People Like Us (1999–2001) User Reviews (17)

funny and painful at once

[jefu · 9/10 · 13 August 2001]

When I first saw this it took me a few minutes to catch on to the fact that it was not a real documentary - it looks and sounds like a real documentary if you don't pay attention, but when you do pay attention, the humour is pervasive and brilliant.

Humor is often associated with a darker side - cruelty, pain, sadness. Some of the funniest movies, books and tv shows are those that intermix these well. American TV doesn't seem to explore this side very much, but British TV comedy does and some of the best of british sitcoms are those that do this deeply - Basil Fawlty wouldn't be anywhere near as funny if he were just Bill Cosby. "The League of Gentlemen" goes quite a ways in this direction - far enough to squick some watchers. "People Like Us" is nothing like that extreme, but much of the humour is based on situations that (if they were happening to us) would probably not be considered "good days".

"People Like Us" takes the form of a documentary TV show (named "people like us") with "Roy Mallard" following "people like us" around in their jobs and interviewing them. We never really see Roy, but we hear his questions and comments. So far, it looks like many documentaries. And if you only watch

casually, it continues to look that way. But if you look and listen more closely, it becomes far more interesting. And very funny.

Part of the humour comes from Roy's commentary, which is wonderfully deadpan, but which often includes odd mistakes and misstatements. If you don't listen, you'll miss them - as often the various portions of the sentence make complete sense ("Although since the beginning of the twentieth century the number of people attending church regularly has fallen by twice that amount over the same period of time...") Part of the humour comes from the people he's interviewing. In some cases these people are hurting - they're on the verge of failure, or even beyond. In other cases things just go wrong. A bank manager forgets the password for his safe, a real estate agent gets lost. Roy walks off with a childs toy. Minor events and given minor consideration with no fanfare - but often very, very funny. (In American sitcoms, there'd be a laugh track, and sometimes this kind of incident would be the basis for a full episode.)

Interestingly, after a couple of episodes, it begins to seem that the title "People Like Us" is really true for Roy. The people featured are the ones that seem most like him in some ways. We never see Roy and don't hear much about him, but we do discover he is married and that this show for him is perhaps a step down from the farm report. And in some ways this show is a serious dissection of Roy, seen only in how other people are interacting with him.

Its hard to describe this program and how funny it can really be. Best thing to do is watch it and see for yourself.

Great Pseudo-Documentary Series

[aramis-112-804880 · 7/10 · 17 September 2015]

Chris Langham, best known to Americans (if at all) from an appearance on "The Muppet Show," takes center stage (sort of) in this wonderful twelve-part pseudo-documentary series.

Langham plays Roy Mallard, one of the worst documentarians ever. Not only does his voice-over narration make no sense half the time, and makes half-sense the other half, Roy constantly violates the cardinal rule of documentary makers: don't get involved.

Sometimes his involvement is inadvertent, as when, in "The Solicitor" (a sort of lawyer, for Americans) a distraught woman cries on his shoulder. Sometimes, it's accidental, as when Mallard shows a fear of heights in "The Police Officer." Sometimes, his involvement is just his idiocy, as when a flirty girl in "The Estate Agent" (Sarah Alexander from "Coupling") comes on to him and he responds; or at the end of "The Managing Director" when he . . . but I won't spoil that ending.

My favorite episode is "The Photographer", when Roy Mallard follows a day in the life of a hangdog photographer (Bill Nighy). But every episode has great moments, as when Roy Mallard notices the police station fax machine in "The Police Officer" is spitting out blank sheets of paper--the station ran out of fax paper and they asked another station to "fax" them some more.

The show is so deadpan, anyone just surfing in will probably take it for a legitimate documentary show, unless they watch long enough to realize everyone is talking nonsense. The actors are all wonderful, whether they went on to better things (as with Susan Alexander or with David Tennant as "The Actor") or not. Everyone underplays believably, and there are very few moments when anyone seems to be acting. Though a few faces do reappear (for instance, Emma Kennedy in "The Police Officer" and "The Bank Manager.") Even the kids chosen for speaking lines in "The Head Teacher" are good.

Roy Mallard himself is never seen, only glimpsed (in a glass door in "The Estate Agent"; in a reflecting window when his subject suddenly disappears in "The Photographer") but it is implied that Mallard is hideously ugly. In nearly every show, someone is surprised to discover he's married.

And every show ends in one of the most subtle in-jokes of all time, where the credits say Roy Mallard would like to express his thanks to Chris Langham.

Overall, if you like your humor exceedingly dry, this series is worth your while. But spread them out. If you watch too many in a row, a dreary sense of sameness pervades the shows.

