Review with Myles Barlow

Review with Myles Barlow

First DVD Released
Genre Black comedy, Satire
Created by Phil Lloyd
Developed by Phil Lloyd
Written by Phil Lloyd, Trent O'Donnell
Directed by Trent O'Donnell
Presented by Phil Lloyd (as Myles Barlow)
Starring Phil Lloyd (as Myles Barlow)
Narrated by Phil Lloyd
Theme music composer Matt Blackman
Composer(s) Trevor Bell, Cameron Bruce, Matt Blackmon
Country of origin Australia
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Megan Harding
Producer(s) Dean Bates
Location(s) Sydney, Australia
Running time 30 minutes (excluding commercials)
Production company(s) Starchild Productions
Broadcast
Original channel ABC2
ABC1 The Christmas Special
Picture format 576i SDTV
Audio format Stereo
Original run 16 October 2008 – 22 December 2010
Chronology
Related shows Review (2014–present)
External links
Website

Review with Myles Barlow is an Australian satirical black comedy television series which screened on Thursday nights on ABC2 and Friday nights on ABC 1. The series began screening on 16 October 2008. It is co-written and directed by Trent O'Donnell and also co-written by Phil Lloyd. It is produced by Starchild Productions (Dean Bates and Reuben Field). The first series comprised six half-hour episodes and the second series a further six half-hour episodes. Episodes were made available for download on the ABC website. Series 1 episodes have been available to watch on-demand on YouTube.[1] Series 2 began airing on ABC2 on 22 July 2010 and finished on 26 August 2010. A Christmas special was broadcast on ABC1 on 22 December 2010.

Series 1 and 2 are available for viewing in the US via Hulu Plus.[2]

Synopsis

Myles Barlow is a critic who reviews life experiences in response to viewer questions.[3] Barlow reviews real-life experiences such as being a murderer and a drug-mule, the rush of pleasure as he pays for sex and the bleakness of living on the streets.[4]

Regular segments include "Letter of the Week" along with a summary of the show at the beginning and highlights of the next episode which do not actually reflect the actual episode contents.

Myles uses often unnecessarily complex metaphors to conclude each segment, choosing an abstract notion or object and then comparing his experience to it. For example; when reviewing stealing, he had this to say:

Stealing

Stealing is a reprehensible, dishonest act of exhilaration and daring. And, like a staircase leading to the top of a never-ending lighthouse, it can quickly spiral out of control. The higher I climbed, the more giddy I became. And once I'd stolen the light bulb itself, I stumbled about in an orgy of kleptomania as ships of moral decency came to grief on the rocks below. Embracing anarchy and ignoring morality became frighteningly normal, causing me to chuckle callously at the poor shipwrecked sailors trying to clamber up the cliffs of consequence while I soared to freedom high above them on a hang-glider of corruption. Luckily for me, I was able to evade punishment. But Krystal, if you do give in to this spine-tingling thrill ride and steal Renee's boyfriend, be warned that the pilfering may not stop there. Stealing is an iniquity of unexpected excitement, which is why I'm giving it three stars.

Each episode ends with a faux-"Next Time" segment.

List of episodes

Note: Bolded reviews are primary review segments, unbolded reviews are short "breaker" reviews.

Series One (2008)

Episode 1 (16 October)

Episode 2 (23 October)

Episode 3 (30 October)

Episode 4 (6 November)

Episode 5 (13 November)

Episode 6 (20 November)

Logie Awards of 2009

Presented as a segment as part of the telecast of the Logies.

Series Two (2010)

Episode 1 (22 July)

Episode 2 (29 July)

Episode 3 (5 August)

Episode 4 (12 August)

Episode 5 (19 August)

Episode 6 (26 August)

The Christmas Special

Guest stars

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Controversy

On 6 August 2010, the sketch "Killing Kyle Sandilands" caused controversy after it aired. Parts of the sketch, including stabbing a picture and burning an effigy of Kyle Sandilands, were received with negative views. A Current Affair did a story on the sketch, commenting that it was far too graphic and potentially dangerous. Sandilands himself did not comment on the segment.[5][6]

Adaptation

An American television adaptation, titled Review, premiered in March 2014 on Comedy Central.

References

  1. YouTube - Review with Myles Barlow
  2. "Watch Review with Myles Barlow online | Free". Hulu. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  3. "Review with Myles Barlow - TV Reviews - TV & Radio - Entertainment". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  4. "Review With Myles Barlow - ABC2 Television Guide". Abc.net.au. 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  5. "Entertainment news - celebrity headlines". News.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  6. staff writers (2010-08-06). "ABC laughs off killing Kyle Sandilands joke". News.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-26.

External links