Is anyone watching Hard Cell with Catherine Tate?

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

Like, a LOT of Catherine Tate, I think she's playing six characters. I've watched half of the first episode and it's quite funny but there is a LOT of her and I think there might be a limit to how much I can take.

I watched the first five minutes and I had to turn it off.

The format of one person playing many characters, all of whom are massively over-acted parodies, feels very very dated and stale.

I found it quite cringe-y.

I've never liked her doing male characters, I find it really uncomfortable. Most of the non-Tate actors seem to be pretty good, it probably would have worked better if she had just picked one character that was closest to her normal personality and stuck with that.

I had seen an advert for this and was completely confused about why a prison governor was pretending to be a prisoner and apparently making a documentary about the prison.

So this has at least explained the advert...

Posted too soon.

Fundamentally I felt it was also desperately unfunny and relied on very obvious 'gags'. You could see the opening gag about the watch coming from a mile away. It wasn't quite catchphrase humour but very close. It feels like Catherine Tate's style hasn't moved on since the early-2000s but comedy has.

Stacked up against more contemporary comedies (and I don't just mean in terms of age but also style and subtlety) it's really dire. Thinking here of things like Derry Girls, People Just Do Nothing, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Peep Show, Getting On, Broad City, even The Office.

I’ve watched the whole series, I loved it! I was worried that I wouldn’t find it funny, as it’s been a few years since I’ve seen her previous shows, however, I enjoyed it, the comedy & pathos. My favourite character she portrayed was the prison guard.

I have started to watch and found it a bit of a rip off to the Office and Extras.

The Office as the warden is a bit David Brent with her number 2 as Tim and Extras because she has Heather from Eastenders and Extras has Barry.

I like her range but not the male. Its not as convincing all of the other characters are good though.

I thought it got better as the series went on and there were some really poignant and serious moments at times. But yes I found the many different characters played by the same person a bit grating

We watched ten mins and turned it off. It’s just too much Catherine Tate! It’s hard to focus on what’s actually going on.

I thought it was really funny!

Didnt grab me, watched the first one

Formulaec and a bit dull and I dont know about Hard Cell, more like Try Hard

I've switched to Is It Cake, which has given me a few genuine belly laughs. The only downside is that I don't get to actually eat any cake, but they're pretty impressive to look at.

I also didnt like the lazy stereotypes

I watched it all last night and whilst I wouldn't say it was groundbreaking comedy it was amusing enough to watch with a glass of wine.

I thought the ending was well done. It might have been the wine but I didn't see it coming.

Agree about it getting better as it went on. and I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds her male characters quite uncomfortable. For some reason they don't quite land in the same way as her female ones.

I can’t get past the first episode. It was unfunny and as others have said, outdated. It’s the type of TV show that wouldn’t get commissioned without a big star at the centre.

I tried to watch it but found it a bit crap, very early 2000s.

I used to love the Catherine Tate Show but looking back I don’t think it’s stood the rest of time. Similar to Little Britain. A load of insular crap that makes Britain feel like some kind of weird cult. I know that sounds weird, but both shows had an undertone of “Ha, you have to be BRITISH to get this. Look at all of these BRITISH stereotypes. Look at all of the BRITISH references.” And the jokes were offensive, making fun of special needs people.

Who is Laura? Laura is the governor of HMP Woldsley’s governor who came from a background of events planning. She believes that creativity leads to rehabilitation and has an extremely liberal attitude to the running of the prison.

Who is Laura? She's a rip off of Ricky Gervais office manager

Who is Ros? Ros is an Irish inmate who idolises her 'mammy'. She has a prison wife named Suds and is rinsing her penpal boyfriend Sebastian for all he's worth so she can afford a campervan to go travelling with her mammy once she's out.

Who is Ros? Ros is an illiterate tattooed Irish lady

Who is Big Viv? Big Viv is a fearsome Scottish inmate who is feared by all the other inmates. She is violent and unpredictable but loves to sing, and is a devoted fan of the Kardashians

Who is Big Viv? Big Viv is a fearsome Scottish inmate - really? Scottish? Violent???

Who is Anne Marie? Anne Marie is Ros’ 'mammy' and is a mean ex-con. She only visits her daughter when she's run out of money and takes full advantage of her

Who is Anne Marie? Anne Marie is Ros’ 'mammy' and is stereotype of possibly an Irish traveller (not seen her yet, so am guessing here)

Who is Dean? Dean is Laura's 'number two' who finds her incredibly inept and spends all day trying to rile her up with sarcastic comments.

Who is Dean? Dean is Tim from the office, missing the vulnerable streak

It gets better and better.

Who is Glamora? A bitter Ricky Gervais

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It gets better and better.

Who is Glamora? A bitter Ricky Gervais

Nope.

Ahh shame. Thought I’d outed you. I would recommend watching it to the end as I think it’s better scripted and realised than The Office (I can say that now I am not going to personally offend you).

not loving it. she was great in the american office so I thought I'd watch the hard cell , but she does all those awful grating accents.