2012Wipe 

               

                By this point Charlie Brooker’s yearly review show has become a bit of an annual tradition.  The program, this year called 2112Wipe, is the latest instalment of Brooker’s popular Screenwipe series. Beginning in 2006 Brooker reviewed TV programs and explained the inner workings of the television business in a sardonic and pessimistic style which was as hilarious as it was cutting. From 2009 Screenwipe was reduced from a six episode series to an end-of-year review show.  In many ways these review shows were just as good as the regular series however Brooker’s latest installation falls short of its predecessors’ high standards.

                While there are some generally funny parts in the show (the title sequence is particularly brilliant) I cannot shrug the feeling that this is not Brooker’s finest performance. His sarcastic snarks are not as sharp as there were and his Shitverts section just seems like a rehash of his Biggest Cocks in Advertising routine.  The show is also hamstrung by its format where Brooker lists off the major television events of the year month-by-month. Originally a Screenwipe episode worked around a theme which allowed Brooker to go into depth on his subjects and build some narrative coherence and this allowed the jokes to build up on top of each other. This thematic unity also allowed Brooker to describe the inner workings of television production which added depth to the program: it was educational as well as funny.  However in 2012Wipe the focus was on the major television item of each month and this causes the show to be disjointed and gives it a somewhat rushed feel as Brooker tries to get through twelve months of television in one hour.  The section of the Olympics I felt was a particularly bad lull in the episode because the Games’ success left so little for Brooker to be sarcastic about.  These format restrictions existed in the previous three yearly reviews but that did not prevent them from being very funny which leads one to suspect that this year’s comedy material was below par.  

                In general 2012Wipe was not a bad program however it pales in comparisons to Brooker’s previous outings and I hold out hope that 2013Wipe will see a return to form.