Brilliant acting and brilliant scene. Poignant and melancholic, with a touch of humour. And the teary eyes at the end... This makes me sad and happy at the same time!
I love how they get us to laugh at Holmes and then smack us in the face with the awful tragedy of it. Here is a great man turned to rubble. His lucid moments grow fewer and fewer, and are nothing but painful reminders of who he used to be.
And as your heart wrenches itself apart and the show ends for the last time, you sit in a pool of your own tears and marvel at the masterwork of emotion you've just witnessed.And then you remember them criticising comedy shows with sad endings.
And you realise you've just been fucked by God's own trolls.
I love the transition of the audience's reactions to this. The laughter becomes so unsure after about a couple of minutes, and then it's gone. I think it's just the sign of Mitchell and Webb's absolutely awesome work.
I always found this weird as it was the last sketch in one of their episodes. Yeah, I later found out (as has been mentioned in the comments already) that it was referring to the somber Blackadder ending.
Still, it was a real wtf moment when watching it on TV, because it is indeed sad.
this is so heartbreaking. when Holmes says "I can't get the fog to clear" and Robert Webb himself looks like he's going to cry, that's when I start crying, oh man.
"oh dear...looks like a two pipe problem"......the sketch gets all serious and then booom.... this is the darkest comedy ever....the idea of sherlock holmes loosing his mind is fucked
tragedy tends to make comedy that much better (read: more empathetic), because everyone can relate to pain and suffering in life. more TV needs to be like this, and inject a little feeling into the banal horseshit that tends to make up the majority of programming.
Never thought I'd get teary-eyed (and not from too much laughter) from a Mitchell and Webb clip. This is too amazing. Great performance by both of them.
While it's true that this is clearly in reference to their earlier points about comedies with sentimental endings, it doesn't mean it isn't moving. I reckon that's what they were going for. It is nice to see a bit of sincerity anywhere, even (and sometimes especially) in a comedy show.
As someone who's had a close personal friend who's suffered from alzheimers, I didn't laugh at this. I wasn't offended, because this is a beautifully tragic portrayal of the harsh reality of the condition, but I don't imagine it was actually supposed to be funny.
@aworldanonymous I think he first 4 minutes of humour is meant to juxtapose the harsh reality it is showing and the tear-jerking ending to show the pain and suffering for all involved just makes the humour much brighter and the poignant ending much more tragic.
Fantastically beautiful and clever writing I think we can all appreciate...
Look, I'm the biggest David Mitchell fan on earth and whilst his "I'm a Chinaman" line is one of my very favourites, it's actually Robert Webb I want to praise here - he plays this part superbly!
I think that the level of ambivalence in this sketch is wonderful. I giggled so hard when he shouted "Look, I'm a China man!", and yet I cried so much at the end. It makes you realise how talented David and Robert actually are at acting, and shows that they have more to them than making us laugh our arses off. To that, I salute them! *Salutes*
Beautiful and truly presented in a funny and poignant way. Especially if you have had family members lost to dementia who have had those moments of clarity and awareness.
As soon as the music stopped I knew this wasn't the usual sketch, still couldn't have braced myself for this though. It's like Del Boy patting Uncles/Grandads chair after Uncle dies in Only fools..., or Blackadder dismissing Baldricks last cunning plan, but without any sarcasm or cruel intention, just a "no Baldrick, I don't think so...sorry" sort of answer, though he dosen't say it specifically.
@SirSebastianWang They have an audience, they do live shows as well. The audience you see in some sketches on the programme is sometimes the actual audience, it's like making a t.v show and a live show with audience participation at once. See the sketch about Mitchells chiropractor.
Of course, in Blackadders case it can also be seen as a "we understand the sadness within the historical events we've made fun of, and respect the sacrifices made" sort of thing, which you could hardly mock for being out of place anyway.
I quite like this, it reminds me of going over the top in Blackadder, or Del Boy patting Uncle/ Grandads empty chair in Only fools and horses. Some of the most powerful t.v moments come from comedies, because it's like suddenly being stabbed in the heart.
Some people analyse too much and say "it's a parody, they're mocking this trend". I disagree, I think comedy writers see it as a traditional thing to do, maybe to indirectly show that the series meant more to them than just jokes.
Utterly heartbreaking. A fabulous way to focus upon a very relevant topic, first as comedy then as serious reflection: this is the way one copes with dementia. You sometimes laugh in order to cope, and sometimes you cry. The use of Holmes is provocative for both comic and emotive reasons. People who have been commenting upon this sketch as though the emotive element was somehow false I believe misunderstand it.
A second thought on the possibility that they actually were serious: Maybe it's (like the Blackadder-episode they were referring to the episode before) less a moment for the audience but for the authors. I can imagine that being sarcastic, harsh an cynical can make you feel like nothing mattered to you anymore, especially when you get paid for it. They maybe just wanted to reasure themselves that they had actual concerns that mattered. Still that would be an egoistic move to the audience.
