I think it was the mid-90's when I first watched the film King of Comedy, and I remember being taken aback by how, some 10 years prior, the film seemed to have perfectly satirized the world of the celebrity and those famous for little else than seeking out fame regardless of their talent. Watching Nathan Barely for the first time, I have the same benefit of hindsight since it is almost a decade since this show screened on Channel 4 for the handful of people that actually watched it (and the even smaller group that stayed with it). I remember hearing about it at the time, but it seemed very London-specific with its characters and world and it didn't appeal to me.Watching it now, too much of it is instantly recognizable as manifested in the world we currently call hipsters; a culture where some talent exists but too many are trend-following yaysayers about anything that is seen as cool. Also looking back, it is hardly surprising that it is so brutally harsh on these characters since the show was written by Charlie Brooker – one not known for holding back. And harsh it is as it portrays almost everyone as talentless and clueless but yet supremely confident or numbly stupefied to the whole thing – even those "normal" characters get no grace as they are shown up for their complacency and/or complicity in the whole thing. As an attack on a subculture it doesn't miss its target very often and it is depressing how so much of what it shows has gone on to become almost the norm (wanky art, cruel prank shows, obsessions with trends and being "in", slang terms).Unfortunately for the show the frame in which this material is put is not as strong as it needed to be. As a sitcom, the series tries to have some structure and indeed we get narrative devices mostly from the characters of Dan and Claire, needing money and/or work and then around this basic structure other things happen. This isn't terrible but for sure it is not as strong as it needed to be for a weekly 6-part comedy and without a real structure or development, it is easy to think that the points it is making are not only the same ones it made at the start but also being made the same way.The cast go with whatever is asked of them, even if sometimes it is pretty straightforward. Burns doesn't hold anything back and he is indeed a tremendous waste of space with his hollow insecure character and lack of consideration for others around him – he plays it very well throughout. Barratt is also very good as he is the straight man in the cast but at the same time he isn't allowed to just be on the outside. Keelan does what she can with a non-character; she herself is good but the character is not. The supporting cast is (with hindsight) quite incredible as it includes Whishaw, Fielding, Cumberbatch, Sosanya, Eldon and many other faces and names you'll know. Everyone does well with what they have to do, but as before, they are not always rewarding with something that is going somewhere.It is a show that is worth a watch for what it does very well, but it does have weaknesses in the structure and lack of development and narrative, and these do rather leave the impression that it is doing the same thing in the same way for the duration of the season.

A lot of people will argue that Chris Morris has gone off the boil. Perhaps he has, but his sense of satire is still sharper than anyone. Before he had great success spoofing media sensationalism of current affairs with the groundbreaking BrassEye and years before that The Day Today (with Steve Coogan). Here he takes it a step further and spoofs London journo scenesters, always trying to stay ahead of the pack with the next trend and fad.It follows the career of struggling columnist Dan Ashcroft, a semi-intellectual trapped between the idiots he works with and a more astute crowd and a man who epitomises everything that Dan hates about his life - his biggest disciple - Nathan Barley. From the first episode it lays out Dan's dilemma and as the series unfolds shows us why he isn't so very different from the people he hates and is surrounded by, perhaps that he is in some way responsible for them. A philosophical tale that everyone can relate to on some level.Whether this is an accurate spoof I can't tell, as I don't know anyone of the crowd Morris pokes fun at here so mercilessly. On my third and fourth viewings I still try to decide whether the writing is minimalist genius or just lazy. But for some reason it is humorous and believable... you can imagine tabloid writers sitting round a meeting table surrounded by office toys, desperately trying to "outcool" the next paper by spawning meaningless catchphrases and reviewing supposed artists who are nothing more than shameless fools. Whether it's happened yet, or it's a prediction of the sort of culture we're heading towards, it certainly entertains and forces questions about the way we perceive and are led by mass media. 8/10

Well, I thought this was just great. Starting as a light hearted satire then slowly, inexorably descending into darker and darker territory, right up until the very end. The final scenes going beyond comedy and pathos, Dan resignedly saying "Shut up" as he lets himself drop out the window, the Jam-like rewinding of the camera and the freeze frame of Pingu diving out the window, the final image retreating as Dan lies motionless in hospital...What's not to like about this series? The original music alone is incredible, a mix of IDM/electronica that's too convincing, too good to be just pastiche. Nathan's electro clash rap at the club is ... I don't possess an ounce of the wit necessary to describe it… "A night down the pub, with your mates, and its f--king mental!"… There are few conventional gags, but there are plenty of moments when I get a cold thrill down to the marrow that only comes from watching utter, deft genius on display. A desperately funny series, perhaps misunderstood. I think people may have watched this with far too many preconceptions, about Morris, about sitcoms, and were very quick to judge after just watching the first episode. People may have been upset recognizing themselves unflatteringly represented here, or irked that they were wrong footed in the way the series developed. Morris is a dark, dark, dark writer. A very funny writer too, and far, far more intelligent than 99.9% of his audience. That he lets any of us peasants see his work is a miracle, and we should be thankful for whatever he gives us.

People seem to either love or hate this series. I found myself liking some of it, but overall I thought the scripts were underdeveloped. Considering the unrestrained venom that went into the original Nathan Barley character (as realised in the www.tvgohome.com spoof TV listings - which I still find hilarious), this TV series is actually pretty tame (and sometimes lame).I found some moments of this show funny, but not rolling around on the floor laughing my head off like when watching Brass Eye. Nathan Barley the TV show is just not daring enough. The worst moments are when the shows slip into clichéd sitcom farce, which just doesn't fit the Chris Morris style.Good, but not great.