We got a new character here with the dictator's wife and son. It was timely and relevant, but I don't think this was Tracey at her best.
I liked the previous bit with Margaret, the former Wimbledon judge, but not the one today. Making fun of grunting during his tennis has been done to death.
Some more new characters for the fourth episode. I wasn't much for the dictator's wife sketches - about the funniest thing there was the chase scene and everyone stopping to try the cheese. Dora the elderly sex worker was predictable but had it's moments - former Sugababes and Eurovision Song Contest entrant Jade Ewen working in the sex shop raised an eyebrow.
Dominic's daft apps helped his sketch along again but I have now had enough of the Maggie Smith audition tapes and the Wimbledon line judge. I hope that's the last we see of both of them. Hayley, the eccentric zookeeper gets two brief but better sketches this time out. The final sketch with Angela Merkel and her assistant had some good lines (I liked the idea of her aide buying her all these fridge magnets) but wasn't as good as the previous appearances.
The best two sketches by some distance were the drama teacher with the class of posh students and the actresses auditioning for the roles of naked dead bodies (which was very true)and nagging women.
7/10
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Sparks Moran: "It was dusk. I could tell 'cause the sun had gone down"
I'm mesmerized by the Maggie Smith bits. I'm sure it's the voice. Tracey did an impersonation of Maggie for Eric Idle's play "What About Dick?" That was the first time I heard her attempt the voice. She said that she's not sure that they got the makeup right. I saw the photo the crew used in creating the prosthetics. It's close, but the style Maggie's sporting is not the style the public automatically associates her with. I would have loved to have seen Maggie outside of the audition reels, maybe interacting with Judi, something Tracey is infamous for, having all her characters interact with one another.
The diplomat's wife was too short and cut up to be enjoyed. It would have been better suited for "Tracey Takes On" where sketches lasted uninterrupted for ten to twelves minutes.
The line judge joke is similar to one she did in "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union." I think this character was suited for the cutting room floor. Many sketches were filmed and axed. Tracey's impersonation of Stephen Fry may not make it to air I hear.
There was a bit I didn't get at all. Perhaps someone could explain what the structure was that American tourists Jackie and Hall were going on about? And yes, I totally get the irony of my asking.
"Hot sun, cool breeze, white horse on the sea, and a big shot of vitamin B in me!"share