A daring move because it remains to be a middle finger to the audience if not perceived right. They couldn't have done this other than deadly serious, but if they had really ment it to be this way and intended to affront everyone, they wouldn't have announced it earlier on. Also it is quite a cheap tactic of making fun of something and then pointing to the audience while they were the ones who have made up all these in the end 'horrible' jokes. This is almost a meta-joke, if such things exist.
Why are people analysing this to such high degrees? As already said, it's a joke about the unusual shift of stance, from comedic to serious, in order to try and appear something other then amusing entertainment.
Mitchell and Webb had some seriously dark moments in this series: the quiz broadcast with Nick the announcer being the only humans left alive and then this sketch (okay, 2 moments). The Holmes sketch was particularly heartfelt. Makes me wonder why they haven't been able to write a feature with the same sort of ressonance.
I love how silence-stricken everything is, so much that you can actually just hear the birds chirping in the background. This actually stunned me when I first watched it. Seriously, stuff like this makes me suprised that both of these actors don't do more 'serious' roles in their careeers: They're bloody good at it. Although, the effect this has could also just be down to good writing.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I think people are looking into this too much. It's merely a continuation of the joke about comedies having a strangely out of place dramatic climax to attempt to be taken seriously. By praising them for the dramatic punch of this sketch, you are falling into their trap.
@Grashnook It hardly constitutes "falling for a trap" if the audience respects the duo's dramatic abilities enough to call it genuinely moving. Few comedy sketches can be simultaneously comedic and tragic, and considering this ending piece in the greater context of an extended joke only renders both dramatic components more effective, because it wasn't played half-arsed.
@Grashnook You're right, but you can praise this scene without falling into the trap. The trap is about whether the scene is there or not - you'd be right to praise this sketch on its own merits as an incredibly well written and acted dramatic scene
@Grashnook I hardly think that having an emotional response to a sketch on a TV show is "falling into their trap." I mean isn't that the point of comedy, to make you feel something? By that logic all the great directors have not honed their craft to a point where they can actually make an audience feel something but have only set a trap that we have fallen into.
@Grashnook Dramatic endings have been used in comedy frequently as a way of reminding the audience that the subject matter (however funny they have made it) is often very serious.
To dimiss the ending of this sketch as another joke seems kind of insulting to the writers. The likelyhood is they were reminding the audience that while the dementia/alzheimers depicted in these scenes is funny, it is incredibly difficult for sufferers and their family/friends in real life.
@Grashnook it may be a continuation of the joke, but anyone who has lost someone to Alzheimers, dementia or senility will see the beauty of this scene.
@Grashnook I don't really get this sketch. Either way it's interpreted, it's not funny. In order to lampoon dramatic endings to comedies as you suggest, they would need to do something to make it humourous. Instead, they appear to have mimicked the technique EXACTLY. It's like the comedy version of a Poe; there's no way to differentiate this (alleged) satire from the real thing. It would be interesting to hear from M&W what they were attempting here.
@Askorvorn No. In a previous episode they were doing one of their behind the scene sketches, and Mitchell pointed out how much he despised comedy shows that end on a tragic note. Like making all these jokes throughout the whole series, and then having someone die or grow old just to show some depth in their show..... personally i agree... its like giving Seinfeld a "Friends" sort of ending. This probably goes down as one of my top 5 fav. sketches from this magnificent duo!!!!!
@kamokilla2000 But 'Robert' convinces him that it's worthy. The Quiz Broadcast is perhaps a better indication of the sincerity and irony in the final scene.
@Grashnook But isn't it also self-ironising? I feel as if their point is also that, by being genuinely dramatically effective, they've also fallen into their own trap.
@Grashnook The sketch about Black Adder Goes Fourth wasn't making fun of the 'out of place' tragic ending but recognising that the tragedy of World War I needed to be acknowledged. The joke was that 'Robert' and 'David' didn't quite get how to do that. That's how I read it anyway.
@Grashnook can i just ask how you know they are mocking it, could they not just be putting in the drama for drama's sake? im not saying it isnt a mockery, i just want to know how you found this out
@BearSavageness@BearSavageness It's obvious if you've seen the previous sketch and completely impossible to figure out if you haven't. I disagree with the uploader in that I think it's perfectly fine to think it's a good and touching sketch despite this. They're not taking the piss out of the audience, they're taking the piss out of themselves.
The message to me here, is that comedy and tradegy must always co-exist. Like their sir digby chicken ceaser sketch, as hilarious as it is, at the end of the day its two homeless mentally ill addicts. Here we see a set up for a typical sketch poking fun at such an occurence, before dropping the comedic veil and reveiling the tradegy behind it all. Very moving...Or their just doing it because they can, either way.
@jaws100001 He knows that his mind is decaying, and that Watson is doing all he can to make him feel well. It was a moment of clarity when he could see what a state he was in, and that he was powerless to do anything about it.
It's common in some sufferers of dementia to know they are slowly losing their minds, before they finally succumb to it they are aware. When he talks about the fog, what he means is he knows when the madness sets in and to him it is like a fpg. Some times he has his lucid moments but he gets lost in the fog.
