This Is So Not About The Simpsons
Assembly Rooms

So why call the show that then? A cynic may suggest that if Harry Shearer and his wife Judith Owen ran a show under their own names not only would they not get an Assembly Rooms venue but neither would they get much of an audience. But as Harry Shearer is the voice of Mr Burns and several other Simpsons characters people may think they're going to get a show with the originality, humour and sometimes surrealism of the aforementioned cartoon, they're not. This show consists of the rather soft stand-up of Shearer with the over the top caterwauling of his missus and her 'topical' songs (topical if you live in L.A. maybe). He fails to judge the sophistication of UK audiences by telling us that Bush is a bit idiotic whilst his wife butts in occasionally with her trite little ballads about the American way of life which all seem to miss the mark and head uncontrollably to the most obvious of conclusions and banal punch-lines. Chuck in a few unnecessary video clips and Shearer probably thought this show was cutting edge satire... Uh Uh.

You could almost hear a sharp-intake of breath every time Shearer was quiet for a few seconds because it meant his wife would soon be knocking seven bells out of the old Joanna again. Weighty topics continued to be lightly buffed and any hope that this was the show we all hoped for sadly died.

Not ecccselllent.