Another sketch show hoping to be a modern day 'Monty Python', 'Velvet Soup' was a short lived BBC Scotland sketch show which starred Steven McNicoll, Julie Duncanson, Gavin Mitchell and Mark McDonnell. It began life as a radio show entitled 'The Velvet Cabaret' ( so named because the recording venue of the show was called 'The Velvet Rooms' ). It struck a chord with listeners so the idea of mounting it into a TV show was mooted. In 2001, a six part series was made.
Like 'Monty Python', 'Velvet Soup' featured some rather macabre skits. One sketch saw a man dreaming that he was floating in mid-air eating giant marshmallows. He then awakens to find himself lying next to a blood stained skeleton ( he had eaten his wife in his sleep ). Another sketch saw a group of men heckling children at a school nativity play, only for the children to turn around and hurl abuse back at them! Another rather funny sketch saw a police sniper being instructed by his colleagues to take the first clear head shot of the suspect when he gets the first opportunity. The suspect walks into vision to reveal he has an abnormally over-sized head that a sniper could not miss even if they tried!
The first series went down reasonably well and so a second series series followed in 2003 however it was not so popular this time around. Firstly, the second series was scheduled erratically, meaning ratings were unremarkable. Worse, due to lack of scheduling space, the second series, which was supposed to consist of six episodes, was aborted after only four weeks, meaning two episodes to this day have yet to see the light of day. 'Velvet Soup' simply fizzled out after that.
Well, after watching it recently, I have to say that whilst it may not have been a wonderful show, it was good fun and was well served by its talented cast, most especially Steven McNicoll and Gavin Mitchell, the latter who became a household name with viewers as Bobby in 'Still Game'.
Like 'Monty Python', 'Velvet Soup' featured some rather macabre skits. One sketch saw a man dreaming that he was floating in mid-air eating giant marshmallows. He then awakens to find himself lying next to a blood stained skeleton ( he had eaten his wife in his sleep ). Another sketch saw a group of men heckling children at a school nativity play, only for the children to turn around and hurl abuse back at them! Another rather funny sketch saw a police sniper being instructed by his colleagues to take the first clear head shot of the suspect when he gets the first opportunity. The suspect walks into vision to reveal he has an abnormally over-sized head that a sniper could not miss even if they tried!
The first series went down reasonably well and so a second series series followed in 2003 however it was not so popular this time around. Firstly, the second series was scheduled erratically, meaning ratings were unremarkable. Worse, due to lack of scheduling space, the second series, which was supposed to consist of six episodes, was aborted after only four weeks, meaning two episodes to this day have yet to see the light of day. 'Velvet Soup' simply fizzled out after that.
Well, after watching it recently, I have to say that whilst it may not have been a wonderful show, it was good fun and was well served by its talented cast, most especially Steven McNicoll and Gavin Mitchell, the latter who became a household name with viewers as Bobby in 'Still Game'.