Totally devastating. Mitchell portrays the total futility of someone who has fallen so far from grace with such subtly, as does Webb when at an utter loss of what to say, as he's the only one on whom Holmes could place that burden. Excellent piece of dramatic acting, and a decent homage to Blackadder Goes Forth.
And yet, am I the only one who thinks this scene was somewhat out of place in a sketch show? It seems these characters are introduced right at the end, purely for the sake of poignancy.
In a way that's sort of the point. By having the joke in the previous episode about meaningful endings, they've set themselves up for this satire - something that is both so beautiful and dramatic and yet, simultaniously rips the piss out of the audience for falling into the 'trap' of the satire they were potraying in their previous episode.
I see that that was their intent, but they screwed up and instead made one of the best bits of drama that I've seen in a while. Kinda like the Producers, where did they go right?
It was out of place but not in a bad way. I suppose that this was mostly an homage to Blackadder but in a way it kind of said that they know that not every situation needs to be made fun of (once again reminiscent of Blackadder)
@leftovers0 In regards to the second pargraph, they introduced them at the last minute purely for the poingnancy, they did one of their semi-real "David talking to Rob" sketches where they talked about a comedy show ending with sadness.
@leftovers0 Perhaps on some sketch shows it would have been out of place, but I think alongside the 'The Quiz Broadcast' sketch and with the set up about Blackadder Goes Forth earlier in the episode it fit in fairly well.
Please forgive me for being slow on the uptake, but what is the significance of this sketch? I don't really get it.
Is it that Mitchell and Webb are doing a serious sketch at the end of their comedy series to show that they can do serious acting as well?
Are they doing a Blackadder-type ending to their series to remind people that not all aspects of tragic humour is funny (as Blackadder does with WW1)?
Or is it a tragic portrayal of how Holmes actually dies in ACD's books (i.e from alzheimer's)?
@jakec28 In the previous episode during one of their chats out of character they talk about doing a meaningful ending like Blackadder Goes Forth. At the end of that episode they do a red herring ending which is purposefully depressing and lame.
They then blindside the audience in this final episode with a real tragic ending that comes out of nowhere.
I wasn't aware that Holmes died from alzheimers but that is one more layer to it if thats the case.)
The best part is that the serious part is still a joke from episode 5, where they have a running joke about killing a character to give the series dramatic weight, and you expect that to have ended in the previous episode.
@SynthOno also, earlier in this same episode, they do a sketch where they're sat around on set discussing how sometimes comedians try to shoe-horn in dramatic scenes that are utterly out of style with the rest of the show, just to prove that they're real actors.
Amazing that they can integrate such emotional empathy and comedy together. At first I didn't get the joke at the end "looks like a 2 pipe problem" because I was so moved. Still after having a grandfather who suffered from Alzheimer's, this sketch really tugs at my heart strings.
Wow just reading the youtube comments without watching the video has sent shivers down me, thats when you know something is extremely emotional and brilliant...
@existenceisrelative A sketch by two British comedians who turned it from comedy to tragedy at the blink of an eye . But you are American, so I dont expect you to understand the sheer brilliance of it .
@jrb1802uk Despite your astoundingly insulting comment I would still like to know, is this really how they're ending it? They're not making any more? And their last act was taking one of the best characters ever created by fiction and fucking up the end of his life? That doesn't horrify you? It makes me increasingly upset the more I think of it. Not only was this the last impression I have of what is the only sketch show I've ever liked. But they turned Holmes and Watson sad for me too.
@existenceisrelative Am genuinely sorry for the insult , was having a pretty off day when I wrote that comment yesterday. Please accept my apology. Didn't mean to cause offence. And as far as I know, David Mitchell as kind of said, "never say never" on a new series. He (as well as Robert Webb) has other projects in the pipeline. As for horrifying me, it saddened me a great deal, was not expecting that ! Very powerful scene nonetheless. Peace to you . - JRB
Brilliant acting and brilliant scene. Poignant and melancholic, with a touch of humour. And the teary eyes at the end... This makes me sad and happy at the same time!
Arbaz1704 51 minutes ago
so sad 8'(
RaggiBoy1 1 day ago
Fucking wow. That was so sad.
Immafirinmahlazer 1 day ago
I think this will be seen as a really great sketch in years to come
vhead1 2 days ago
Aww god. This is so depressing... oh god. Life is so bad...
rupeizluv 2 days ago
this was such a beautiful scene. I almost imagined it could be a possible future for Holmes :)
Destro7000 2 days ago
Oh god...its so sad
danupert 2 days ago
never laughed once because this is too true
danmcaulay 3 days ago
sod alzheimers
sansculottinho 6 days ago 8
@sansculottinho I got the joke!
reka10 3 days ago
This is what great comedy is about.
JosephJamesScott 1 week ago
One of the saddest things I've ever seen.
MrOnionterror 2 weeks ago 6
Beautifully acted
kinglouiz1 2 weeks ago 7
I love how they get us to laugh at Holmes and then smack us in the face with the awful tragedy of it. Here is a great man turned to rubble. His lucid moments grow fewer and fewer, and are nothing but painful reminders of who he used to be.
