Night of the Improv
| Night of the Improv | |
|---|---|
 Series art | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama |
| Created by | Nick Barraclough |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 54 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | single-camera |
| Running time | 3 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Home Media |
| Release | |
| Original network | Discovery Channel |
| Original release | 24 September 2022 – 23 September 2023 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Barraclough Brothers Wild Nature |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Search Night of the Improv on Amazon.
Night of the Improv is a highly regarded and praised TV variety show conceived, written, produced and performed by actor and filmmaker Nick Barraclough. The series aired year-round from September 2022-23. After 54 episodes, Nick felt he had completed a fine art piece to be able to retire from filmmaking.
Overview[edit]
The series stars Nick every Saturday Morning at 10am and showcases his “closest creation to perfection” in filmmaking, acting and comedy. He is in single-act sketches that are very dynamic, ranging from Hospitals to Pythonesque performances and the Army.
It was first ordered in 2022 so that Nick could promote the “apex” of his and Kaos’ careers, and give the best of both comedians back to back on the broadcasts. While Kaos gives a “slice of life” talk show, Nick gives “brilliant” acting performances. He is highly acclaimed.
Availability[edit]
The episodes are available on Internet Archive. They can also be seen in the Best of Night of the Improv DVD collections (2 volumes) on Vimeo. These together are 20 of the best performances of Nick’s series.[1]
In quality, MOST of the episodes are of genius level. Only a few (12, 2, 15, 22, etc) are of lower enjoyability. Also, the limited resources and lack of production budget meant Nick had to be extremely resourceful, and some of the episodes have poor audiovisual quality.
Gags in Series[edit]
Within the series, it is obvious Nick was inspired by certain aspects of Monty Python and classical comedy.
- Rule Britannia- A popular British tune which Nick hums or mutters sometimes.
- Moustache- In several episodes, Nick wears a prop moustache for certain mature effect in his characters, which are often used singly, with rare names mentioned.
- Backgrounds- Often the settings of the sketches are cheaply decorated and obviously studio. This does not always take away from the acting.
Episodes[edit]
Note: A plus (+) means the episode is good, a minus (-) means it is bad.’'
| No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Man With Tape Recorder Up His Nose (+)" | 24 September 2022 | |
| Nick performs the famous Monty Python skit in a stairwell. (DVD) | |||
| 2 | "Episode 2 (-)" | 1 October 2022 | |
| Nick does a rendition of Stagg Chile’s “Not That One!” routine. | |||
| 3 | "Episode 3 (-)" | 8 October 2022 | |
| 4 | "Duck Hunting (+)" | 15 October 2022 | |
| Nick goes hunting quietly for Ducks. | |||
| 5 | "Government Unofficials (+)" | 22 October 2022 | |
| Nick is a shady government official, but turns out to be a carefree silly Hawaiian nut. (DVD) | |||
| 6 | "Haunted Bedroom (-)" | 29 October 2022 | |
| Nick performs a spooky Halloween skit. (DVD) | |||
| 7 | "The Farmhouse (+)" | 5 November 2022 | |
| Nick is a farmer showing off his southern equipment (DVD) | |||
| 8 | "Pandemic Monologue (+)" | 12 November 2022 | |
| Nick gives a monologue about epidemics in history. (DVD) | |||
| 9 | "The Trial (-)" | 19 November 2022 | |
| Nick is a zany Lawyer in a court who gives up on his case. | |||
| 10 | "Poker Game (-)" | 26 November 2022 | |
| A very nail-biting poker hand to win the jackpot. All in. | |||
| 11 | "Fireplace in Cabin (-)" | 3 December 2022 | |
| Nick is a hobo who is moved by a fireplace. | |||
| 12 | "Silly Conversation (-)" | 10 December 2022 | |
| A very stupid conversation about nothing. | |||
| 13 | "Out of Place (+)" | 17 December 2022 | |
| A twit is out of place in nowhere. (DVD) | |||
| 14 | "Christmas Morning (-)" | 25 December 2022 | |
| Nick captures the spirit of Christmas. | |||
| 15 | "The Date (-)" | 31 December 2022 | |
| Nick gives a very dark and disturbed drama performance as a twisted dater. | |||
| 16 | "Wintry Flurry (+)" | 7 January 2023 | |
| Nick tries to survive a trek through a bizzard. (DVD) | |||
| 17 | "Sentenced to Stage (+)" | 14 January 2023 | |
| Nick is a greedy and needy vagrant in prison. | |||
| 18 | "First Surgery (+)" | 21 January 2023 | |
| Nick is a doctor who is incompetently avoiding a surgery. (DVD) | |||
| 19 | "Inspector of the Strange (+)" | 28 January 2023 | |
| Nick barges in as a private dick who has no reason to be there at all. (DVD) | |||
| 20 | "Besame Mucho Dance (-)" | 5 February 2023 | |
| Nick gives a karaoke dance in Mexico. | |||
| 21 | "The Census Taker (-)" | 12 February 2023 | |