Oh, and while I don't like correcting other reviewers, one fellow reviewer mistakingly says Benny Hill chased women in bikinis. He did not. Since I am open to all varieties of humor, I watched Benny Hill as well, and in every show the girls chased Hill rather than the other way around. This is a common misconception and should be corrected whenever it's ignorantly spouted.

Pioneering mockumentary

[smellthecult-com-1 · 9/10 · 27 December 2009]

It feels a little strange writing about this series, given what has been happening in the shady world of Chris Langham these past couple of years. I agonised about whether to ditch this show from the Smell the Cult website, but heh, I have Nazi sympathising black metal in the metal section on the basis that I am judging the music, not the politics, so figured I should stick with this for the same reason. OK.

Each episode is a fly on the wall documentary about a seemingly mind crushingly mundane job. Estate Agents, Teachers, Mothers, Vicars, basically, the whole spectrum of society. Chris Langham plays Roy Mallard, a documentary maker following their day to day lives. He tries not to get involved, really he does, but somehow winds up annoying everyone, commenting on their decisions, and generally making a bit of an arse of himself.

Subtle, sarcastic, way ahead of its time, and without a laugh track, this is cerebral comedy that went on to inspire the monumentally popular 'The Office.'

Wonderful.

Truely inspired

[Hair Thief · 29 September 2002]

The other comments have covered this series very well but I just had to post my comments.

There has been a new wave of comedy recently, the office, people like us and to a lesser extent Unnovations. They are all packed with jokes but its always left to the viewer to pick up on them.

People like us seems to have an amazing number of jokes in every episode. Roy's commentary is inspired and many times you have to think carefull about what he has said until you realise that it's total gibberish. My example is "he has worked in such diverse places as Yeovil".

Chris Langham has perfect timing, I've never laughed so much as someone just saying "oh" before. Each episode Roy manages to put in foot in every possible cowpat in sight. In fact, in the entire series, Roy is the only normal person. Everyone he interviews misunderstands his questions in an amazingly stupid way. They all tend to be tragic characters who put on a brave face.

The sad thing is that many of the jokes are just thrown away and pass the viewer by.

"she worked on an oil rig just off Norway, then, after servere weather, just off Denmark"

I don't think there will be another series and to be honest I hope there isn't. This series is perfect as it is, any more and the jokes will run thin or they will use the same jokes again. 12 episodes is impressive enough.

Chris Langham has been around for quite a while, he was in Life of Brian and I'm pleased his talent has found a platform at last.

Keep your ears and eyes open all the time!

[bootlebarth · 10/10 · 13 August 2008]

Hapless Roy Mallard (the almost entirely unseen Chris Langham) makes documentaries about 'people like us': bank manager, estate agent, mother, vicar, photographer, pilot, etc. These half hour episodes are as droll as anything you'll see or hear.

The droning narration is a masterpiece of nonsense. Almost every sentence has a misunderstanding, a mixed metaphor or something downright silly. If you like lines like: 'if John and Mary are still together in two years they'll both have been married to the other person, as husband and wife, for the same period of four years', make sure you watch 'People Like Us'. But if you prefer to snigger at custard pies, painful blows to the groin or creepy Benny Hill chasing bikini babes, this won't be your cup of tea.

This is cerebral rather than visceral comedy. There are some running jokes, mainly about the appearance, marital status and name of Roy/Ray Mallard/Nolland/Mattard and the succession of faux pas he commits.

The acting is excellent throughout. Even the credits play the game by not linking performers with their roles. All we see is that the BBC wishes to thank Tom, Dick and Harriet, etc.

Each episode is superficially pedestrian and boring, as we appear to follow a typical day of 'people like us' in the time-honoured 'fly-on-the-wall' manner. But this isn't wham, bam, in your face comedy. You have to concentrate very hard to get everything. Watch out for the flustered mother loading slices of uneaten toast into the dishwasher. Listen to the flight attendant, Susan Churchfield, switching to French, introducing herself as Suzanne Eglisechamp and later asking passengers to return to their assiettes. Note the plane reflected in the office block windows flying backwards.

'People Like Us' is a wonderful series, for those who like that kind of thing. For aficionados, it could hardly be bettered. Rarely has humour been so clever and concentrated. For others, reruns of Benny Hill, Paul Hogan and too many others of that ilk can always be found. I know what I prefer.

One of the best TV series ever!!!

[BadWebDiver · 10/10 · 2 October 2004]

I totally love this series. Roy Mallard has become one of my favourite TV personalities in a long while. And the writing is totally breathtakingly awesome (snicker, snicker).

SPOILER WARNING

This reminds me of "This is Spinal Tap", or "The Rutles", or a John Cleese business video - it has that great deadpan tongue-in-cheek delivery to it. It also makes me think of Albert Brooks' REAL LIFE (which I've heard a lot about, but actually haven't seen - but it is on my list of movies I would like to.)

