Name: Harry Hill: Man Alive
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1997-10-27
Duration: 1 h 6 min
Rating: 7.8
Cast: Harry Hill, Matt Bradstock, Magda Archer

A touch more structure would have helped but still very funny once he gets rolling

Harry Hill is an acquired taste for sure, although years of him being on TV with his various shows and of course the success of TV Burp have seen him become a little more accessible while the mass taste moves to meet him nearer where he was. Personally I was a big fan of him from his Channel 4 days but had never really seen him "live" until recently. Watching this live show in light of his TV work is a bit jarring because, while I love how scatty he can be, it is a bit of a surprise to see how very here, there and everywhere he can be in his live shows.

This was the case here as he came on with some very odd things (including a black Stouffer and several ginger wigs) and it seemed a bit too random and lacking in context. Of course his strength is to have all these running jokes constantly being called back and being funnier every time and this was the case with this show and he got funnier after we had seen the first or second variations of the running jokes ("go away from the flats" in particular making me laugh). The downside of this is that the show doesn't have too much structure so you never really feel settled into a pace and have these things occur within that structure. This is the approach that he did so well on TV without giving his style up and, as one used to this, I must say I do prefer it.

That said this is still a very funny show and one that gets better as the running gags settle in – although things like the opening video and some of the audience interaction doesn't really work. If you like Hill though, you'll like this, even if the lack of "traditional" structure takes a second to settle into.

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Harry Hill: Man Alive

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