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Fans of Tracey Ullman should take a look at
The Catherine Tate Show, starring British redheaded comedienne Tate (also known from
Doctor Who) as a rogue's gallery of awkward oddballs. Tate immerses herself so deeply in her personae that she's unrecognizable, and not just because of the startlingly realistic makeup that transforms her into, to cite just a few, a snooty upper-class woman with a flatulence problem; an eternally aggrieved elderly lady; or an obnoxious teen girl. Though the sketches are sometimes flimsily developed and Tate has a tendency to milk catchphrases (teenager Lauren's response "Am I bovvered?", delivered whenever she's confronted, is particularly popular), the fullness of her commitment remains impressive. The strongest sketches are often those limited to a single episode of
The Catherine Tate Shows--for example, a woman who's become engaged to an Egyptian man over the Internet and keeps sending him money; Tate not only vanishes into her character as per usual, but there's an edge of sadness and empathy that gives this sketch an added dimension. Oddly, over the course of the season, the repetition of the characters starts to work in Tate's favor. While some of her bits wear out their welcome (the laughing couple grow tiresome within their very first sketch), most of these arrested, oblivious people grow on you. You start to see the world through their obsessive perspective; what initially felt flippant becomes strangely humane and oddly charming.
--Bret Fetzer
DVD Menu
- Disc #1 -- Catherine Tate Show Series 2
- Play All
- Programs
- Chapter 1
- Scene Selections
- Lauren (Field Trip) & Derek Faye (Doctor's Office)
- Sandra Kemp (Police Station) & Tactless Woman (Face)
- Janice and Ray (Mushrooms) & Paul and Sam (Lunchtime)
- Sandra Kemp (Refuge House One) & Tactless Woman (Stutterer)
- Sheila Carter (Funeral Car) & Nan (TV Repair)
- Sandra Kemp (Refuge House - Part Two)
- Chapter 2
- Scene Selections
- Aga Saga Woman (Agency Nanny), Sheila Carter (Taxi) & Lauren (Haggling)
- Moo Shepherd (New Dog) & Bernie (Hypnotist)
- Annoying Waitress (Oops Upside Your Head) & How Much/How Many (Age)
- Moo Shepherd (Dog Collar) & Irene and Vern (Desmond Tutu)
- Nan (Doctor's Office)
- How Much/How Many (Lunch) & Moo Shepherd (Obediance Championship)
- Chapter 3
- Scene Selections
- D.I Angie Barker, Tactless Woman (Birthmark) & Trudy and Ivan (Part One)
- Lauren (Treadmill) & Derek Faye (Video Store)
- Paul and Sam (Wrong Number) & Janice and Ray (Cheese Sandwhiches)
- Trusy and Ivan (Part Two) & Tactless Woman (Cleft Palate)
- Annoying Waitress (Boogie Dogs) & Trudy and Ivan (Part Three)
- Nan (Hospital) & Annoying Waitress (Check it Out)
- Chapter 4
- Scene Selections
- Nan (The Girlfriend)
- Derek Faye (Travel Agent) & Drunk Bride (Part One)
- Croupier (Confused), Annoying Waitress (Pedro) & How Much/How Many (Hairdresser)
- Croupier (Too Much Noise), Drunk Bride (Part Two) & Sheila Carter (Confessional)
- Lauren (Tattoos), Croupier (Off the Table) & Irene and Vern (Gorbachev)
- Drunk Bride (Part Three), How Much/How Many (Theater) & Drunk Bride (Part Four)
- Chapter 5
- Scene Selections
- Paul and Sam (Fancy Dress Party) & Elaine Figgis (Chat Rooms)
- Annoying Waitress (Hot, Hot, Hot) & New Mother (Blocks)
- Bernie (New Surgeon) Elaine Figgis (Egyptian Boyfriend - Part One)
- Nan (After the Funeral) & Sheila Carter (Movie Theater)
- Irene and Vern (Madonna) & Elaine Figgis (Egyptian Boyfriend - Part Two)
- Irene and Vern (Madonna) & Elaine Figgis (Egyptian Boyfriend - Part Two)
- Chapter 6
- Scene Selections
- Tactless Woman (Girlfriend) & Janice and Ray (Tempura)
- Derek Faye (Newsstand) & How Much/How Many (Swear Words)
- Boob Job Babe & Lauren (Are You Gay?)
- Paul and Sam (Buffalo Mozzarella) & Janice and Ray (Escargot)
- Tactless Woman (Deaf Person) & How Much/How Many (Pay Raise)
- Nan (Tommy)