''Snuff Box'' (sometimes referred to as ''Berry & Fulcher's Snuff Box'') is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low l ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Starring and written by

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as ''The IT Crowd'', '' Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', '' The Mighty Boosh'', '' Snuff Box'', ''Wh ...

and

Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series ''Jon Benjamin Has a Van''. ...

with additional material by Nick Gargano, it aired on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...

in 2006. The series was directed by

Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by Chris Morris, written ...

director

Michael Cumming Michael Cumming is a British director and filmmaker. He is best known for directing comedy shows such as: '' Brass Eye'', ''Toast Of London'', '' Toast Of Tinseltown'', ''The Mark Thomas Product'', '' Snuff Box,'' ''The Mark Steel Lectures'' and ...

who later directed Berry's ''

Toast of London ''Toast of…'' is a British television sitcom, known either as ''Toast of London'' (when it was set in London) or ''Toast of Tinseltown'' (with episodes set in America). It was created by Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry and stars Berry as Steven ...

.'' Starring as fictionalized versions of themselves, Berry plays a hangman ("High

Executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or orderin ...

to the King of England"), and Fulcher his assistant. The majority of the programme is set in a " gentlemen's club for hangmen", although the show is also interspersed with sequences of sketches, often featuring different characters. The show is set in "no particular time" with deliberately anachronistic sets.

Background

Berry and Fulcher met whilst working together on another BBC Three comedy, ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which a ...

''. ''Snuff Box'' was originally titled ''Berry & Fulcher's Comedy Bronze''.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' described the show as "fantastically dark and cynical".

DVD release

The

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

was released on 16 June 2008. On 11 October 2011, Severin Films released the series on DVD with a bonus CD of music and other exclusive extra features in the North American market.

Episodes

This list is ordered by the original air dates on

in the United Kingdom.

Music

The ''Snuff Box'' theme is used repeatedly throughout the series. Matt Berry composed the music, both themes and incidental. He sang most of the vocal parts and played most of the instruments. He recorded the theme tune in his flat. English composer

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

advised Berry on the brass sections. The film ''

Dredd ''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the '' 2000 AD'' comic strip ''Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezqu ...

'' featured the ''Snuff Box'' theme in a few scenes.

References

External links

* * *{{IMDb title, 775400 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British black comedy television series 2000s British comedy television series BBC black comedy television shows English-language television shows Television shows set in London