| Nick is a census taker who struggles to take someone’s name, confusing their names and jobs with his predicaments in the rain. | |||
| 22 | "Medieval King (+)" | 19 February 2023 | |
| Nick is a regal king who reacts to a boxing match. | |||
| 23 | "A Stupid Political Speech on Behalf of Nobody (+)" | 26 February 2023 | |
| Nick is a dictator-type authority figure who gives a very politically motivated speech that turns out to be stupid. | |||
| 24 | "Outer Space Travels (+)" | 4 March 2023 | |
| An alien shows off his unapparent powers and fails to scare away travellers. | |||
| 25 | "Vox Pops (+)" | 11 March 2023 | |
| Nick is a British news reporter who talks about the new housing developments. (DVD) | |||
| 26 | "Mr. Boris Graves (+)" | 18 March 2023 | |
| Nick is a very stern and deadpan vicar. (DVD) | |||
| 27 | "Sea Voyage (+)" | 25 March 2023 | |
| Nick is a sick seaman coming home. | |||
| 28 | "A Lesson in Shopping (+)" | 1 April 2023 | |
| Nick narrates a tutoring video about shopping for bad food. | |||
| 29 | "And Now, A Stunt! (-)" | 8 April 2023 | |
| Nick performs a stunt- a dangerous slip and slide down the hallway. | |||
| 30 | "A Parasitic Man (+)" | 15 April 2023 | |
| Nick is a very annoying man who is speaking lots. | |||
| 31 | "Overexplaining (+)" | 22 April 2023 | |
| Nick is a character who has to over explain every little details about small tasks. (DVD) | |||
| 32 | "A Day In The Army (+)" | 29 April 2023 | |
| Nick works in the army, and survives the war. (DVD) | |||
| 33 | "Boxing Match Tonight (-)" | 6 May 2023 | |
| Nick is a boxer who comes out strong in the bare fisted round, but backs down. | |||
| 34 | "Sport- Lots of It" | 13 May 2023 | |
| Nick is a man who fails miserably at sports. | |||
| 35 | "A Very Grotesque Man" | 20 May 2023 | |
| A remake of the Phantom of the Opera’s “Unmasking Scene”. | |||
| 36 | "Scotsman in the Middle of Nowhere" | 27 May 2023 | |
| Nothing really happens this week. A Scotsman. (DVD) | |||
| 37 | "Into The Swamp" | 4 June 2023 | |
| Nick is an Australian who delves into a swamp. (DVD) | |||
| 38 | "Wild West Daze (+)" | 11 June 2023 | |
| Wild West sketch. | |||
| 39 | "French Foreign Legion" | 18 June 2023 | |
| Nick in the Legion. | |||
| 40 | "Plumbing Sketch (-)" | 25 June 2023 | |
| A remake of Stooges zaniness in plumbing. | |||
| 41 | "Gangsters (+)" | 2 July 2023 | |
| A sleek man in dark glasses plans a burglary. | |||
| 42 | "Cavemen Sketch" | 9 July 2023 | |
| A caveman on the rocks works his morning routine in Pleistocene. | |||
| 43 | "Tropics Exploration" | 16 July 2023 | |
| Nick leads an expedition in the tropical forests as a nature guide. (DVD) | |||
| 44 | "Higher Society (-)" | 23 July 2023 | |
| Nick attends a party and takes the silverware, descending into utter chaos. | |||
| 45 | "Art Studio Tutoring (+)" | 30 July 2023 | |
| Nick is a teacher giving a painting lesson at the studio. (DVD) | |||
| 46 | "Rich Uncle (-)" | 5 August 2023 | |
| A take on the classic “Cat and the Canary” story. | |||
| 47 | "More Time At The Races" | 12 August 2023 | |
| Nick watches the horse races. | |||
| 48 | "Bull Fighter" | 19 August 2023 | |
| Nick is a matador in Mexico. | |||
| 49 | "Children Sketch (+)" | 26 August 2023 | |
| Nick is a child playing with his toys. | |||
| 50 | "The German Sketch (+)" | 2 September 2023 | |
| Nick performs the “Lumberjack Song in German. (DVD) | |||
| 51 | "At School" | 9 September 2023 | |
| Nick is at school. | |||
| 52 | "Mrs. Nextweek (+)" | 16 September 2023 | |
| Nick is a Pepperpot hobnobbing about the grocery sales. (DVD) | |||
| 53 | "In Retirement" | 23 September 2023 | |
| In the series finale, Nick, as an old man, reflects on one year of acting. As the time went by, he “has all the time in the world” to relax. The end of a job. (DVD) | |||
| S | "The British Finale" | 30 September 2023 | |
| Special episode to end the series. Feature length. Nick is a man who infiltrates a gardening party at Holyrood Palace, but screws it up and is chased away. | |||
Legacy[edit]
When asked about producing another season, Nick declined. He had already exhausted himself producing more than 50 standalone, original sketches and he had no ideas for any more.
While the series is of crude quality, and sometimes lacks in excitement, the show as a whole is an astounding achievement. One man produces all these episodes that can be enjoyed thoroughly is incredible. Episodes like “Government Unofficials”, “Pandemic Monologue” and “Mr. Boris Graves” are all original, outstanding masterpieces. Besides these, a lot of them are based on generic plot lines, with take offs. “Haunted Bedroom” and “Rick Uncle” are recreations of “The Cat Creeps” and “Out of Place” a direct transfer from Upper Class Twit. Nick actually started with a Monty Python sketch!
In the end, this is an enjoyable little show that marks an achievement in filmmaking for Nick Barraclough. It will be leaned upon for decades.
