Anthony touched upon The Armstrongs recently, suggesting that the BBC Two 'sit-com' was the funniest thing on TV at the moment. And he's not wrong in the funny stakes.
But this morning, the show's main protagonists John and Ann Armstrong, owner-managers of Coventry's third largest double glazing firm U-Fit, were welcomed onto BBC Breakfast's red sofa as Dermot and Sian explained that the show was a genuine documentary - 'completely real despite rumours on internet chat-rooms'. So, it's nice to know that they're reading The Filter^. Is this an extension of an elaborate hoax? Here are some reasons why I'm still not convinced that The Armstrongs is a documentary:
1) U-Fit - from the material presented by the BBC - must be Coventry's worst run and most ineffective small business and could surely not survive.
2) Performances in-part inspired by David Brent from both John (MD of U-Fit) and even more so the temporarily-hired Sales Manager with the blond hair (sorry, can't remember the character name) whose acting constituted a good pub impression of Ricky Gervais' character (not unlike Anthony's).
3) Michael the sales rep. Surely a character sculpted by writers of genius and an actor who's performance demonstrates complete understanding that writing. His metamorphosis over the last few episodes cannot be real - and his eery marriage to an American board game champion over twice his age would have been too great a discovery for documentary makers already inspired by U-Fit's underbelly of eccentricity.
4) The silent sales girl Jo (I think) - she seemed remarkably like a RADA graduate who had been hired and instructed to giggle but not speak. Sadly, she's now left U-Fit (probably for an RSC role) along with the whole of the rest of the sales team (except Michael) who clearly weren't tempted by the prospect of TV documentary fame.
See for yourselves tonight - The Armstrongs is on BBC Two tonight at 10pm. If this is a documentary, then creation has spawned some of the most extraordinary human beings and evolution has ensured that they were placed in Coventry. If it's a sit-com, then there are some performances here that are worthy of serious plaudits - with writing to match.
If it's a hoax, it's an incredibly thorough one: http://www.u-fit.co.uk/
Maybe the only way to find out is by ordering a conservatory off them.
Posted by: Jim | March 29, 2006 at 02:08 PM
I'm glad that the issue of whether it's a hoax or not is treated in a celebratory rather than critical way - at the end of the day it's entertainment and so we should all be thinking "surely this can't be real - it's too good!"
For example, a couple of weeks ago John was trying to decide whether to lay off up to 5 workers, or simply give them a talking to. Having come back from the shop floor he spends a good five minutes in a soliloquoy saying "on the one hand" and "on the other". The camera gradually panned upward to a poster hanging above his head featuring a cheetah stood on a cliff (at sunset) emblazoned with the word "DECISIONS".
The editing is very clever, but surely they slightly fabricate the raw materials...
Posted by: AJE | March 29, 2006 at 03:45 PM
I actually think that this question of it being 'real' or not is much more complex than it seems. If they are a genuine company and the programme is not fiction, that doesn't clear it up. As Anthony says, it is cleverly edited, so what we are seeing is never the reality of the situation. But then again, what is the reality of any situation? It's always dependant on the view point isn't it? i think this throws up some complex post-modern ideas that I just can't be bothered to grapple with right now. I'm happy to leave it at this - on TV there is no real or unreal, it's just TV.
Posted by: thomas conolly | March 29, 2006 at 06:31 PM
why limit that analysis to just tv? (i agree though)
Posted by: AJE | March 30, 2006 at 05:00 AM
There is real and unreal on TV - and it boils down to whether people are acting (ie following a script and a director) or not. That's the only question - clever editing happens in many documentaries and is a valid point. But are these people acting? Are they following a director and a plotline? That's what I want to know.
Posted by: Andrew Mellor | March 30, 2006 at 11:44 AM
They may not be following a script or a director; but they may be responding to the presence of a camera. Which, in a purist sense, makes the show 'unreal'. If Schrodinger's cat falls out of a tree, and nobody smells it except Pavlov's dog...
Posted by: Tim | March 30, 2006 at 07:25 PM
They are definitly real I run a company that has had quotations off them regularly and I have dealt with their sales reps.
You may be suprised to learn that many double glazing companies have characters like this which may be due to exposure to the chemicals i the polastics we deal with.
Posted by: www.trade2public.co.uk | December 10, 2006 at 12:06 PM
I wonder how a request for a quote on a music school would go down in the sales team?
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