My fav episodes in this are "The Newspaper", "The Actor","The Airline Pilot" and "The Photographer".

Fabulous series

[androop68 · 9/10 · 14 March 2017]

I purchased a copy of "1001 TV series you must see before you die" the other day and was pretty PO'd, but not surprised, to see that this great show did not make the cut.

"People like us" unfortunately had a number of things going against it:

1. It was one of the very first TV shows to move the mockumentary style from the large screen to TV. As the saying goes, don't be the first mouse to get the cheese. "The Office" (UK) tightened up the formula and made a better fist of it. However, the genre really took off and hit mainstream (and pay dirt) with "Modern Family" (2009) -- a mere 25 years after the genre commenced with "This is Spinal Tap" (1984).

2. A lot of people just don't get irony, subtlety and nuances of any sort - this tends to be an observation of outsiders of Americans in the US and A, but arguably also Canadians, if we go by a previous post on this forum.

3. The show relies heavily on grammatical confusions and wordplay, not just visual gags: a strategy that falls flat in a world increasingly inhabited by people with an appalling grasp of correct grammar. It is obvious to see that a lot of the humour is radio-based, with observers needing to listen, not just hear.

There are so many memorable scenes in this series: the worker daubing "Big Shitt" on his ex-boss' car parking space; the photographer undergoing a hilarious mid-life crisis; the NHS administrator suggesting in a meeting (for which she did not prepare) that the new building is facing the wrong way (and should be turned around!); the pilot giving Roy a roasting, with Roy dubbing over him verbatim.

With the passing of time, an obvious legacy of "People like Us" has been that so many actors partly cut their teeth with this series and went onto bigger things soon after: Bill Nighy and David Tennant just to name two.

For mine, the best episode is "The Vicar": the dysfunctional couple, with the wife aching for it with Roy (LOL), an interlude of "Stairway to Heaven" on the organ, the parishioner pigging out on the biscuits, and the hilarious blessing: "Bless this living stroke dining room".

It may not have been as popular as other mockumentary series, but "People Like Us" has lasted well and still has a charming and agreeable nature about it, and employs subtlety to great effect. Compare this with the second series of "The Office" (UK) which is so overly cringing and awkward as to arguably be a tough watch indeed.

Want More

[viv421 · 10/10 · 22 August 2022]

I LOVED this series. Watched once and then went back to stream again and again. Inventive, clever and laugh out loud quality. Wish US audience could enjoy season two. Highly recommend...

Dead brilliant writing - hilarious!

[MorganaVon · 10/10 · 24 March 2022]

I have only seen 3 episodes, and already I'm a fan. This is absolutely brilliant. It reminds me of Spinal Tap more than The Office because the narrator/filmmaker is a character as well, and adds a lot of the awkwardness and absurdity. I'm going to wait to watch the rest with my husband who is working in the other room asking what I'm laughing about. Fan.

Genius!!!

[ashby-mcdonald · 16 June 2004]

I caught this show on late-night PBS one time and I have made a point to watch several episodes since then. John Morton is a comedic genius! The comedy sort of reminds me of "Spinal Tap" with maybe a hint of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - sort of subtle, and the more you watch it the funnier it gets.

Part of what makes it funny is the main character give a clinic on how NOT to make a documentary: he narrates at inappropriate times, gets too involved in the lives of his subjects when he should be just an observer, does a lot of bad editing, etc. Also, his subjects are so pathetic it's almost painful to watch. Beyond that, I can't really describe what's so funny about it - just watch one episode if you get the chance and you'll understand.

Glorious absurdist linguasnares

[bel-1 · 3 May 2001]

To give an example of the texture of People Like Us, here are the only two lines the actress playing a shoe-shop assistant in episode 5 has. All the other characters speak like this as well, only more so.

"You'll find that over time your feet will start to give with wear."

"Most people have at least one foot that's bigger than the other."

In the same episode, the announcer at a train station can be heard in the background droning po-facedly something like "This train stops at Berksley only, Hemperdon only, Staffordsly only, and Blackpool only."

From an episode set in a school; "Mr. Hensley's Problem-Solving club meets at lunchtime on the third floor, but you're not allowed to use the stairs."

These are only short examples from memory. The body of it, Roy Mallard's narration, relies on him going on so long like that that he forgets how he started the sentence.

You can buy some episodes of the radio series if you want a clearer example. Or look at the entry on radiohaha. That summarises it better than I can. Recommended for fans of On The Hour / The Day Today, although you probably know about it already.

