Russell Brand's Ponderland (TV Series 2007–2009) Poster

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8/10
Forget the controversy
will2000uk12 December 2008
It's amazing how quickly an incident get blown out of proportion. It's a shame then that this means many people are missing out on a fine programme due to ignorance and prejudice.

While Russell Brand is often portrayed as a sex maniac, this often contrasts with intellectual musings and razor sharp comic timing. If you haven't read My Booky Wook, you won't be aware of the struggle he has got to this point.

Then again (as witnessed here) he's not afraid to poke fun at himself. Reading from a school report about his "unusual haircut" and "showing off" he retorts "That's my career!"

As for the show itself, it sounds quite generic- host makes quips about old TV clips. Clive James, James Carr, Jo Brand and endless others have made this a genre, before Harry Hill effectively put his stamp on it.

Russell Brand effectively interweaves the clips within a routine on numerous subjects eg family or pets. He veers from wild energy to bemusement to outright incredulity. His power comes from his unpredictability, making each episode both baffling and hilarious.

Seriously, give Ponderland a chance and you'll see why he deserves his success.
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8/10
Russell Brand's Ponderland
jboothmillard7 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Even though he got in trouble with Jonathan Ross with the Andrew Sachs grand-daughter phone scandal, Russell Brand is still in my opinion one of the funniest and most abstract comedians around. I will admit when this programme first started I didn't get all the jokes, but watching it again and by the second episode, I was hooked. This programme basically takes a popular subject in life and conversation, e.g. childhood, crime, sport, love, family, education, Christmas, etc, and in a stand-up fashion makes his hilariously bizarre observations from television clips displaying the subject. Brand combines surreal and absurd ideas, creating huge uproar reactions of laughter, and sometimes even groans, making this a fun adult only show. Russell Brand was number 69 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Very good!
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