DrCyclopsKSC 2 weeks ago 14
sod cancer
ChartreuseDan 2 weeks ago
Tears at 4:40
CurvageMonster 3 weeks ago 3
Made me well up the first time I saw it, and still does. Beautifully sad and well acted.
TeganxxxBobbyDazzler 4 weeks ago 8
Wow. So many Hollywood productions fail with millions of dollars at their disposal to what this simple sketch does in about ten seconds: make me cry.
SIngli6 1 month ago 15
3:26 hahahhahahaha
Rigbylane 1 month ago
The Mitchell and Webb equivalent of the end of Blackadder.
bobdy9988 1 month ago in playlist Favorite videos 5
The last part was unexpected yet great.
Chrisfs59 1 month ago
Oh God...I am crying!
Logitah 1 month ago
After watching last Sunday's season finale of Sherlock, this skit isn't helping me get over any sad feelings :c
FringeFreak56 1 month ago 7
In the previous episode, in one of the "behind the scenes" sketches, Mitchell says they should do more serious stuff
TW292 1 month ago
Sad as hell.
PwnZombie 1 month ago
Beautifully moving.
SpoonFeedThem 1 month ago
This sketch is great and shows how well these guys can act. When it gets serious, you almost get choked up.
mixedsignalsmusicorg 1 month ago
This is, to me, the least funny Mitchell and Webb sketch ever.
I say that as someone who's closely followed Look, Situation and Sound for a long time.
It's also, to me, the best Mitchell and Webb sketch ever.
MoogleFTW 1 month ago 9
He sounded like Matt Smith when he said "Where's my slipper?" the first time.
mzmegg33 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
"..I can't get the fog to clear."
as a Conan Doyle fan, that was a really touching sketch.
MrHEC381991 1 month ago 3
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MrHEC381991 1 month ago
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MrHEC381991 1 month ago
I wonder if Jude Law could act this good? lol
CaptainGrimes1 1 month ago
Watson's reaction at the end truly gets to me. First time I watched this, a piece of me died with him. And I can still feel it.
I'd never wish such a fate as this on anyone, fictional or not.
PepperCyanide 1 month ago 6
If the laughs weren't played over this, it would be harrowing. Somehow, with the laughs... It's even more so...
Septuos 1 month ago 3
this should be expanded into a full movie, a character study of old Holmes would be far better than those recent sherlock movies
GeatMaster 1 month ago
And as your heart wrenches itself apart and the show ends for the last time, you sit in a pool of your own tears and marvel at the masterwork of emotion you've just witnessed.And then you remember them criticising comedy shows with sad endings.
And you realise you've just been fucked by God's own trolls.
You magnificent bastards.
Havockeer 1 month ago 9
It's not taking the piss outta people with alzheimers, it's taking the piss outta this specific character, which is funny lol
androwbmx 1 month ago
SOBBING
OH MY GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME
Capeircorn 2 months ago
I love the transition of the audience's reactions to this. The laughter becomes so unsure after about a couple of minutes, and then it's gone. I think it's just the sign of Mitchell and Webb's absolutely awesome work.
MonkeyMan0x 2 months ago 10
I always found this weird as it was the last sketch in one of their episodes. Yeah, I later found out (as has been mentioned in the comments already) that it was referring to the somber Blackadder ending.
Still, it was a real wtf moment when watching it on TV, because it is indeed sad.
ProjectAmmonite 2 months ago
Jesus fucking christ, i went in grinning and came out sobbing
Unevaluated 2 months ago 8
It hits you twice as hard when comedians do drama, especially when a comedic sketch turns to drama... plain brilliant, put tears in my eyes!
twdk01 2 months ago 4
soo sad :( so brillaint :)
MegaCOYS 2 months ago
this is so heartbreaking. when Holmes says "I can't get the fog to clear" and Robert Webb himself looks like he's going to cry, that's when I start crying, oh man.
siobhangrs 2 months ago 7
brilliant and very beautiful
ADVSProductions 2 months ago
Excellent very touching
achinner 2 months ago
its supposed to be the blackadder ending thing. the last bit isnt a joke at all thats the reason you don't find it funny.
TheByakuzo 2 months ago
I wanted to laugh and cry. D:
PianoWizzy 2 months ago
"oh dear...looks like a two pipe problem"......the sketch gets all serious and then booom.... this is the darkest comedy ever....the idea of sherlock holmes loosing his mind is fucked
hogtownbro 2 months ago
Deserves an award.
zenkonami 2 months ago
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isabel992 3 months ago
tragedy tends to make comedy that much better (read: more empathetic), because everyone can relate to pain and suffering in life. more TV needs to be like this, and inject a little feeling into the banal horseshit that tends to make up the majority of programming.
TMA2 3 months ago 2
It is moving, funny, but moving. Even moreso if you've known people in situations like this.
FretboardToAsh 3 months ago
In a sense, having Holmes killed off with Moriarty would have been the only fitting end for such an epic character.
