Short and to the Point
It’s a bit of a backhanded comment to say the less we see of Ryan Shelton the funnier he is, but let’s be honest: the highpoint of his solo work to date has been the short segments he did on Rove Live. Ok, that’s mainly because that’s pretty much been all of his solo work to date.
But during the break from doing whatever it is he does over at Hamish & Andy HQ Shelton had some time on his hands (and a wig on his head) so he decided to make his own sitcom. On Instagram. Where you can put up clips just so long as they run under ten seconds.
So yeah, Cliff (found on Shelton’s Instagram account) isn’t exactly a masterpiece of characterisation. Or anything else. In fact, the whole eight episodes barely goes longer than a minute, and once you get the main joke (the title kind of gives it away)… well, like we said, the whole thing barely runs a minute.
It’s silly but it’s kind of fun, and it’s built around a decent enough joke which automatically lifts it above 80% of online comedy (there is also one left-field bit involving dog years that made us laugh. Two jokes!). It’s the kind of thing we’d like to see more of, if only because we can think of a lot of old hands at sketch comedy who could probably do better.
Still, thumbs up to Shelton for giving it a shot and making a stupid idea work… though if the sight of Shelton in a ladies’ wig isn’t the kind of thing you think you’ll chuckle at, even a minute of this might be too long. Also, what happened to the red haired figure in the bed in episode one*? Thank God there’s going to be a second series later in the year…
*[edit] [also spoiler]: it’s just been pointed out in the comments that the red-haired figure pays off in the final episode. Yes, we suck at analysing comedy, feel free to disregard everything we’ve ever said about everything.
I think the ‘twist’ was that the woman at the end was the one in his bed, no?
So that for all his theatrical misdirects the real melodrama to play out is probably only going to happen after he’s barfed up the ‘End’…
But I might have misunderstood. After all, once you’ve thrown shape-shifting animals into the mix all nods to logic are off.
I must say, this one didn’t really land for me personally, but I agree, the idea was solid, the intent was great (it’s hard to argue with playful, free fun) and I do like Shelton in general. Many may not recall it, but I always thought his material was the strongest elements of that sketch-ish ‘Real Stories’ show that Hamish and Andy put out way, way back.
Ah, that explains it – thanks! Missing that isn’t exactly a good look when you watched all the episodes in the space of ten minutes or so.
Clearly you were all just dazzled by the beauty of Ryan Shelton in that wig. I don’t blame you. It’s like Elmer Fudd falling in love with Bugs Bunny in the dress.