a minor gripe, as the rest of the serial was so good that it did make up for this lack of a decent ending. Still, perhaps the open ending here is paving the way for a second serial - I certainly hope so!
The acting is generally quite good in this release, although it is quite obvious to note when people have been recorded at different times and places. Still, this doesn't detract from the performances, which are all pretty damn good. Quite a lot of the humour here in this release comes from the performances, which are perfectly realised to paint just the right mental picture of each character to assist in complementing the comedy aspects present in the script.
The post-production in this release is quite good too. Certainly not going to win any awards for best technical realisation (for example, everyone in the serial sounds like they're walking on wood!), but I gather this was the first NBI release, and ergo pre-dates Invasive Species. If this is the case, then I can see that there's been some definite improvement between the two serials, which bodes well for future productions. That said, this release is certainly solid enough that the post-production doesn't detract from the script or the acting - merely that it just sits there nicely, and does what it is there to do - to tell a story.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Ambassador Service. Certainly far superior comedy is present here, when compared to most other examples of American comedy I've experienced in recent years. An enjoyable little release here from Newsbob Industries. Must get my hands on a proper CD copy someday...
Overall Score: 4/5 (Good)
