Numberwang

Comedy’s core has turned into a world of intelligent silliness. A perfect example is the show “That Mitchell and Webb Look” from the BBC. A skit called Numberwang, which is a game show where people call out random numbers, became so popular that they made a history of how the game show came into existence. This “mock-umentary,” as the genre is called, takes a completely fake and nonsensical game show and turns it into a supposedly serious historical lesson. The host is dressed in a suit and talks directly to the camera as it follows him through a dark basement. The host keeps a serious tone while explaining that a man “continually had sex with the number eleven. He still swears to this day that is was sixteen.” The host then continues on about the history of Numberwang and how a mathematician had been the founder.
The show cuts to the mathematician, Bertrand Russell, is also dressed in a refined suit but as soon as he begins to speak you realize that it is complete gibberish. He explains his story of finding out “if it is or it is not Numberwang,” while holding a pipe and sitting on a box next to a leather chair. After babbling on for a few minutes he comes to the conclusion that a “on a desk, I saw a jug. In a flash of inspiration I knew I had solved it. Smashing the jug, lest anyone copy my work. I went across the halls to the room of my very good friend, Liechtenstein. I opened the door and I said to him, quite simply, ‘That’s Numberwang.’ As I remember, he cried.” This personal story turned into an ironic joke shows silliness altered into a moment of brilliance.
The mockery that Numberwang portrays is projected onto the reality of everyday life. After it’s discovery, Numberwang is used in newspapers, like Sudoku, and books are even made explaining the process in order to get “Numberwang.” The rationality of Numberwang is soon developed into a game show in which a robot named Collosum is used to determine “what is numberwang.” The hilarity of the robot is enhanced by the fact it tries to take over the world. In the end, it is noted that a picture of a chicken can only shut down Collosum.
After Collosum reeked havoc on the world, the show Numberwang took hold of television. It’s popularity rose and it began to show in other countries. At the end of the skit, the host makes a witty remark and looks to Collosum for a reply; however, the host finds that Collosum has escaped. Looking frantically through his pictures, the host finds that he has no picture of a chicken. In the end, Collosum takes over and kills both the host and the cameraman.