Fresh Meat - Series 4

[Paul Calf]

I'd like to see a spin-off featuring the Professors Shayles and life in their department - Tony Gardner's always watchable and there's plenty of mileage in the comings and goings of academics.  There was quite a bit of this in the early series but it seems to have dropped off a bit.

Also a bit surprised the Fresh Meat format hasn't been picked up in the States - I think it would translate well and it would be interesting to see a more realistic take on college life there.

As we saw with The Office, banking on Americans liking realism in sitcoms will probably lose you your house.

[Noodle Lizard]

As we saw with The Office, banking on Americans liking realism in sitcoms will probably lose you your house.

I wouldn't say this was a particularly realistic show ...

But I'm not aware of any US shows set in a college, which is odd really.

[Icehaven]

Hmm, I'm enjoying it so far, but possibly more from goodwill/familiarity and just seeing how it pans out etc. than because it's particularly funny though. I think accusations of laziness are probably fair, overall the programme's had a lot of acclaim and been popular, and it's definitely the last series so it's possibly been a bit hard for them to muster too much motivation to make it any better than it needs to be. Only bit I actually laughed at was JP's absurd 'typical student' traffic cone and vodka pose for the snotty Italian son.   

[Utter Shit]

Blimey, I was excited to come and read a load of positive comments on here after laughing all the way through that episode, wasn't expecting such negativity at all.

[Quincey]

Surprised Vod gave into peer pressure to give them all free drinks so easily. I love the Oregon President storyline, would love to see more focus on that.

[Paul Calf]

It's a great storyline but Oregon is a fucking shit. She's been an infuriatingly pretentious twat since the S1E1 but she seems to have been amped up for the final act.

[Utter Shit]

It's a great storyline but Oregon is a fucking shit. She's been an infuriatingly pretentious twat since the S1E1 but she seems to have been amped up for the final act.

Quite realistic of people who try to get onto the student career ladder in my experience - when I was at uni I had a lot of contact with the student elections and the vast majority of candidates were career-minded egotists more interested in what the job could do for them than what they could do for the job - the short-term power and status, and long-term career prospects and contacts, make it a great path for anyone who gets fizzy knickers for that sort of thing.

This wasn't the case for the minor unpaid/part-time positions, which were mainly filled by enthusiastic do-gooders who were passionate about their chosen role, but it was true of all the main jobs (president, vice president, comms, ents). Oregon is a broad but reasonably accurate portrayal of the type of person that student elections tend to attract.

[Blue Jam]

Blimey, I was excited to come and read a load of positive comments on here after laughing all the way through that episode, wasn't expecting such negativity at all.

Not just me then... I'm still loving it, especially the Oregon storyline. I loved the revenge of the "egg chasers" and Oregon having to use her giant cheque as a shield- an attempt to distance herself from her fellow poshos which backfired spectacularly. I can't wait for it all to end with her sobbing over her Fulbright Scholarship rejection letter- I somehow doubt that being the author of a crap play and running a failing student union into the ground will do her any favours. Perhaps she'll get desperate enough to need a glowing reference from Tony Shayles...

I thought a trick was missed when Kingsley admitted he wasn't going to tell Luca that he was in a relationship with Rosa and Oregon called him immature: instead of going on about Campari he could have reminded her that she neglected to tell poor Dylan Shayles that she'd had his dad, or that she'd just shagged JP's married brother on the sly.

Also Kingsley finally telling Luca about the relationship didn't work for me. "I shagged your mum" situations aren't really funny when the shagger is less likeable than the person whose mum they're shagging.

[Blue Jam]

Quite realistic of people who try to get onto the student career ladder in my experience - when I was at uni I had a lot of contact with the student elections and the vast majority of candidates were career-minded egotists more interested in what the job could do for them than what they could do for the job - the short-term power and status, and long-term career prospects and contacts, make it a great path for anyone who gets fizzy knickers for that sort of thing.

The Manchester Medway union getting into massive debt and facing closure is realistic too- the exact same thing seems to have happened to a lot of real-life student unions over the past decade. It may have something to do with the fact that student union elections are essentially popularity contests and the people who win them often have no idea what they're doing, or don't really care. Having the relevant skills and experience to run a union counts for nothing next to being a Big Name On Campus or being Vice President of the Rugby Club- ie, the kind of people who have lots of mates who use the union a lot and who actually bother to vote.

