Is anyone gonna watch this tonight? I may check it out if i get home in time.
previews that i can’t get to work on my comp:
http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/triggerhappytv/
But what do YOU think?
Watching it now. Color me unimpressed. Not even a chuckle so far. Mostly uninspired sight gags and pranks that come nowhere near as clever as any of the iterations of Candid Camera. One of the worst British imports I’ve seen.
I’ve always enjoyed it over here in the UK. Partly it’s the music (each “character” gets their own song) which is very atmospheric. Partly the editing (which is very sharp). Mostly it’s the way it plays on the politeness of the average British (specifically English) person, who ties themselves in knots (a) not to look silly and (b) not to embarrass the THTV presenter about his odd behaviour. Not sure if this will make any impression in the US?
Plus look out for the gangs of delinquent squirrels, they’re my heroes! 
Felt quite fresh when it fisrt came out and I loved it. However, it’s possibly Brit-centric, maybe even London-centric to a degree. You’ll find tourists are a popular source of humour - there’s one in particular I used to tease Coldie about…
Some interesting ideas and a lot of the characters are the usual suspects write large.
Maybe it’s takes a couple of shows to get into the characters.
Agree with Jinty, the music is quality.
I’d try and stick with it for a couple more shows.
Seemed okay, a few good gags (the baloons on the baby was hilarious, as was the guys in the rabbit costumes having sex in the theater) and a few that weren’t so good. I liked how they didn’t bother with a host to say lame puns before and after each prank, they just rapid fired from on to the next. Could possibly improve, but if it gets too good CC will probably cancel it.
Maybe I’m an exception but I’m one American who really likes it. I can’t even quite place my finger on why I enjoy it so much. Most of the gags aren’t all that funny by themselves and some of them are repetitive but for some reason I find myself laughing through most of the show.
We’re used to the “Candid Camera” type shows where the highpoint of a bit is the revelation - the payoff of the gag is the moment when the person is told what is really happening. THTV leaves this part off. In fact we often see very little (or nothing) of the victim’s reaction. I find myself sort of filling this in. I imagine what the victims must be thinking about the sudden surrealness of their situation. I think you have to be doing this to really enjoy it.
I also find the British politeness and almost total lack of reaction to be amusing. Some of these situations might sometimes receive very strong, possibly even hostile, reactions in the US. On THTV the people, for the most part, are polite or simply appear puzzled. There are a few exceptions to this, the driver receiving a parking ticket for stopping to let pedestrians cross does argue and this is one of the funniest gags on the show. On the other hand, elderly people being openly (albeit politely) accused of heinous acts of vandalism in a public park react very politely, this is also hilarious.