Bloodlovefreak 3 months ago
Never thought I'd get teary-eyed (and not from too much laughter) from a Mitchell and Webb clip. This is too amazing. Great performance by both of them.
ellamlc37 3 months ago
"O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown..."
clandestineone 4 months ago
I appreciate this more now that ive read Conan Doyle
CaptainGrimes1 4 months ago
I think this also means they won't be doing another series, like Blackadder :(
cjk8 4 months ago
While it's true that this is clearly in reference to their earlier points about comedies with sentimental endings, it doesn't mean it isn't moving. I reckon that's what they were going for. It is nice to see a bit of sincerity anywhere, even (and sometimes especially) in a comedy show.
cjk8 4 months ago
As someone who's had a close personal friend who's suffered from alzheimers, I didn't laugh at this. I wasn't offended, because this is a beautifully tragic portrayal of the harsh reality of the condition, but I don't imagine it was actually supposed to be funny.
aworldanonymous 4 months ago 80
@aworldanonymous I agree completely.
makikomi 4 months ago
@aworldanonymous I think he first 4 minutes of humour is meant to juxtapose the harsh reality it is showing and the tear-jerking ending to show the pain and suffering for all involved just makes the humour much brighter and the poignant ending much more tragic.
Fantastically beautiful and clever writing I think we can all appreciate...
SimonAllanSAS 3 weeks ago 8
@aworldanonymous it was suppose to be funny and tragic..... the two are not mutually exclusive
255ad 3 weeks ago 2
Look, I'm the biggest David Mitchell fan on earth and whilst his "I'm a Chinaman" line is one of my very favourites, it's actually Robert Webb I want to praise here - he plays this part superbly!
DDslinky 5 months ago 69
IM A CHINAMAN
tominator999 5 months ago
...am I the only one who was still laughing at the end?
evilanagram 5 months ago
@evilanagram I laughed at the end when it first aired on TV, because of the "two pipe problem" thing.
I felt bad afterwards though, since NONE OF MY FAMILY were laughing.
Fanusunay 5 months ago
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evertonjoe 5 months ago
I think that the level of ambivalence in this sketch is wonderful. I giggled so hard when he shouted "Look, I'm a China man!", and yet I cried so much at the end. It makes you realise how talented David and Robert actually are at acting, and shows that they have more to them than making us laugh our arses off. To that, I salute them! *Salutes*
3GreenMojo 6 months ago 5
Brb, crying.
nerdyenglishgirl 6 months ago 3
I can't get the fog to clear.
I tried so hard not to cry after that :(
yomped 6 months ago
Beautiful and truly presented in a funny and poignant way. Especially if you have had family members lost to dementia who have had those moments of clarity and awareness.
mayasky76 6 months ago in playlist That Mitchell and Webb Playlist
As soon as the music stopped I knew this wasn't the usual sketch, still couldn't have braced myself for this though. It's like Del Boy patting Uncles/Grandads chair after Uncle dies in Only fools..., or Blackadder dismissing Baldricks last cunning plan, but without any sarcasm or cruel intention, just a "no Baldrick, I don't think so...sorry" sort of answer, though he dosen't say it specifically.
scaryninja1693 6 months ago
Sod Cancer.
Faronadriel 6 months ago 5
Mitchell and Webb just transcended in my eyes with this sketch, good lord man
Thurzotron 6 months ago
Without the canned laughter, this would be so tragic.
SirSebastianWang 6 months ago
@SirSebastianWang
It isn't canned
muffin8or 6 months ago
@SirSebastianWang They have an audience, they do live shows as well. The audience you see in some sketches on the programme is sometimes the actual audience, it's like making a t.v show and a live show with audience participation at once. See the sketch about Mitchells chiropractor.
scaryninja1693 6 months ago
I just read Alone on the Water and now I'm watching this.
Tears.
friendofidiocy 6 months ago 2
Gotta be the only comedy sketch that can bring you to tears
TheBecauseimawesome 7 months ago 2
hey whats the music throughout this?
LloydDutch 7 months ago
Of course, in Blackadders case it can also be seen as a "we understand the sadness within the historical events we've made fun of, and respect the sacrifices made" sort of thing, which you could hardly mock for being out of place anyway.
scaryninja1693 7 months ago
I quite like this, it reminds me of going over the top in Blackadder, or Del Boy patting Uncle/ Grandads empty chair in Only fools and horses. Some of the most powerful t.v moments come from comedies, because it's like suddenly being stabbed in the heart.
Some people analyse too much and say "it's a parody, they're mocking this trend". I disagree, I think comedy writers see it as a traditional thing to do, maybe to indirectly show that the series meant more to them than just jokes.
scaryninja1693 7 months ago
Utterly heartbreaking. A fabulous way to focus upon a very relevant topic, first as comedy then as serious reflection: this is the way one copes with dementia. You sometimes laugh in order to cope, and sometimes you cry. The use of Holmes is provocative for both comic and emotive reasons. People who have been commenting upon this sketch as though the emotive element was somehow false I believe misunderstand it.
glkification 7 months ago 3
A second thought on the possibility that they actually were serious: Maybe it's (like the Blackadder-episode they were referring to the episode before) less a moment for the audience but for the authors. I can imagine that being sarcastic, harsh an cynical can make you feel like nothing mattered to you anymore, especially when you get paid for it. They maybe just wanted to reasure themselves that they had actual concerns that mattered. Still that would be an egoistic move to the audience.
