jayneflakes 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.

wikipediacabal This 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.

teddyhose 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.

dschmeding I 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.