Look Around You – Nostalgia Central

2 0 0 2 (UK)
9 x 10 minute episodes
2 0 0 5 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes

“Birds. What are birds? We just don’t know”

This series – the brainchild of Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper – set out to parody the educational programmes that appeared on British television in the 1970s and 1980s.

Familiarity with the original shows was not required to appreciate the humour; however, Look Around You contained many tropes common to similar attempts to educate through television.

The main joy of the production was its painstaking attention to detail, with its wonderful recreation of the period’s strangely dull sets and the stilted way the narrators and presenters addressed the audience.

The title was also perfectly chosen, mimicking those of the time while allowing a wide range of subjects (diverse themes such as “Calcium” and “Music” appeared in the first season).

Each ten-minute edition was a miniature masterpiece, with the humour emanating as much from the discipline of maintaining the authenticity as from the more outlandish experiments or propositions on offer.

There was also an undeniable affection for the source material, which itself – being viewed thirty or more years later –  often seemed outlandish, dated and unintentionally funny.

The second season (of 30-minute episodes) parodied Tomorrow’s World and featured greater interaction between the presenters and guest stars, including Harry Enfield, Simon Pegg, David Mitchell, Julian Barratt, David Walliams, and Matt Lucas.

“You won’t need much calcium. Just four-hundred-thousand-million billigrams. Or 4 grams.”

Scientist/Peter Packard
Peter Serafinowicz
Narrator
Nigel Lambert
Jack Morgan/Student
Robert Popper
Student with Copybook
James Serafinowicz
Scientist/Technician
Edgar Wright
Pam Bachelor
Olivia Colman
Pealy Maghti
Josephine D’Arby