I’m Spazticus

Series two, episode one
A pilot developed into a four-part series in 2012, ‘I’m Spazticus’ received mixed reviews, but C4 has had faith enough to try again this year. It’s frustrating to report that little has improved. Deriving its title from an ancient, taboo-pushing Ian Dury song (‘Spasticus Autisticus’) is symptomatic of the problem – it’s woefully old-fashioned from start to finish.

The all-disabled cast do their best, but there’s only so far one can go when a sketch involves pretending to be Hitler. When Freddie Starr isn’t being channelled, ‘Brass Eye’ is, with a carbon-copy of the famed ‘Carla the elephant’ skit involving a charity committed to stopping monkey arms being used instead of expensive prosthetic arms. Trouble is, whereas Chris Morris had the panache to make Martin Amis look like a tit, ‘I’m Spazticus’ can only cajole plankton from ‘Towie’ or ‘Big Brother’ to make themselves look foolish. This raises precisely no laughs, simply because nobody expects reality rejects to be anything but dimwitted to begin with.

Amid the ‘Jackass’-lite buffoonery, one skit shines – an estate agent turning up to give an estimate on a wendy house. Otherwise, there’s little to threaten the holy trinity of pranksters – Steve Allen, Sacha Baron Cohen and St Noel of Crinkley Bottom.