''The Wrong Door'' is a comedy sketch show, that first aired on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air 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, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

on 28 August 2008. The programme is the first comedy show in which the majority of the sketches include CGI elements. As such, it was produced under the working title of ''The CGI Sketch Show''. The show also contains strong language, adult humour and

toilet humour Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It see ...

Cast

Unlike your usual sketch show, the programme lacks a core cast of performers. However, some actors can reoccur in other roles throughout the series. The performers involved are

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of '' I, Claudius'', King Richard I ...

Gina Bellman Gina Bellman (born 1966) is a New Zealand-born British actress best known for her performances as grifter Sophie Devereaux on the 2008-12 TNT television series '' Leverage'' and in the revival '' Leverage: Redemption'' when the series moved to ...

, Matt Berry, MyAnna Buring, Lucy Cudden, Michael Fenton Stevens, Neil Fox,

Simon Greenall Simon James Greenall (born 3 January 1958) is an English actor, producer, writer and voice artist. He has portrayed Michael in the BBC television series ''I'm Alan Partridge'', as well as in '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa,'' the Caretaker in t ...

, Laurence Hobbs,

Rasmus Hardiker Rasmus Hardiker (born 31 January 1985) is a British actor, best known for voicing Scott and Alan Tracy in the reboot animated television series '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. He played Raymond in Steve Coogan's sitcom ''Saxondale'' and Ben in the Ja ...

Pippa Haywood Philippa Haywood (born 6 May 1961) is a British actress. She won the 2005 Rose d'Or Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' Green Wing'' (2004–2006). Her other television credits include '' The Brittas Empire'' (1991–1997), Chimera ...

, Humphrey Ker,

Burt Kwouk Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...

, Alex MacQueen, David Reed,

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films ''Kill List'' (2011) and ''The Lobster'' (2015). Early life Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with ...

Thom Tuck Thomas Tuck (born 28 March 1982) is a British actor and comedian known for being one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls and as a stand-up comedian. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Earl ...

, Lorna Watson and

Lloyd Woolf Lloyd Woolf (born 1981) is a British comedy actor and writer. Personal life Woolf was born in 1981 in Swansea, and grew up in the Swansea Valley town of Pontardawe. After graduating with an English degree from Cambridge University The Universit ...

Episodes

Each episode in the series has a different narrative strand running through it: Episode 1: The World's Most Annoying Creature. In an attempt to create the perfect soldier, a bio-weapons lab creates "The World's Most Annoying Creature", which promptly escapes. It was first shown on 28 August 2008. Episode 2: Njarnia. Edmund and Lucy wander through the back of their self-assembly wardrobe and find themselves in the magical, but slightly rubbish, world of Njarnia (a reference to IKEA product naming, and

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

). It was first shown on 6 September 2008. Episode 3: The Smutty Aliens. A woman is abducted by aliens with rude names and a

phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when Erection, erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimesis, mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically— ...

spaceship. It was first shown on 11 September 2008. Episode 4: The Train Pirates. A group of ordinary commuters are transformed into pirates, led by Captain Goiter (Brian Blessed) It was first shown on 18 October 2008. Episode 5: The Wizard of Office. Dorothy is transported to an office in Oswestry after a storm, in a twist on '' The Wizard of Oz''. Also the London Underground is infested with Pac-Man and a restaurant has a problem with its Death by Chocolate. It was first shown on 25 October 2008. Episode 6: Bondo. The secret clown agent Bondo tries to take down a ninja plot to destroy the Train Pirates and Xotang needs a holiday. It was first shown on 2 October 2008. A highlights show was broadcast on 26 October 2008.

Music

While the series does feature original music composed by Dominic Nunns, it also uses a six tracks of licensed music. This is a partial listing of the licensed music used in the series (as originally broadcast).

Production

''The Wrong Door'' was directed by

Ben Wheatley Benjamin Wheatley (born 7 May 1972) is an English filmmaker and screenwriter. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and tel ...

and Jack Cheshire as well as a large writing team, including Phillip Barron, John Camm, the Dawson Brothers, Ollie Aplin, Tim Inman,

Susy Kane Susy Kane (born 27 August 1978, in Dorking, Surrey, England) is an English actress, comedy writer and musician. Personal life She is the daughter of opera singer Alison Warner and actor and writer John Kane, and the younger sister of comedy w ...

