Why is the (Impractical) in Brackets?

The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers is back for a third season and yeah, what’s going on with the title? Maybe it’d make sense if it was The Inspired Unemployed (Im)practical Jokers. But it’s not. And the head scratching doesn’t stop there.

Prank shows largely belong to an earlier, more mean-spirited time on our screens. You don’t see them much now because the vibe is off. When it comes to reality, people want friendly, warm-hearted shows. Well, that or shows where idiots are in on the joke. Making fun of regular folk trying to live their lives? It’s just not as funny as it used to be. Which was never all that funny in the first place.

The Inspired Unemployed figured out a way around this. Well, Hamish & Andy figured out a way around it two decades ago, but they’re too busy hosting game shows these days. The trick is, you play the pranks on each other – and you do them in public so there’s a bit of embarrassment mixed in.

So most of the pranks on this show involve them acting like dickheads in front of bemused or puzzled people. Whomever’s out front has to do what his mates out back tell him to, so there’s a “we’re all in this together, and we’re throwing you under the bus” feel to things. It wouldn’t hurt if the team members weren’t quite so interchangeable, but as a bunch of bonza knockabout larrkin blokes they could be worse.

But after two full seasons they’re clearly starting to run out of ideas. The first episode back for season three had three segments, one of which – the dance instructor one – was basically the same thing they’ve already done multiple times before. People sign up for a class (yoga, dance, whatever), only to find their instructor is a dickhead. It’s fine.

The final segment in each episode is usually a bit iffy. Designed to be a punishment (someone always “loses” the episode), it involves doing something stupid in front of a lot of people. Are these people impressed at having their time wasted? You tell us. Last time we checked, “embarrassment” was not a pseudonym for “funny”, so these segments often just feel self-indulgent.

Anyway, this one worked okay. The embarrassing thing was so over-the-top bad it was more like something an evil wrestler would do. The whole thing was closer to a comedy skit, even before the bad guy got his surprise comeuppance. More of this kind of overly complicated, twists-and-turns thing, thanks.

What grabbed our attention though was the first segment. Each member had to individually go into a busy restaurant, sit down uninvited at a table with other people, and stay there until they were directly told to leave. Which they almost all were, because this was creepy as hell.

There was a tiny germ of a funny idea there. Sitting down at a dining table uninvited? That’s so out there you’ll get a laugh. And then it just becomes an awkward, unfunny slog. If you’re doing a prank and one of the victims calls security to get rid of you? You don’t have a funny prank.

Maybe they put it right up front to burn it off. Maybe they’re going to try an be a bit more “edgy” this year. But for a group that (until now) has seemed pretty focused on being pretty bland and likable, harassing people who’re trying to eat dinner with friends and family felt a bit of a stretch in the wrong direction.

But what do we know? The world currently seems full of shitposters and pranksters looking to push things too far. Maybe the future of comedy is just making other people suffer. It’s worked for Tom Gleeson!