Anteeeru 7 months ago 2
A daring move because it remains to be a middle finger to the audience if not perceived right. They couldn't have done this other than deadly serious, but if they had really ment it to be this way and intended to affront everyone, they wouldn't have announced it earlier on. Also it is quite a cheap tactic of making fun of something and then pointing to the audience while they were the ones who have made up all these in the end 'horrible' jokes. This is almost a meta-joke, if such things exist.
Anteeeru 7 months ago
Why are people analysing this to such high degrees? As already said, it's a joke about the unusual shift of stance, from comedic to serious, in order to try and appear something other then amusing entertainment.
Theanonymous1s 7 months ago
i think il apply to do charity work with people suffering from dementia :'(
AngusTheWolf 7 months ago
They lure you in with the laughs and then they stab you right in the heart. That just evil, wonderful talent these guys have.
DigitalBookWorm 7 months ago 3
You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a senile old vegetable.
rikko338 7 months ago
@rikko338
Too damn true. What an ending...!
DiamondSoul 7 months ago
whats that classical song at the start?
sbrookes1991 7 months ago
@sbrookes1991 The classical music all the way through is Meditation from Thais by Massenet.
Melancoholic1 7 months ago
@Melancoholic1 Thank you ;)
sbrookes1991 7 months ago
Mitchell and Webb had some seriously dark moments in this series: the quiz broadcast with Nick the announcer being the only humans left alive and then this sketch (okay, 2 moments). The Holmes sketch was particularly heartfelt. Makes me wonder why they haven't been able to write a feature with the same sort of ressonance.
lewisejackson 8 months ago
I love how silence-stricken everything is, so much that you can actually just hear the birds chirping in the background. This actually stunned me when I first watched it. Seriously, stuff like this makes me suprised that both of these actors don't do more 'serious' roles in their careeers: They're bloody good at it. Although, the effect this has could also just be down to good writing.
harvmiester1 8 months ago 2
This was more sad than it was funny.
davidmichael07 8 months ago
You can't watch this a second time and smile at the jokes if you know what he's going to say in the end.
mrcreative13 8 months ago 47
@mrcreative13 Totally agree, except the chinaman bit.
GeoMcEvan 2 months ago
Look, I'm not saying it isn't great. What I am saying is that they're taking the piss out of people exactly like you.
Grashnook 8 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I think people are looking into this too much. It's merely a continuation of the joke about comedies having a strangely out of place dramatic climax to attempt to be taken seriously. By praising them for the dramatic punch of this sketch, you are falling into their trap.
Grashnook 8 months ago
@Grashnook Oh, sure. Never mind that it's absolutely fantastic.
IoValde 8 months ago
@Grashnook It hardly constitutes "falling for a trap" if the audience respects the duo's dramatic abilities enough to call it genuinely moving. Few comedy sketches can be simultaneously comedic and tragic, and considering this ending piece in the greater context of an extended joke only renders both dramatic components more effective, because it wasn't played half-arsed.
IoValde 8 months ago 24
@Grashnook You're right, but you can praise this scene without falling into the trap. The trap is about whether the scene is there or not - you'd be right to praise this sketch on its own merits as an incredibly well written and acted dramatic scene
finalfan89 8 months ago
@Grashnook I hardly think that having an emotional response to a sketch on a TV show is "falling into their trap." I mean isn't that the point of comedy, to make you feel something? By that logic all the great directors have not honed their craft to a point where they can actually make an audience feel something but have only set a trap that we have fallen into.
benjamininnit 7 months ago
@Grashnook Dramatic endings have been used in comedy frequently as a way of reminding the audience that the subject matter (however funny they have made it) is often very serious.
To dimiss the ending of this sketch as another joke seems kind of insulting to the writers. The likelyhood is they were reminding the audience that while the dementia/alzheimers depicted in these scenes is funny, it is incredibly difficult for sufferers and their family/friends in real life.
EmoHaterUK 6 months ago 3
@Grashnook it may be a continuation of the joke, but anyone who has lost someone to Alzheimers, dementia or senility will see the beauty of this scene.
rakoc001 6 months ago 4
@Grashnook I don't really get this sketch. Either way it's interpreted, it's not funny. In order to lampoon dramatic endings to comedies as you suggest, they would need to do something to make it humourous. Instead, they appear to have mimicked the technique EXACTLY. It's like the comedy version of a Poe; there's no way to differentiate this (alleged) satire from the real thing. It would be interesting to hear from M&W what they were attempting here.
tml4873 6 months ago
@Grashnook is that not possibly your own stance on this sketch?
