Miranda: Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back, Attempts to Step Forward, Falls Over

Miranda is currently one of the most popular comedies in Britain. It's being heralded for its supposed innovation, wit and alternative take on the traditional sitcom. Namely, a woman creating, writing and starring in it. Sadly, the only equality that results from it is it proves that women are just as capable of  terrible comedy as men.

By all accounts, Miranda should be a step in the right direction for gender equality in comedy. It reverses the typical sit-com gender tropes, starring Miranda Hart as the unattractive and unsocial yet lovable Miranda as she attempts in vain to win the affections of handsome, successful, kind-hearted Gary. She has a disapproving mother, friends who struggle to understand her, and has something of a dead-end job. Seem familiar? Yes, the premise is completely unoriginal, yet it's made interesting by Miranda, an actual human female, being the protagonist. And while there have been other comedies that have a woman as the star, New Girl, Ugly Betty and Absolutely Fabulous to name a few, none of those seem to feature such a strong female influence and heart than Miranda. It's truly a progressive step. So it's a real shame that it's terrible.

Not long after one begins watching Miranda, it's very apparent that the entire arsenal of jokes consist of cringe-worthy slapstick, lazy innuendos and all the subtlety of a holophone opera. The refreshment of a less attractive, tall, upper class woman as the focus quickly turns sour, once you realise that every joke on the show is about how she's less attractive, tall and upper class. Many jokes genuinely consist of her simply pulling a face at the camera (yes, there's an obscene amount of fourth wall breaking) while the audience (yes, there's a laugh track) literally soil themselves laughing at other things that aren't sodding funny. Many critics have branded the show a throwback and "old fashioned", but what Miranda lacks when compared to the likes of Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder, is the ability to balance slapstick and silliness with genuine intelligent humour. Miranda is so serious about not taking itself seriously, the gags come off as forced, not helped by performances that are at best camp, predictable normally, and painful at worst. 

I wanted to like Miranda, and in many ways I respect it for its success, telling various TV tropes where they can go in the process, but looking at it solely as a situation comedy, it is incessantly dire. However, it's rave reviews, awards, and three whole series' (though only 18 episodes in total, thanks to the mysterious wonder of British season lengths, right now being one of the few times I'm thankful for it), means I probably just don't get it. Maybe it's actually a satire, a parody of the tired sit-com format, reversing gender roles to emphasise the ridiculousness. Maybe the laugh track whoops and claps at so much of a raised eyebrow because it is in fact, mocking its audience for having to be spoon-fed laughs. Maybe it's actually one of the smartest comedies Britain has ever seen, appealing to a full range of audiences, from those who love familiar formulas and revel in the comfort of them, to those that crave parodies and sophisticated jabs at the old and clichéd. 

Maybe.





Probably not, though.