An acquired taste

[scrooge-1 · 28 June 2004]

What appears to be a serious documentary about 'a day in the life' of some member of a profession (policeman, priest, bank manager etc.) is actually a very clever spoof of a documentary. If you listen carefully you realize that most of what the commentator is saying is gibberish – and very funny. The commentator (Roy Mallard) is mostly off camera (except for the occasional hand when requested) and is a fine example of how not to do an interview. Some examples of his commentary –'X is 2 hours from London both by rail and train', 'It's 4pm and everybody has left school except for those who have stayed behind', 'It's 2 p.m. and already the Japanese are on time' and 'the world of financial money'. That's not all. The people whom he interviews are also prone to mangling the English language with many misstatements and misunderstandings. This is not the brash, crude humour that many Americans enjoy but more subtle and laid back. American humour tends overdo the one-liners in order to make sure the audience 'gets it'. This is the type of humour that has to be experienced more than once as it is very easy to miss the subtleties the first time around. Overall, an acquired taste, but much to my liking.

Second series (slight spoilers)

[geffers · 17 July 2001]

In the UK we've just (June 2001) had the second series of this wonderful fake documentary comedy. In this set we saw interviews of a Vicar with questionable faith, a would-be actor, a mother returning to work, a bank on its last legs ("thank you Mrs. Cash") and best of all an airline. The commentary is always full of mixed metaphors, and Roy Mallard always manages put his foot in it. There are always subtle bits that get missed - such as on the airline where the stewardess pours coffee and tea from the same pot, and literally translates her own name into French, along with the announcement that reports the plane to be flying under Paris.

Geffers.

The best sitcom I have seen, second only to Seinfeld.

[darkblade-2 · 2 September 2000]

I really love this sitcom. It´s a breath of fresh air from all those stupid moronic American trash proggies (with exception of Seinfeld, that is). For starters, there is no laugh track. Nobody laughs in the show. I simply love that. It´s great! You don´t hear those damn idiotic laughs that are crammed all over other sitcoms. Second, it´s filmed as a documentary. The basic premise is this guy, Roy Mallard, that walks around interviewing people at work. For example, a headmaster of a nice school, a freelance fotographer, people like that. So, in the beginning, every thing seems quite Unfunny, but then stupid things start to happen. People do mistakes, and funny things, altough they don´t even understand it. For instance, Roy is always saying "Hum" and "Hun hun" in order to advance in the interview. The show is excellent, and I really can´t describe accurately. You have to see it for yourself.

Brilliant

[boattop · 30 September 2018]

You really have to keep your ears open when Roy Mallard is mumbling in the background. He talks quite abit of jiberish jabberish. As on comment said...even Roy saying the word "oh" will break you up. Every episode has the line that folks are truly surprised Roy is married😊 Too bad the creator/"Roy"has been charged with nasty charges. Guess that will be it for awhile.

Hit and Miss

[vox-sane · 27 September 2004]

Chris Langham's fictional documentarian "Roy Mallard" follows people in various professions for a day in their life, to show that they are "just like us". Some of the episodes are extremely funny (the befuddled photographer or the dysfunctional police station are quite good). The humor is often based on embarrassment and, unfortunately, in some of the episodes, the embarrassment and the tension simply mount up and make it as unpleasant as a family argument caught on video.

In the best episodes, the humor rises more from sheer incompetence than tension -- not only from the professionals who have no notion of what they're doing, but from Mallard himself, an utterly inept film maker and interviewer. His voice-overs are pointless. His questions are insipid, and as often as not he'll receive a question answering a question and he'll wind up doing most of the talking. He also gets too involved, bumping into things and sometimes causing the very problems he films.

Occasionally a recognizable face surfaces -- Bill Nighy as the photographer, for instance. Most of the actors are suitably unknown and do a very good job playing real people.

This show is not for people who don't appreciate subtle humor and can't follow a running gag (a joke may be set up in passing in the first few minutes, with the payoff coming much later). The shows are mostly low-key, and Mallard may be sleep-inducing for some. "People Like Us" is at its best is letter-perfect but drags in the episodes where the jokes aren't working.

FIT FOR THE BIN....and not a moment too soon

[Pizzaowner · 29 March 2015]

I will presume this 'comedy' is intended as a mocumentary......mocking it sure tries to be but as for ANY comedy.....forget it....it falls COMPLETELY FLAT. Perhaps it's a UK thing.....or a brain-dead thing but the comedy is on a level FAR FAR below that which is contained in a normal Canadian cartoon. Funny it isn't.....mocking it isn't and as for any suggestion that it might be confused with a genuine documentary......they need not worry.....more chance that Shaun the Sheep might be confused with Silence of the Lamb. If you do nothing else in your life....PLEASE avoid this dreadful waste of time.....filled to the brim with talentless never-were actors and hack writing on a level with grade 5's "What I did this summer'. TRASH....COMPACT IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!