Askorvorn 6 months ago
Comment removed
kamokilla2000 5 months ago
@Askorvorn No. In a previous episode they were doing one of their behind the scene sketches, and Mitchell pointed out how much he despised comedy shows that end on a tragic note. Like making all these jokes throughout the whole series, and then having someone die or grow old just to show some depth in their show..... personally i agree... its like giving Seinfeld a "Friends" sort of ending. This probably goes down as one of my top 5 fav. sketches from this magnificent duo!!!!!
kamokilla2000 5 months ago
@kamokilla2000 But 'Robert' convinces him that it's worthy. The Quiz Broadcast is perhaps a better indication of the sincerity and irony in the final scene.
TheSobek 4 months ago
@TheSobek Agreed, but both make it apparent what they are aiming for.
kamokilla2000 4 months ago
@Grashnook But isn't it also self-ironising? I feel as if their point is also that, by being genuinely dramatically effective, they've also fallen into their own trap.
MisterAlexGabriel 5 months ago
@Grashnook I wish I was aware of that joke so I was ready for this.
georgek19 4 months ago
@Grashnook The sketch about Black Adder Goes Fourth wasn't making fun of the 'out of place' tragic ending but recognising that the tragedy of World War I needed to be acknowledged. The joke was that 'Robert' and 'David' didn't quite get how to do that. That's how I read it anyway.
TheSobek 4 months ago 2
Comment removed
Menegoth 4 months ago
@Grashnook can i just ask how you know they are mocking it, could they not just be putting in the drama for drama's sake? im not saying it isnt a mockery, i just want to know how you found this out
BearSavageness 4 months ago
@BearSavageness @BearSavageness It's obvious if you've seen the previous sketch and completely impossible to figure out if you haven't. I disagree with the uploader in that I think it's perfectly fine to think it's a good and touching sketch despite this. They're not taking the piss out of the audience, they're taking the piss out of themselves.
Tubect 3 months ago
@Tubect what is the previous sketch?
BearSavageness 3 months ago
The message to me here, is that comedy and tradegy must always co-exist. Like their sir digby chicken ceaser sketch, as hilarious as it is, at the end of the day its two homeless mentally ill addicts. Here we see a set up for a typical sketch poking fun at such an occurence, before dropping the comedic veil and reveiling the tradegy behind it all. Very moving...Or their just doing it because they can, either way.
LeChuck99 8 months ago 5
Wat does he mean by "I know"????!!??!!??!
jaws100001 8 months ago
@jaws100001 He knows that his mind is decaying, and that Watson is doing all he can to make him feel well. It was a moment of clarity when he could see what a state he was in, and that he was powerless to do anything about it.
electricbayonet2 8 months ago 3
@jaws100001
It's common in some sufferers of dementia to know they are slowly losing their minds, before they finally succumb to it they are aware. When he talks about the fog, what he means is he knows when the madness sets in and to him it is like a fpg. Some times he has his lucid moments but he gets lost in the fog.
DudeSpectre 8 months ago
@jaws100001 I know that I'm losing my mind
lydz25 7 months ago
Totally devastating. Mitchell portrays the total futility of someone who has fallen so far from grace with such subtly, as does Webb when at an utter loss of what to say, as he's the only one on whom Holmes could place that burden. Excellent piece of dramatic acting, and a decent homage to Blackadder Goes Forth.
And yet, am I the only one who thinks this scene was somewhat out of place in a sketch show? It seems these characters are introduced right at the end, purely for the sake of poignancy.
leftovers0 9 months ago 29
@leftovers0
In a way that's sort of the point. By having the joke in the previous episode about meaningful endings, they've set themselves up for this satire - something that is both so beautiful and dramatic and yet, simultaniously rips the piss out of the audience for falling into the 'trap' of the satire they were potraying in their previous episode.
harvmiester1 8 months ago
@harvmiester1
I see that that was their intent, but they screwed up and instead made one of the best bits of drama that I've seen in a while. Kinda like the Producers, where did they go right?
Amunkir 7 months ago
@leftovers0
It was out of place but not in a bad way. I suppose that this was mostly an homage to Blackadder but in a way it kind of said that they know that not every situation needs to be made fun of (once again reminiscent of Blackadder)
muffin8or 6 months ago
@leftovers0 In regards to the second pargraph, they introduced them at the last minute purely for the poingnancy, they did one of their semi-real "David talking to Rob" sketches where they talked about a comedy show ending with sadness.
Nameless164 5 months ago
@leftovers0 Perhaps on some sketch shows it would have been out of place, but I think alongside the 'The Quiz Broadcast' sketch and with the set up about Blackadder Goes Forth earlier in the episode it fit in fairly well.
TheSobek 4 months ago
"SOD DEMENTIA"
eddymcardle 9 months ago
Probably all of those jakec. Also it refers to the previous weeks sketches where they do a sendup of blackadders ending.
IQie 9 months ago
Please forgive me for being slow on the uptake, but what is the significance of this sketch? I don't really get it.
Is it that Mitchell and Webb are doing a serious sketch at the end of their comedy series to show that they can do serious acting as well?
