BBC Four have tried their hand at yet another brand new original comedy series, this time - Quick Cuts, a semi-improvised sketch show/sitcom written by Georgia Pritchett and starring Doon Mackichan who was most recently seen in the hit ITV2 comedy Plebs.
Similarly to Up The Women, Quick Cuts is only three-episodes long and I'm sure the plan will be to commission a full series and perhaps move it to BBC Two too.
So you may remember me refer to Quick Cuts as half sketch show and half sitcom and Pritchett herself has said she wanted to mix elements of Miranda, The Thick Of It and Veep all together into one show - something she appears to have done with Quick Cuts in terms of plenty of falling over - Miranda's speciality and a lot of swearing - one of the more endearing traits in Malcolm Tucker's character. And I'm hoping you'll agree after watching the first episode that it's difficult to pinpoint Quick Cuts as either a sketch show or a sitcom, so it's best to stick with both it seems!
So what is Quick Cuts all about then? Well, in case you haven't already guessed by the name of the show, it's set in a hairdressers called Quick Cuts, something we've seen before in Desmonds and Cutting It, but that doesn't mean to say it can't be done again.
So who are the characters? Well, they're a colourful bunch headed by Quick Cuts owner Sue, played by Doon Mackichan (Smack The Pony, Plebs) who has a troubled relationship with dodgy boyfriend Trevor who pops in and out of the salon played by Paul Reynolds.
Then there's the staff, Becky (Lucinda Dryzek, Stella, Life Of Riley), Annie (Jess Gunning, Great Night Out) and Gavin (OT Fagbenle, FM) and Marianne (Jane Dowden).
Each episode is so fast-paced that a lot happens, from being sick on a pigeon, going on a date with someone who's been in a coma for years to taking pills that turn your wee blue - and that's just episode one. There are a lot more crazy antics in the following two episodes which in my opinion go from strength to strength and I can really see the benefit of the BBC giving the show a full series.
All in all I really enjoyed Quick Cuts thought the style worked really well and I loved how fast-paced the whole show was, that half-an-hour flew by! Also I felt that each character brought something to the show and having read reviews that call the show cliche and stereotypical, I couldn't disagree more, I thought it's one of the most refreshing comedies on the BBC in a long time. So it's a shame really that the BBC haven't trailed the show in the same way they did The Wright Way which was quite possibly the worst comedy (loose term) on the BBC in a long time.