, Will Maclean, and Bert Tyler-Moore. (A full credits list can be found at the BBC's own ''The Wrong Door'' website).

Recurring characters and sketches

Similar to other comedy shows, this show has a number of reoccurring characters and sketches throughout every episode.

Philip and Melanie

Melanie has boyfriend trouble. Philip is rather insensitive and many of her friends and family think he's "a wanker". He left his previous employment at Nottingham Trent University due to a number of

anger management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

issues. He has a curious habit of tearing people to pieces, being, as he is, a large carnivorous

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

. The Philip and Melanie sketches are examples of deadpan humour and often involve other characters in the scene treating the couple as if it were perfectly normal for a young female human to be dating a dinosaur, yet picking up on other curiosities such as their age gap.

Xotang

Xotang the giant robot is often found destroying the environments around him to do everyday tasks (e.g. destroying the London skyline in search of his keys). Surprisingly, no one has tried to harm him despite the fact that he continually destroys the area surrounding him.

Gamer Girl

Gamer Girl is a stereotypical gamer character, described by the official website of the show as a "classic example of the perils of console addiction". Gamer Girl sketches often involve her world merging with that of the game she is currently playing or vice versa.

Superhero Tryouts

A parody of the popular talent show genre of television, Superhero Tryouts is a fictional television show looking for the next popular superhero. Hosted and judged by Captain Justice, Lady Libido and Doctor Fox, the show is plagued largely by mediocre superheroes. Such contestants include: * The Human Spider, who excretes web-like substances from his anus. * Moose-Boy, who has no obvious super powers at all, other than his own theme tune and a helmet featuring moose antlers, and whose origin story was merely being attacked by a moose. * The Raven, a reference to Batman, who has no powers, but instead a body "honed to perfection" and a grapple gun. Upon Raven falling from the rafters, Captain Justice recognizes him as a billionaire playboy called Bobby. * Rocket Man, whose rocket-powered jetpack sets him on fire and spins him around uncontrollably. * Tempus, who has the power to stop time. Although initially unable to convince the judges of his power, his more convincing demonstrations are discounted as he had been disqualified. * A shapeshifter who can transform only into furniture featured on page 12 of the IKEA catalogue. * A telepath who can only read the minds of

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

s. * A superhero with the ability to picture the shape of people's genitals through handshakes. * An elderly, near-deaf, wheelchair-using man able to fly through farting. * The Flame, who is constantly on fire but has no pyrokinetic abilities. (In other sketches entitled "Adventures of the Flame", his intervention often results in the scene of a crime or accident exploding or burning down.) * Speedo, a speedster (one of the few successful contestants).

Dancers

Two dancers competing to see which one is better. The one in the red tracksuit dances normally, but the one in the blue tracksuit always has a special ability.

Snooker Hall

Two people are playing snooker when a man in a black dress coat and white tie appears. He takes the cue from one of the players and then makes a bet with the other. The mystery man then proceeds to perform an impossible

trick shot A trick shot (also trickshot or trick-shot) is a shot played on a billiards table (most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used), which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve ...

(which is done in CGI), takes his winnings and leaves while the remaining player stares in shock.

Reception

Initial reviews for episode one were mixed. There were enthusiastic reviews in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, Heat magazine and The Times; a review in the Daily Record described it as "inventive, exhilarating, rude and sometimes astonishing sketch show combines sharp writing and performing with sci-fi standard special effects to create a whole new breed of futuristic comedy". However, elsewhere it was not so well received; Metro gave it one star whereas a review in

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

described it as having "agonisingly poor material". The programme's launch episode's ratings, however, were very good, gaining 546,000 (a 3.5% share), the highest ever audience for the launch of a comedy on BBC Three. Despite this the second episode and beyond dropped off of the channel's top 10 weekly ratings according to BARB statistics.