Are they doing a Blackadder-type ending to their series to remind people that not all aspects of tragic humour is funny (as Blackadder does with WW1)?
Or is it a tragic portrayal of how Holmes actually dies in ACD's books (i.e from alzheimer's)?
jakec28 9 months ago
@jakec28 In the previous episode during one of their chats out of character they talk about doing a meaningful ending like Blackadder Goes Forth. At the end of that episode they do a red herring ending which is purposefully depressing and lame.
They then blindside the audience in this final episode with a real tragic ending that comes out of nowhere.
I wasn't aware that Holmes died from alzheimers but that is one more layer to it if thats the case.)
evergrim 8 months ago
its a bit like the ending of Blackadder
rtwoodlands 9 months ago 3
'I can't get the fog to go away' ... *cries*
Sivvussa 9 months ago
The best part is that the serious part is still a joke from episode 5, where they have a running joke about killing a character to give the series dramatic weight, and you expect that to have ended in the previous episode.
SynthOno 10 months ago 3
@SynthOno also, earlier in this same episode, they do a sketch where they're sat around on set discussing how sometimes comedians try to shoe-horn in dramatic scenes that are utterly out of style with the rest of the show, just to prove that they're real actors.
Isanion 9 months ago
@Isanion or...
wait..
uhm :/
Having read some more comments I think maybe I'm thinking of the same scene and I've got the episode wrong :S
Isanion 9 months ago
I think the fact that the audience didn't laugh (the laughter is a live recording from an audience) at the end speaks for itself
Shermingtan 10 months ago
Funny, but so moving. Typical genius of these guys.
MAI742 10 months ago
Amazing that they can integrate such emotional empathy and comedy together. At first I didn't get the joke at the end "looks like a 2 pipe problem" because I was so moved. Still after having a grandfather who suffered from Alzheimer's, this sketch really tugs at my heart strings.
Setzer 10 months ago
It's just heartbreaking.
TheAverageFox 10 months ago 4
@mooreja15
I'm a Chinamen!!!!!
Where is homes?
here i am, o Dang!!!!
Mooreja15 10 months ago
Sorry everybody, I don't mean this is insensitively, (I'm fairly slow)
Does the "I know" refer to his awareness of Alzheimer's?
bobdy9988 11 months ago 5
@bobdy9988 yes, and that he knows watson has been playing along and faking everything.
wimpylassiter2336 11 months ago 3
Utterly and absolutely brilliant.
ShadesOfFall 11 months ago 3
Meditation from Thaïs was also used on the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes DVD menus. Maybe just because it's a famous violin piece.
bnwdirigible 11 months ago
Meditation from Thaïs was also used on the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes DVD menus. Maybe just because it's a famous violin piece.
bnwdirigible 11 months ago
Sod Cancer.
TinTower 11 months ago 3
Wow just reading the youtube comments without watching the video has sent shivers down me, thats when you know something is extremely emotional and brilliant...
BraceletAccumulatrT2 1 year ago 2
The serious part isn't still taking the piss, it was meant to be moving. And it is too moving for words indeed.
Idnarmadur 1 year ago 5
I'M A CHINA MAN!
bluelightalarm 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I see nothing "moving" about this. Maybe the violin music in the background. What exactly, is funny about the onset of dementia?
happyuk06 1 year ago
@happyuk06 Didn't bother to watch it till the end, then?
webbtje 1 year ago 2
An absolute gut-punch at the end. Quite affecting and proof of M&W's brilliance
FlyingHeadbutt100 1 year ago 6
It's the music, and then the lack of it, that tips this scene into brilliance.
ukanian 1 year ago 7
Does anyone know if there is a name for the music in the video? and by that i mean the violin part
AvengingHamster 1 year ago
@AvengingHamster It's called Meditation from an opera Thaïs by Massenet. Very beautiful piece.
FiNottle 1 year ago 2
That was sad. :(
enticements 1 year ago
Brilliant!
MegaKimJongIl 1 year ago
What the hell was this?!???
existenceisrelative 1 year ago
@existenceisrelative A sketch by two British comedians who turned it from comedy to tragedy at the blink of an eye . But you are American, so I dont expect you to understand the sheer brilliance of it .
jrb1802uk 1 year ago
@jrb1802uk Despite your astoundingly insulting comment I would still like to know, is this really how they're ending it? They're not making any more? And their last act was taking one of the best characters ever created by fiction and fucking up the end of his life? That doesn't horrify you? It makes me increasingly upset the more I think of it. Not only was this the last impression I have of what is the only sketch show I've ever liked. But they turned Holmes and Watson sad for me too.
existenceisrelative 1 year ago
@existenceisrelative Am genuinely sorry for the insult , was having a pretty off day when I wrote that comment yesterday. Please accept my apology. Didn't mean to cause offence. And as far as I know, David Mitchell as kind of said, "never say never" on a new series. He (as well as Robert Webb) has other projects in the pipeline. As for horrifying me, it saddened me a great deal, was not expecting that ! Very powerful scene nonetheless. Peace to you . - JRB
jrb1802uk 1 year ago