There is a darkness in this humor that is hard to shake off. If you are already familiar with and enjoy the work of Berry and Fulcher then jump right in. They are at their peak here.
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Ceyton22 December 2019
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alexdmcintosh18 March 2021It works when you think of it more as a demo reel, a proof-of-concept of the style and humor Berry would end up perfecting in Toast of London six years later by adding premise, characters and pathos. After all, you'll notice music, character names and even actors from ToL appear here first. Its a fascinating exercise to watch.
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I love British comedy, everything from "Fawlty Towers" and "Are You Being Served?" to the Boosh, "the Office", and "League of Gentlemen". Snuff Box probably leans more towards LOG in terms of menacing atmosphere and milking hateful interactions for laughs. It definitely is not as episodic as Mighty Boosh or those other shows mentioned. Plot and defined story lines are more incidental than anything else, but there are a number of repeating jokes and/or obnoxious characters which become funnier as you come to anticipate what's going to happen. Berry is not as strong an actor as Fulcher (who has one setting; crass obnoxiousness), and sometimes his delivery is a little flat, but it almost becomes charming after a while. I laughed out loud a few times but mostly found myself smirking internally. I also like the music and catchy theme tune, and it's fun when all the characters start going into a song and dance routine. My favorite sketches are the ones with Berry smooth talking random ladies until he finds out they already have a boyfriend, at which point he performs some violent act of property destruction. I do find myself returning to this show over and over, mostly late at night. There's only 6 episodes anyway so you've not wasted much time in watching the whole series.
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BBC3 has brought some fantastic comedy shows to our screens over the last few years like little Britain and the mighty boosh. Snuff box is no exception, in fact it is hilarious and my favourite show of 06, though it isn't to everyones taste.
Matt berry and Rich Fulcher star as a hangman and his American assistant respectably, It is based somewhere in upper class London, which for some reason has a lot mentally ill people roaming the streets. The pair spend their days hanging condemned souls for cash, chasing women and sitting in their rather posh gentleman's club sipping whiskey.
The plot may seem strange but believe me, the comedy moments are priceless and couldn't be achieved by any other show, for example, the execution scenes where we see lads doing their job, hanging criminals with the priest who would rather be down the 'rubber dub' than stand around reading the last rights all day. It may seem sick but it is funny.
With original music including the awesome theme tune (written and composed by Berry),various sketch-like scenes and the incredible comedy double act of Berry and Fulcher, all in all a top show which, if you give it a chance, will have you in stitches. -
movesgrooves5 January 2012First off, I want to say that "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" and "Mr. Show with Bob and David" are two of my favorite shows. And now another alternative comedy, "Snuff Box," is a new favorite. The show features comedians Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher. They played Dixon Bainbridge and Bob Fossil respectively on another marvelous show, "The Mighty Boosh." Berry was additionally on the brilliant "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" as well as "The IT Crowd."
Like any alternative comedy, "Snuff Box" does not adhere to any familiar format. It is not completely a sketch comedy, sitcom, or a dramedy. What is discernible is the outrageous humor. There is an ongoing storyline, which focuses on Berry and Fulcher as a hangman and his assistant. As foils, Berry and Fulcher are hilarious. Nonetheless, the show is strewn with unforgettable bits that display Fulcher's zaniness. There is never a slow moment, and much of the material is genuinely unique. Lastly, the music provided by Berry is a wonderful addition.
I cannot guarantee that those who liked Berry on "The IT Crowd" will enjoy "Snuff Box," as "The IT Crowd" was more mainstream. However, if you are a fan of "The Mighty Boosh," "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace," or alternative comedy in general, I am sure that you will like "Snuff Box." -
john-f-foster18 February 2007Snuff Box is an unconventional sketch show from Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher. Aka Dixon Bainbridge and Bob Fossil from The Mighty Boosh. And not forgetting Berry as Dr Sanchez, in the superb Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
The show is set in a Gentlemen's Club for Hangmen and features hanging, time travel, a variety of sports, fighting, shouting, rude words, pleasure, singing, dancing, intrigue and whisky.
Snuff Box won't appeal to everyone's tastes, but if it were ever repeated, I would encourage you to take a look and see what you think. It provides a refreshing change from the awful but ever popular reality TV and the depressing soap operas.
The music is done by Berry and my favourites must be The Empty Room (a homage to the Old Grey Whistle Test) and The Diary song set in the Gentlemen's Club.
All I can say is anyone who has an out of the ordinary sense of humour, needs to watch Snuff Box. -
wikipediacabal6 January 2014This show is a high point in the British tradition of sitcoms which give the most oblivious, selfish and lewd male characters free reign to inflict hurt upon the world. The boors also suffer but there is little justice or fairness to be found. More often the cruelty just mounts and no one escapes some awful fate. I am reminded of absurdist theater but with better jokes. I agreed with dschmeding that Mr. Show and the Tim and Eric Awesome Show from the USA are comparison points. But those shows exhibit some sense of balance and compassion. Perhaps dschmeding's low rating reflects his desire for this sort of ethical balance in a comedy story. That is a more popular approach, certainly in feature films. As for me, I find the laughs in Snuff Box harder for their sheer offensiveness and unfairness. The lack of ethical logic keeps the jokes from being predictable. In real life no one could never get away with doing anything that happens on this show. If you weren't killed on the spot you would be quickly locked away. Lovers of Peep Show, the original British The Office and Extras will enjoy this show though they should expect a heightened level of offensiveness. I call it offensive because I realize it is often seen as offensive, but I have not been offended by anything on Snuff Box. I haven't seen anything from American television that can compete for sheer low taste. But if you go out and watch stand-up groups like New York City's UCB perform live without censorship and advertiser pressure, you'll find some of the same type of funny, and it's more shocking and satisfying live.
