Un Zievereir RE: Screenwipe, Weekly wipe, Newswipe, Annual Wipe, etc. Continuing on from his previously written output including the excellent "TV go home", Charlie Brooker relentlessly spews forth this highly informative critique of popular television and news shows from his couch. His virile attacks on TV's often pitiful broadcasts are well written and so appear as much off the cuff as they do scripted.He is cutting and imaginative. At times Brooker is spiteful and closed minded, overly and overtly moralistic, but always excellently sharp in his powers of observation. However, he never quite goes beyond to lambast the serious and real underlying limitations and bias of the media. Alas, he is still part of the media set which he tries to attack. Assumedly, his family and friends are probably also corporate media members and disciples. His consistent attempts to analyze and mock the media are commendable and certainly entertaining. Although revealing his rational and intellectual limitations, and the unfortunate constraints of his world, these "Wipes" do work very well and show Mr. Brooker to be an intelligent, observant mind.Amongst the humourous and educational monologues there is also a high quality of featured guest talent such as Morgana Robinson, Barry Shitpeas, Philomena Clunk, Doug Stanhope, and the unimitable Tim Key. David Firth's brief additional animated sections are also delightful.

nekosensei I recently binge-watched this, which probably wasn't a good idea as although it's very amusing if you're inclined that way, Brooker wears his pathologies on his sleeve in it in a way that makes me feel morally uncomfortable. Comedy is a dark business, full of revealed pain, as even Victoria Wood observed, and in this series Charlie went full-out raging exhibitionistic self-loathing mode. Being from the generation before his I would call the sensibility of this show punk, but I guess that's just something he absorbed in his childhood the way I absorbed hippie culture without having actually been old enough to have been a hippie. While watching this series my maternal instinct makes me want to want to say "Stop this right now, young man, look what you're doing to yourself, is it really worth it just to get on TV?" while my superego reminds me that, yes, obviously, it's worth it to him. So I just watched the whole series in fascinated horror, frequently roaring with laughter despite myself. And that's showbiz, kids.I still haven't figured out what exactly is going on with that figure in the opening credits, the obese individual in a track suit shuddering while holding up a speared bleeding sausage-like object. Somebody's probably written about it in some fan forum and I could probably google it but something tells me to just move on.Anyway, despite not liking the opening credits or the other animated sequences for that reason (too callow and unformed for my taste) I think Charlie has a lot of interesting things to say in this series and his humor rubs me the right way. My heart was won forever (probably the reason why I went on to binge the whole thing) in the early episode in which he both vigorously recommends the great "Mr. Show" and has my man Simon Farnaby on making a strong personal argument for "Last Of The Summer Wine." Thank you, Charlie.

BJJManchester The journo/writer-performer Charlie Brooker lifts the lid on his opinions of modern day TV,both in the UK and US.His savagely witty criticisms in the Guardian Newspaper have by and large,been successfully adapted to this digital TV programme.Brooker's clever,bitterly acerbic,imaginative,often hilarious critiques are further helped by breathlessly quick pacing and editing.He actually does like some TV programmes(most notably THE WIRE,shamefully neglected by terrestrial TV in the UK),but inevitably his most entertaining rants are at TV shows he hates(reality shows,daytime programming,etc.)which are gleefully attacked with rottweiller-like insane relish.Brooker's eternally stylish wordplay is sometimes over-balanced by frequent use of profanities which,though occasionally funny,sometimes go too far and take the reviews/sketches/interviews out of context and defeat the object at hand.Charlie's unique brand of sophisticated scatology will certainly not be for the easily offended,but often gloriously entertaining for those who don't mind whatever he says.Rating:7 and a half out of 10.

Partha Banerjee This is truly one of the most acute and sophisticated analysis of current tele-tat that we are all being subjected to on a daily basis. Brooker does not just articulately demolish some of these visual atrocities on our regular prime-time diets but he also manages to point us in the right direction. His occasional hints towards the greatness of some of the yester-years television feasts are as much part of the programme as the infectious comedy portrayals of the all the things that are wrong on that virtual world on the other side of screen.I commend Brooker's bold attempt for a fabulous and yet hard hitting message-worthy programme and hopefully, it keeps us all more in touch with our sarcastic and bitter side, with many more of its episodes.Sheer genius from the BBC.