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Look Around You is a BBC television comedy series devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and narrated by Nigel Lambert. The first series of eight 10-minute shorts was shown in 2002, and the second series is currently being aired on BBC TWO.
Series 1
In the first series, the episodes were a satire/homage of 1970s and early 1980s educational videos and schools programmes, with various subjects being discussed. Each episode began with a realistic "countdown clock", as used on BBC Schools programmes of the 1960s and 70s.
The subjects were, in order of transmission:
- Maths
- Water
- Germs
- Ghosts
- Sulphur
- Music
- Iron
- The Brain
The subjects were distorted beyond recognition, for instance, germs were described as coming from Germany. The general format of an episode would be an introduction to the subject, followed by a series of silly experiments performed by the hapless (and normally mute) scientists, played by Popper, Serafinowicz and Edgar Wright, among others. At the end, the narrator would explain what the programme would be about next week, but none of these subjects were ever covered.
The series was commissioned off the back of a short film (twice the length of an episode in the first series but otherwise identical) about calcium; this is included on the DVD release of series 1 as an "advanced double-length module".
The DVD extras also include a music video for the song "Little Mouse" (as featured in the module on music), a selection of mock-Ceefax pages, and a creator's commentary. The joke is taken even further by presenting the DVD subtitles in exactly the same format as those broadcast via teletext.
Series 2
The second series is composed of six 30-minute episodes and is expected to be presented in the pop-science vein of programmes such as How? and Tomorrow's World. Beginning on Monday January 31, 2005 on BBC2 at 10pm, Series 2 comprises the following episodes:
- Music
- Health
- Sport
- Food
- Computers
- "Live" Inventor of the Year Final
To reinforce the show's retro look, each episode's opening continuity announcement plays over the 2-dimensional BBC2 logo from the 1970s.
The second series differs from the first series in that there is be dialogue between the four presenters and their guests, leaving behind both the narrated style of the first series and the anonymity given to the scientists. Popper and Serafinowicz star alongside the two new female presenters played by Josie D'Arby and Olivia Colman. There is also a measure of continuity throughout this series, as each week inventors (played by a number of UK comic actors) showcase their new products, culminating in the live final programme where a winning invention is chosen.
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