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I'm a big fan of Matt Berry from IT Crowd and Dark Place, but this one wasn't quite as on par with them. The music turned me on to Berry's albums which I think are all great, he truly is an enlightened musician with infectious tunes. There is a grace to it that I don't think filters into this show's comedy the same way. I see it like when H. Jon Benjamin had his own show, I'm all for dark humor but his and Berry's humor are better off seeing some balance, instead of leaning almost completely on dark / being a dick (or maybe I'm not into that level of dark humor). I think Berry totally accomplished this in the scenes where he acts like a gentleman with a girl, until she mentions she has a boyfriend and he lashes out. That shows a bit of vulnerability which makes it believable. I'm not saying to lighten up on the dark humor, but I'd like to have seen more depth with it to keep me tuned in.
Fulcher playing the American idiot had its moments, but it got old pretty fast for me born and raised in the US, assuming maybe it'd be more funny if I was a critical Brit. This might be why Mr. Show worked better for me too, an American take on dark humor.
Back to IT Crowd, I think one of the best things about it is there is more balance with the character, Jen (who is brilliant in that show). In addition to the testosterone and geeky computer humor, Moss and Roy have to share their office with a woman with her own problems, which adds tension and levels the playing field.
Overall I'm always excited to see Matt Berry in any production, with his hilarious, ironically fine-tuned manner of speaking (whiskaaayy!). Rich Fulcher, not really sure this is him at his best for me, but I'd be interested to see his other work. -
From the shocking opening scene to the oddly moving final song at the end of the series, Snuffbox will make you laugh at the strangeness of its writing and then gasp as suddenly it takes a vicious dark turn.
Not every sketch is what it appears from the outset and the use of what would normally be clichéd jokes as deliberate points to then rip from the norm is not only clever, but original if occasionally disgusting.
This is not comedy for the every day, this is not comedy for those who enjoy the nice sort of story that has happy couples having the vicar around for tea. This is comedy for those with a dark heart who enjoy exploring the dangerous side of humour.
So if you can find a gory death funny, can laugh at obsessive behaviour and are not easily offended, then this is for you. Not only that, the music is worthy of a listen on its own and it has to be said that Berry has the most unusual yet tuneful voice.
This show is not as nihilistically brutal as say Chris Morris' Jam, but it is still at the black edge of British comedy and is worthy of your time. -
alicesamanita-973-2364421 January 2015You know it is an awesome show when you watch it over three times and literally laugh so hard that you vomit. Yes. I vomited. Three times last night from laughter. It was something that randomly popped up on Netflix due to my love of British TV shows and my husband and I both binged on it and adopted their special song for many events, including random Facebook messages and posting. I love this show-they need to get on it and make more! This is a great show with dark humor on occasion, but mixed up with the awesomeness of good old British humor. Thanks for the show and I hope they make more! As a side note, I would like to add that I would enjoy seeing these actors in more stand up and TV shows because I have yet to find much of them anywhere.
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dschmeding24 August 2009I stumbled across this comedy show since I read several positive remarks on it and since I am a huge fan of UK comedy I gave it a try. Honestly... most jokes are as stupid as stuff you see on German TV at Friday nights comedy shows. I watched 4 episodes and I didn't laugh ONCE. To make it clear... I don't need laugh tracks to show me where the fun is and I sure like the basic way the show is presented by not just adding clip to clip but making them reference each other and blending one scene to the next BUT... although "Snuff Box" incorporates these ideas I wonder who considers the show innovative or intelligent because the segways are done in similar concept shows like Mr. Show or Tim+Eric way more creative (Tim+Eric take creativity over the top for that matter). Here it just blends dull jokes in recurring situations and locations (a country club where the 2 main characters chat, a sex-shop where one gets beaten up by different guys behind the counter, a guy always stealing the least valuable goods when presented with suitcases of cash and some execution scenes) which seem forced when they try to get some attention by making fun of death and misfortune, prostitution or swearing all the time and even then seem childish and dumb rather than shocking or over the top. The whole thing just seems so wrong to me I wonder who gave a budget to this. Avoid and rather try US Alternatives like the fore-mentioned Tim+Eric or Mr.Show with David Cross.
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Pukeonthestreet11 February 2020This show has some of my favorite running gags of all time. Matt Berry kills it as always.
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I'm late to see this and unfortunately only tripped over it a t 2.30am, I can now see why it's broadcast at such an unearthly hour. If nothing else it was good reason to go to bed.
After 30 minutes of this tripe I was totally unamused, not even one smile let alone a laugh. As a fan of alternative and dark humour I found that this show had no redeeming features, absolutely nothing. At best this has only been devised as an ego boosting vehicle for two very unfunny talentless nonentities. No wonder it disappeared without trace.
Avoid at all costs.