When I was an undergrad our union had the same president for two years in a row. He got re-elected despite getting the union further into debt during his first term, bringing the university's much-publicised threat of closure a bit nearer. One big problem was that the bar wasn't especially nice or cheap and was surrounded by nicer and cheaper pubs- his "solution" was simply to tell us hard-up students: "Come on guys! Stop supporting our rivals! Support your union!". It didn't really matter that he was totally out of his depth and had no real ideas- he was a nice guy and everyone liked him. The next few presidents didn't seem to do much better- a few years after I graduated I read in a national newspaper that the debt had finally reached an unacceptable level and the university had made good on its threat to take the union out of the hands of the sabbatical officers and to appoint a few experienced managers and accountants to run it until the debt was sorted out.

It's as if sabbatical officers see unions as pretend businesses they can have a bit of fun with, where they can enjoy no risk of facing any real consequences if they fuck up. Unions are like places they go to for a practice run before getting a "real" job. I always found that "Er, will this do?" attitude insulting- especially when it lead to us students having a crap and expensive bar just metres away from a half-decent Wetherspoons.

[BritishHobo]

I like that they are setting everyone up to be a bit genuinely fucked this series - whether it ends on a happy note or not, I think it's interesting for the last season. Kingsley having his naivety smashed so quickly and easily was lovely (the happy obliviousness of him saying he wants to go into radio 'or whatever' and explaining he's doing Geology, as if it's a perfectly thought-out plan), and I'm enjoying Vod realising the scale of her debt and actually trying to knuckle down. Her giving up and forcing out a classic Vod thing of stealing a keg was great. Everyone living it up in the bath of beer pretending they don't have all this shit going on. I hope they're setting everything up to properly explode in the final episode, rather than sort-of peter out.

[Noodle Lizard]

If it ends on a properly depressing note, I'd regain a lot of respect for it (so long as it's earned, rather than having Vod die or something).  I thought the ending to the first series was quite good in that regard.

[Fried Egg Sandwich]

I wouldn't say this was a particularly realistic show ...

But I'm not aware of any US shows set in a college, which is odd really.

[Noodle Lizard]

That's high school, mate.  High school.

[olliebean]

You never watched The College Years?

[Blue Jam]

Who else had had Crazy Horses in their head since Monday? Actually I'm just glad something has finally displaced my previous earworm- the Wizbit theme tune.

[Steven]

Who else had had Crazy Horses in their head since Monday? Actually I'm just glad something has finally displaced my previous earworm- the Wizbit theme tune.

I get all sorts of random wank looping around in my brain like a never-ending carnival of pain. This is a regular one that crops up on the jukebox from hell.

How to get rid of an earworm.

[Blue Jam]

Spoiler alert

Olivia Poulet

[close]

is in this week's episode, along with

Spoiler alert

Tomothy

[close]

. Would be a nice bit of stunt casting if

Spoiler alert

she was one of his Tory mates

[close]

.

Is anyone else getting the impression that Oregon is heading for a fall, not just over the Union presidency, but over her exam results? We've seen her skipping tutorials for union business while Vod seems to be spending every spare minute revising and writing- could it be possible that Vod may somehow end up getting a 2:1 she doesn't give a shit about, while Oregon narrowly misses out on a 2:1- and with it, her chance of a Fulbright scholarship? Oregon seems a bit too convinced that she already has the scholarship in the bag and will definitely be off to the US, I think she's definitely being set up for a fall there.

I didn't realise that Rosa was Mrs Robbie Williams either.

[Virgo76]

I found that new persona Josie adopted in yesterday's episode hugely annoying. I know it was supposed to be irritating but it succeeded too well in this respect, perhaps because the actress is clearly in her mid-thirties.
Great series though.

[Utter Shit]

Based on last night's episode (and to an extent the first) it seems like you might get your wish, Noodle Lizard - a weirdly depressing episode with everyone suddenly in panic mode about the end of uni. At the moment it seems like the only one headed for a happy ending is maybe Howard, which would be a neat finish seeing as he was the downbeat one throughout while all the others lived it up.

[Blue Jam]

Yes, Josie suddenly trying to emulate Vod didn't work for me either. I can understand why Oregon was trying to be more like her cool new friend as a clueless first year in series 1, and I can sort understand why the sheltered Candice was trying out a few new identities for size in series 3 (though that was annoying too, to be honest), but Josie trying too hard to impress after all this time? That didn't make sense at all.

The only thing I liked about that subplot was the way it ended with Vod calling them all out on their assumption that she's a slacker who doesn't give a fuck. I also had a guilty laugh at JP's reason for disapproving of the nickname "Jobbo", because I had been thinking the exact same childish thing.

I think Vod is definitely headed for a 2:1 or even a First now, while Oregon is set to crash and burn. It looks like Tony Shayles is over her and not even he can help her now, or perhaps he'd even stoop to giving her a bad reference for the Fulbright application. I did like that bit about her offering him £100 to judge a £20,000 poetry prize, because "academics don't earn much these days" and he'd get to put a famous author's name on his CV, and not realising how incredibly insulting that was to a tenured professor, or that she seemed to be lording it over him a bit.

Spoiler alert

Tony Shayles is in next week's episode so I'm looking forward to that

[close]

. It's a shame Jean Shayles hasn't been used more, she was great.

I liked the ongoing outrage at President Oregon, and it spilling over into the poetry competition with an entry from one of the murderball team. Next week's episode also has a character simply called

Spoiler alert

"Heckler"

[close]

and I can guess what that refers to- that should be fun.

I liked Olivia Poulet as Vod's crusty mate Paz. I'm glad she wasn't cast as one of Tomothy's mates- that would have been funny but a bit obvious, and having her play a trustafarian (probably) was funnier.

I liked the way Howard was nervous about visiting London while Kingsley and JP had no such worries, before they both crashed hard and Howard was the one who emerged triumphant- who needs street smarts when you have a compass and a jumper, eh? I'm wondering if he'll end up being the surprise success out of the boys, just like Vod seems to be heading for greater things than Oregon.

I have only just realised that Nas is Nick "Mr Swallow" Mohammed, who was great at the Edinburgh Fringe when I saw him last year.

[neveragain]

Really enjoyed the bleak semi-realistic nature of the last one. All the interviews and other professional plans going so awkwardly. I forget what Josie's meant to be doing... Is she redoing her second year (due to her mental dental moment)?

[Blue Jam]

Josie transferred and is now in the second year of a pharmacology course, I think.

[Icehaven]

Josie transferred and is now in the second year of a pharmacology course, I think.

Yep she did a practical dental thing drunk and seriously injured someone, so got kicked off her course and had to get on a different one which means she's a year below all the others (although Howard's been there for ages so he's presumably either repeated a few years or doing a PhD or something.)

[Blue Jam]

I'm pretty sure Howard is doing an undergrad degree- didn't he speak of getting a First while being The Fritzl of Revision? Fuck knows why he has been there so long, but tbh it's one of those things I'd rather not have explained, like Vod's parentage.

[BritishHobo]

That, I think, was the first genuinely great episode since series 1. The London protest episode and the one with JP's dad/Oregon's horse kinda promised that the show could be something quite interesting, but since then it's been pretty straightforward and underwhelming. This one, with the London trip, and everything coming out between the girls (it seems like ages since Oregon and Vod have had anything even close to a conversation, which made this quite satisfying), is the first time the show has felt like that again to me.

I don't think Josie's new persona was to impress so much as out of boredom at first, and later to needle Vod into a confrontation.

[up_the_hampipe]

Agreed on episode three. Gave the show a good kick up the arse. Overall I like how the series is really focused on everything ending and their future dilemmas as opposed to a lot of sitcoms where it's all normal for the first few episodes and then attempts to cram an ending into the last two.

[BritishHobo]

I'm surprised Oregon and Vod's dissertations have come so early in the series (well, halfway through). I suppose there's still exams and stuff.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was a little confused by Josie's status. Her whole housemate audition process in episode 2 was baffling for me until it clicked towards the end that she had another year left in her.

[Icehaven]

Agreed on episode three. Gave the show a good kick up the arse. Overall I like how the series is really focused on everything ending and their future dilemmas as opposed to a lot of sitcoms where it's all normal for the first few episodes and then attempts to cram an ending into the last two.

Like Peep Show, ironically. Although they didn't write these episodes, did they? Or did they write them but different people direct each one? Or neither?

[An tSaoi]

(although Howard's been there for ages so he's presumably either repeated a few years or doing a PhD or something.)

I'm pretty sure Howard is doing an undergrad degree- didn't he speak of getting a First while being The Fritzl of Revision? Fuck knows why he has been there so long, but tbh it's one of those things I'd rather not have explained, like Vod's parentage.

Howard was doing a different degree (philosophy as I recall), before quitting and switching to geology. That's why he had already been living in the house for at least a year. I can't remember if this is something that was explained in the show, or in some promotional material.

[An tSaoi]

Ah here we go: http://www.channel4.com/info/press/press-packs/greg-mchugh-is-howard

Talking about his character in Fresh Meat, Greg says: "Howard changed course, so he has been at university for two years already. He started a course he didn't like so moved from philosophy to geology. He's kind of the odd ball of the house. He was quite badly bullied the year before so these new guys are a bit easier for him to cope with although he finds JP quite difficult to deal with. Howard slowly eases into the group and finds he actually quite likes them.

I wonder if they have a "show bible" where they keep track of all this stuff. I remember that Howard has had three surnames over the course of the series, which is just sloppy: Rowbottom (as seen on a letter he gets during an exam), McCallum (during his Poirot style summing-up when they had a break-in) and McGregor (which has been used twice now, so it's probably settled).