Two Episodes of Mash
Two Episodes of Mash is a sketch comedy series created and performed by Diane Morgan and Joe Wilkinson who are the members of the stage comedy duo of the same name. It began life on Radio 2 but was then moved to Radio 4 in its second series.
It is a self-aware, metafictional work as the ongoing narrative of the show, that being two characters who supposedly have their own radio show bumbling through BBC Studios, is interspersed with the sketches the duo are known for. Presenters of other shows on Radio 2 and Radio 4 often make cameo appearances as the characters move from set to set, as well as BBC technical staff who also make appearances in order to set up the show and make its conceit work.
I am less interested in the sketches and more interested in the larger metafictional and intertextual conceit the sketches are framed around. Jokes largely revolve around how dysfunctional the production is, such as a character's excitement of receiving a theme tune for the show - one week later than it was supposed to be received.
The audio design is also played around for laughs at times, as mic taps, test audio and other imperfections are left as is to create the sense of a dysfunctional production. Other traditional sound effects and voices are used in the sketches, such as dog barks at a veterinary clinic.
In terms of representation, Morgan and Wilkinson are of course of different genders but the other characters are usually white men. Of course, this has to do with the intertextual nature of the show with other BBC Radio 2 and 4 programmes, most of them having white male presenters. I am less limited by the auxiliary characters in my production due to emulating, and being, a production of a smaller scope than a studio-wide BBC crossover.
It is a self-aware, metafictional work as the ongoing narrative of the show, that being two characters who supposedly have their own radio show bumbling through BBC Studios, is interspersed with the sketches the duo are known for. Presenters of other shows on Radio 2 and Radio 4 often make cameo appearances as the characters move from set to set, as well as BBC technical staff who also make appearances in order to set up the show and make its conceit work.
I am less interested in the sketches and more interested in the larger metafictional and intertextual conceit the sketches are framed around. Jokes largely revolve around how dysfunctional the production is, such as a character's excitement of receiving a theme tune for the show - one week later than it was supposed to be received.
The audio design is also played around for laughs at times, as mic taps, test audio and other imperfections are left as is to create the sense of a dysfunctional production. Other traditional sound effects and voices are used in the sketches, such as dog barks at a veterinary clinic.
In terms of representation, Morgan and Wilkinson are of course of different genders but the other characters are usually white men. Of course, this has to do with the intertextual nature of the show with other BBC Radio 2 and 4 programmes, most of them having white male presenters. I am less limited by the auxiliary characters in my production due to emulating, and being, a production of a smaller scope than a studio-wide BBC crossover.
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