At time of watching season 2 I learnt that House of Fools had not been renewed for a third season. This was not really a surprise although what did surprise me was that there did seem to be disappointment and surprise in some quarters. I generally enjoyed the show but even fans of Vic and Bob surely must see that this is not their best work, and that the sitcom format was not really working no matter how hard they pushed at it. The second season is very clear in this regard as the plots are not always particularly good and even the knowing self-referential humor regarding the show being a show, do not totally carry it. It is telling perhaps that the most enjoyable show of the season was the one with no plot, so it did give the characters and cast a lot more of a free-form feel.
Regardless of narrative, the humour also tends towards the crude and slightly 1970's in nature, with bells inside breasts, clumsy innuendo, and rather basic material in the mix. Because it is Vic and Bob, I did tend to go with it as part of their general style of humor, but I did have to be honest that it still is what it is. The cast are mixed. Vic and Bob are both on good form and enjoying themselves, and Berry is having fun and is fun. Robinson has too much of the basic 1970's style comedy, while Skinner's character doesn't work as well as he would like. Simonsen's character being a single joke was not great in the first season, so I am not sure why we get that one joke in stereo with the addition of White's Rachel.
Like the first season and Christmas special, this does really need you to be fans of the duo so that you can go with the weaker material; however even with that it is hard to avoid the feeling that the sitcom format is not a great fit for them, and that too much of the humor is aimed too much at a base silliness, rather than an inspired one.
Regardless of narrative, the humour also tends towards the crude and slightly 1970's in nature, with bells inside breasts, clumsy innuendo, and rather basic material in the mix. Because it is Vic and Bob, I did tend to go with it as part of their general style of humor, but I did have to be honest that it still is what it is. The cast are mixed. Vic and Bob are both on good form and enjoying themselves, and Berry is having fun and is fun. Robinson has too much of the basic 1970's style comedy, while Skinner's character doesn't work as well as he would like. Simonsen's character being a single joke was not great in the first season, so I am not sure why we get that one joke in stereo with the addition of White's Rachel.
Like the first season and Christmas special, this does really need you to be fans of the duo so that you can go with the weaker material; however even with that it is hard to avoid the feeling that the sitcom format is not a great fit for them, and that too much of the humor is aimed too much at a base silliness, rather than an inspired one.
