Fresh Meat (TV series)
Encyclopedia
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Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian
gave the opening episode a very positive review, finding it "sharp" and "refreshingly gag-dense".
Phil Hogan's review in The Observer
was also positive,as was Tom Sutcliffe's in The Independent
, which said "what really holds the thing together is an underlying sympathy, the sense that these characters might be comically foolish but they aren't (with some exceptions) contemptible."
However, Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph
called the opening episode's script "a torrent of prattling self-hatred" and found the episode "drainingly bleak".
Rupert Christiansen, also in the Telegraph, was similarly unimpressed, calling it "[p]athetically laboured and over-acted" and "limply written and predictable". Rachel Cooke of The New Statesman
felt the opening episode was a "damp squib" and commented that this might be because "the writers failed to remember that going to university is also rather melancholic, what with all the loneliness, the strange and soon-to-be-shed new friends and the general exhaustion of trying to act cool and grown-up".
The Guardian's review of the second episode was less positive than the first, noting that "at an hour, it just felt too long for the random emptiness of student life. Cut it in half and there's a potentially great comedy".. Simmy Richman of The Independent also took issue with the episode lengths, saying that "at almost an hour, Fresh Meat should really do more in terms of both comedy and drama"
As the first series progressed, The Metro felt it was "proving to be assured and audacious". After the show was recommissioned, The Metro said "this is a series that continues to go from strength to strength, with everything from the performances to the scripts showing marked improvements since the start of the programme".
By the end of the first series, the Radio Times
said the show had been "full of well-worked plotlines and gorgeous character comedy", and The Daily Telegraph praised "the series' admirable habit of stirring pathos
into the flow of gags" as well as complimenting the scripts and performances. The Guardian felt it had "managed to live up to sky-scraping expectations", and The Metro said "Originally billed as a university version of The Inbetweeners
, Fresh Meat has developed into something much more sophisticated than its more-established sibling."
Reception
Critical reaction to the series' opening episodes was mixed, with reviews becoming more positive as the series progressed.Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the opening episode a very positive review, finding it "sharp" and "refreshingly gag-dense".
Phil Hogan's review in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
was also positive,as was Tom Sutcliffe's in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, which said "what really holds the thing together is an underlying sympathy, the sense that these characters might be comically foolish but they aren't (with some exceptions) contemptible."
However, Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
called the opening episode's script "a torrent of prattling self-hatred" and found the episode "drainingly bleak".
Rupert Christiansen, also in the Telegraph, was similarly unimpressed, calling it "[p]athetically laboured and over-acted" and "limply written and predictable". Rachel Cooke of The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
felt the opening episode was a "damp squib" and commented that this might be because "the writers failed to remember that going to university is also rather melancholic, what with all the loneliness, the strange and soon-to-be-shed new friends and the general exhaustion of trying to act cool and grown-up".
The Guardian's review of the second episode was less positive than the first, noting that "at an hour, it just felt too long for the random emptiness of student life. Cut it in half and there's a potentially great comedy".. Simmy Richman of The Independent also took issue with the episode lengths, saying that "at almost an hour, Fresh Meat should really do more in terms of both comedy and drama"
As the first series progressed, The Metro felt it was "proving to be assured and audacious". After the show was recommissioned, The Metro said "this is a series that continues to go from strength to strength, with everything from the performances to the scripts showing marked improvements since the start of the programme".
By the end of the first series, the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
said the show had been "full of well-worked plotlines and gorgeous character comedy", and The Daily Telegraph praised "the series' admirable habit of stirring pathos
Pathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
into the flow of gags" as well as complimenting the scripts and performances. The Guardian felt it had "managed to live up to sky-scraping expectations", and The Metro said "Originally billed as a university version of The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 to 2010 on E4. Created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will , and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The Inbetweeners Movie was...
, Fresh Meat has developed into something much more sophisticated than its more-established sibling."
External links
- Daily Telegraph interview with Fresh Meat creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong