I worked in a petrol station in the UK for a few weeks when I was about 18. There were two customers who did exactly this little charade, every day. One was an older gent who arrived exactly at the time we were allowed to start selling alcohol, every day. His whole thing was that he'd buy a half of cheap whiskey 'because buying a full liter would be mad, wouldn't it?' He'd be back for another half around midday, though. The other customer was even sadder as I'd been to high school with her daughter. She'd always come in and be really friendly, and walk around the store talking about what she was buying ('Oh yes I'd better buy some bananas, too!') Then once she was at thr checkout and I'd starting scanning her items, she'd 'suddenly remember' that she was 'having a party' and she needed two huge bottles of rotgut cider. Basically, this sketch absolutely nailed it.
Reminds me of when I used to work at a convenience store here in America when I got out of high school in the mid-80s. I'd have regular customers who would come every day and buy a pack of cigarettes, and maybe something else like a cup of coffee or soft drink. After knowing they were a regular I'd suggest the moronic concept of buying a carton of cigs at a time instead of a pack, since a pack was around 3 bucks but a carton of 10 was around $20. I don't think any of the regulars bought cartons, but I do recall selling cartons to other people who WERE capable of performing simple math. The few times regulars would bother to give any excuse it was always "If I buy a carton I'll smoke more". Uh-huh, yeah. I don't care if there is a huge thunderstorm, hurricane, or it's raining fucking lava, your ass if going to get in your car and drive here if you run out. I would think this but never say it of course. Both my parents were smokers so I knew what the fuck I was talking about...
I was behind an old boy in Asda the other day, A 4-pack of bargain bin stout on the conveyor, he was getting them in "for the tradesmen" you know? just so he "can give them a couple of cans as a treat". Was heartbreaking, and 6:05 AM.
One Sunday morning when I was working at my convenience store job this girl came in looking like she had a very late and very rough night. She got a big cup of coffee and a newspaper IIRC. As I was ringing her up she said "Don't I know you? and I thought "I don't recall knowing anyone that looks as rough as you do" ;-p Then she says "We went to the same school!". In 6th and 7th grade I went to a private school. There was a girl in my class who was very pretty and I kind of had a crush on. She had two older sisters and one older brother who also went to the school. They were all one year apart; 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th. The two older sisters were even prettier than the sister in my class, with one of them being considered the most beautiful in the school by far. Yep, it was her! I was impressed that she remembered me since we were never in the same classes, and considering she still had a serious buzz going and reeked of alcohol. We chatted for a few minutes where she told me the sister I knew was doing great. Of course I was wondering WTF happened to THIS sister? It pisses me off to see someone born with the winning genetic lottery numbers, and then later that they used the ticket to wipe their ass and throw the ticket away. What a pathetic waste. I never saw her again.
@@SirReptitious I dunno man, sounds like they'd just had a Saturday night out! Nothing wrong with that, surely? I mean, if they were just buying a paper and a cup of coffee, I don't understand your issue.
Alcoholic here, three years sober now. Yes, I used to walk around the shop trying to calculate the highest concentration of alcohol per volume for the lowest cost. This is one of the most highly relatable videos I've seen.
Robert Sievert Was K cider for me, used to buy 4 cans and a small bottle of vodka in the morning. neck that, have breakfast and go back out for a bigger bottle of vodka. smoking weed helped me stop my drinking problems.
Robert Sievert - Congrats for staying sober Robert, I'm not an alcoholic but I've seen people who are, so I can only imagine the level of willpower it takes.
@D B well it depends. someone who gets beaten up or an injury ok someone who drinks alcohol and is somehow surprised that its addictive and destroys your body not realy no. we know what alcohol does and its not a surprise to anyone and adults in general can and should be held accountable for their actions
Sadly, after working in a Wine store for several years, I can confirm that people like this do in fact exist. Same innocent act every day, but get the same bottle of rotgut every day.
I love how Hugh is constantly looking up at the cashier for any look of disapproval before immediately seeing it and then looking away. Not actually being deterred by his disapproval, just slightly ashamed. But then he realises that all of that shame will be gone in a few minutes by the end of the second can.
I love the costume design of David's character. The way he's wearing a suit but the scuffiness of it, the tie that's too small, the hair, the way he doesn't look like he's washed in a couple of weeks... Looks very much like a man who's trying to put on a charade of being an upstanding member of society but you can see how he's unravelling underneath.
It's not a facade, he's not faking being respectable. He's trying really hard to hold on to a life that's gotten away from him. I've seen hundreds of these, the 'one bad day' stories, where there's a slippery slope and they're constantly trying not to slide down it and constantly losing ground. And the really sad thing about it is, the 'one bad day' actually usually happens long after the slide actually started - it's the divorce or the loss of the job that ends up with them on the street, but it was usually something trivial (a bad relationship with a middle-manager at their company, for example) that started them drinking or doing drugs in the first place. It's tragic because it's so avoidable, if only people actually gave a shit about other people.
I know it's hammed up, but the acting here is really good - the little guilty glances that Mitchell gives - almost grateful to Webb for humouring his story and carrying on the pretence. Bravo.
Great to see so much empathy and compassion in the comments section. One of the most difficult things you face when going through addiction is people's lack of understanding - makes you feel more lonely than you already do. Good on you UA-camrs xx
What really hits home for me is that, when I drank, I'd have a similar inner monologue to Hugh's excuses and explanations to the shopkeeper. "It's the continental way", etc. Paper thin excuses to sustain a horrendous and punishing lifestyle. I'm fit and healthy now so I pity this old caricature of myself.
Your old self was the real you. Deep inside, you know it... Come on then, just another drink for old time's sake... It's what you want, isn't it! Yes, it is...
AuH2O just piss off mate yeah? I don't know whether you are trying to troll or just making a rather poor attempt at humour but just don't. if you are trying to joke there is a time and a place for dark humour, hell the general comments on this video would actually be an alright place for it but not in a reply thread with people opening up about the things like likely nearly destroyed them.
@@lavenderwalrus9875 So it doesn't seem possible to you that he was just spelling out the stupid inner monologues you have when giving in to your addiction? Because to me that was quite obvious.
To me, this is their best sketch - mainly because it's hardly a humourous piece, but a sad and depressing look into an alcoholic's mind. My mum was an alcoholic (in the end it killed her) and this is easily something I could see her do - put up a facade and make a grand charade whenever confronted with her issue. My oldest brother visited her a short time before she died in 1998. He said there were bottles EVERYWHERE in her flat. But she denied it all like "oh that's not mine, a friend will pick it up later" and such. Obvious to everyone she was lying, but I guess in her mind (and people with similar diseases) she thinks "If I just play along a little more, maybe they'll believe me (or leave me alone)". Mitchell's look at 2:07 as he grabs the second beer speaks for itself. As much as he tries to hide it, he's deeply ashamed of himself and he fears the judgemental look of the shop owner. Fantastic acting!
It's because it rings true it is humourous. Comedy and tragedy are not that far apart. Last year a met a neighbour outside before noon (On a sunday when you can't even buy alcohol here in sweden) and he was drunk to the point of almost needing subtitles. He was bagering me about dinking sugary drinks which, sure is not great but maybe not as not great as being drunk every day.
@@dejdehddh unless you’re in Utah !! I travelled through and was shocked I couldn’t buy anything but 3.5% beer at 5pm on a Friday night as the liquor stores were already closed
I knew of a guy practically exactly like this, but in his case it was a hint of dementia along with alcoholism. Which brought on the other is hard to say. He was such a gentleman. Kind, easy to talk to.. but completely oblivious to how others obviously saw him. He came to the TV store/repairplace I worked at with outdated tech. VCR from mid 90's. CRT from late 80's. Grimy, dirty controllers that he couldn't figure out. Mind you this was in late 2000's too. But he was so nice. Acting like a kindhearted, wealthy, well traveled person. If he had money, he'd be the kind that gives and gives and gives. That's the impression he gave me. But his suit was dirty, his shoes worn down. Then one day I was tasked with installing a new decoder at his place. I got in and it was littered with paper all over the place. Dust that had seemed to pile up over decades. The air was extremly heavy. The house itself was actually a VERY nice house, but completely at the mercy of time, weather and negligence. Hadn't seen a handyman since the 60's. He excused the state of the house, showing that he had atleast some awareness to it, but not the mess itself. He said he had just been on a long business trip and that was why his garden was not properly tended to... it was a wreck. But the man was so kind. So pleasant. He was fully aware of his surroundings outside the house and knew what was going on in the world, but not at his own sorry state of affairs. One day he just stopped coming. I never heard he had died, so I hope it's just that someone took care of him. He wasn't really that old either. Maybe mid 60's.. so he might be alive today. Hopefully in a better state.
I'm a recovering alcoholic and I did the exact same thing, man. I'd say anything to try avert the guilt. Or hide what I was doing. It's shameful and for a good reason. Drinking every day isn't a healthy way to live.
Yes I think you're right, it is definitely shot in front of a studio audence, and though this scene is clearly shot on location, I guess they still play location scenes in front of the audience to get the laughter. Though I still don't get how anyone laughs out loud at this sketch...dark humour to say the least, the most I managed was a slightly grimaced guilty smile..
@@Mollari42 Yes, BBC comedies are recorded in front of a studio audience. The audience watches the sketches being filmed in the studio; then while the actors are changing costumes etc and the sets are being changed, the audience is shown pre-recorded sketches that were filmed on location (where an audience would not be possible). The laughter is then recorded and put on the soundtrack of the original sketch.
This scene plays out in our village shop, almost word for word, every day. The customer is an ex school teacher who wears tweed, speaks very well and is highly intelligent but, sadly, has long been in the grip of alcoholism. He is what is euphimistically known as the village character.
I work in a small general store and I've had almost exact conversation with various similar characters multiple times, as I sell them the alcohol which is quite obviously destroying them. I feel like an accessory to slow murder.
can you not refuse service? genuine question, i dont know if you can, just if i had it my way there would be a law to instead of having to serve them alcohol ring up a charity or the samaritans to try and help them
You're basically a vending machine. In fact if there was one, they'd use it. So I don't see how you feel like an accessory to murder because you handed somebody their change
gaggle64: I work in a bar. Exactly the same sentiment. Our cleaner finishes at 12 and immediately buys about 7 pints, every single day. He also empties the bins every morning, so it isn't hard to assume where the empty cans that are always in there come from. It's genuinely upsetting, because I always speak to him and he really is a very nice man.
This is a masterpiece of a sketch, managing to find the extremely fine line between comedy and highlighting the dreadful consequences of alcohol dependency and the misery it causes to individuals and families.
Theres a chap like this who lives near me. Lovely fellow always friendly. Always out taking his dog for a "walk to the park" His route to the park always seems to take him right past the Off-license though.. and he works up a perishing thirst on the way. You'll see him sat on a bench, on his own, suppin several cans of high strength lager. Poor bloke. At least the dog gets plenty of excercise.
Sometimes, I've started my warm days on Spain vacations with what I call "continental coffee". That is - cheap red wine poured into a coffee cup. It looks like coffee unless you really put a close eye to it.
This reminds me of a chap who used to wander around Camden Town in the early 90s. Very well spoken, obviously educated, wearing the tattered remains of good quality clothing. Always the worse for drink but holding it well. He used to politely ask people 'I wonder if you could possibly spare 2p, or 5p?' while showing a grimy London bus pass, presumably in the hope that people would think he was some sort of licensed charity collector.
@@ChartreuseDan Being a millionaire's not all that hard these days, if you own a house at all, or stuffed even a tiny amount of your money away from the start of your working life for long-term investment (in the US it'd be something like Franklin Funds or Vanguard) but of course if you became an alkie the house and funds etc would be gone surprisingly fast.
This sketch resonates with anybody who has worked in a convenience store in the UK. I remember a posh, formerly refined elderly gentleman sheepishly buying gin and asking me to dispose of his empties. The saddest was an attractive older woman who used to make comments about having a party, after a few years she would just walk in wearing sunglasses and grab a litre of vodka. Terribly sad. Used to wonder if I should maybe stop them?
Sadly you can't stop them. It's very sad, I've lived an extreme alcoholic and it's a very fucked up life style. Weeds illegal but drink is okay 😞 fuck alcohol.
I’ve been that person, going back to the corner shop for the second time that evening to get another bottle of wine on top of the two I bought earlier. There’s no need to say anything, you can just pay and leave and nothing else. But for some reason you feel the need to say stupid shit like “unexpected visitors” or “turns out none of them are driving.” All you’re doing is trying to convince some stranger you don’t have a problem in order to try and convince yourself that you don’t.
One of my oldest and best friends died like this. Aged 27. If you're going through something similar to what Hugh is, keep going. Love Robert and David. Peep Show was the greatest.
I worked in a Happy Shopper back in the 1990s. An enlightening experience. Some people would come in and pick up some respectable normal life items and then buy a litre bottle of vodka or one of those boxes of wine with the tap on it. Every. Day. Some desperate souls too. I got propositioned, sex for alcohol (I didnt!), had people come in with jewellery, their CD collection, clothes...all sorts. This is a funny sketch but its also remarkably accurate!
Worked in grocery, can confirm, these people exist. We had this older lady who came in every other day, before noon, like clockwork for the six months i worked there. Always buying two 24-pack cases. Could set your watch by here. And without fail, if another human entered her proximity when she was pushing the beer-laden buggy, she'd offer up a very exaggerated eye roll or a sheepish laugh and say either she was having some friends over or her sons were visiting. I'd just smile and nod. Thing was, if she would have just kept quiet and did her shopping, no one would notice her, we dealt with hundreds of customers daily. Not that anyone cared anyway, you want to get sloshed, rock on, but when you draw attention to yourself, volunteering the same A or B lame excuse for months on end you make a spectacle of yourself. I started to feel bad for her after months of this, not exactly because of the beers, but because she felt she needed to lies and justifications about it, means she was at minimum embarrassed of herself.
@@gxtmfa it was a small town. 10minute drive from one end to the other, in traffic. There were only four groceries, including wal-mart. And I'm assuming ours was either the cheapest for that beer, or was the closest to her home. The addict would think, why pay for the extra gas to add on an extra 5minutes both ways? when you're doing this trip almost daily, that adds up over time. Why pay for gas when you can spend that on beer? The shame/embarassment she obviously felt about consuming so much beer was outweighted by the convience of just being able to buy the cheapest volume of whatever our store offered.
Man 48 beers every other day. I hope she was sharing that with someone, perhaps her husband, because that is an UNHOLY amount of beer to be drinking. 24 every day. Whew.
What's really "amusing" it that "John" doesn't start ringing up the order after Hugh adds the beer. Almost as if he suspects that the transaction won't go through as presented.
@@TPRM1 4 year old comment i totally forgot about, and it's both tragic and a joke, my father died from alcoholism but i hated him so i joke about his death, i know it sounds evil but he was a cruel drunkard.
@@martj1313 It doesn’t sound evil. If dead people don’t want to be spoken ill of, they should’ve made more of an effort to be nice when they were alive.
Good luck to you, I can empathize with that, having a drunken father doing nasty drunken shit every single weekend and the next day we all pretend nothing bad happened. As an adult I find you just have to disassociate yourself from it all as the past can never be undone.
This is so much funnier after actually knowing an alcoholic. The desperate leap in logic to keep up the deception to themselves they don't have a problem is portrayed fantastically well here.
Funnier in the sense that it's incredibly accurate, I suppose. Mostly just saddening for me. Known too many people like this and spent time as one myself. No one really wants to admit that they've fallen this hard. They try to maintain the illusion more for themselves than the people they know they aren't ACTUALLY fooling.
Having spent far too many of my childhood evenings seeing my "dad" barely conscious on his office floor, I'm glad that this masterful sketch can make me laugh.
Comedians rarely get praise for their acting. But I think both David Mitchell in Peep Show and in this scene for example and Ricky Gervais in the Office acted absolutely phenomenally. Truly brilliantly. But because it's supposed to be funny, light-hearted entertainment, people overlook it.
That's me, that is. A functioning alcoholic. I work every day to provide and care for those that rely upon me. No issues at all ever. I'm as crafty as f*ck though. I take a half day holiday,finishing work at 9.30. Go home and drink the half bottle of vodka that i bought the previous day unbeknownst to my wife whilst shopping, I hide the receipt. So at 9.30am I drink and watch media and conk out till whenever. Pathetic. If I really cared, I'd try to change, sadly I'm not there yet.
@Communist-Doge I really want to, but my daily sh*t is too much for me at the moment. The anomaly is that I could become sober and better deal with life. I do that, then what? I've sorted myself out, yet the problem still remains . It's other people's shit that makes me feel hopeless, and as much as I try, nothing changes.
Any store hiring anyone to work on checkout should show this to new hires as this really is spot on. Short of the "lie down and have a nap" the proprietor handled this pretty well.
hahah I worked in a spoons for a year and there were about 15 regulars, all middle aged - old men in their 40s, 50s and 60s. They would be in there every single day waiting outside before we opened and they 'd be there until the pub closed. They must have got through about 15 pints a day, shuffling up to the bar every half an hour and buying the cheapest ale that was available at the time with their big red noses and dead, vacant stares. I felt pretty bad, enabling them every day.
I worked at a Spar shop for 5 years as a teenager. Yeah this is great. The suit, the posh voice and attempt a big words to sound classy. I remember one guy came in as soon as we could sell alcohol and bought a tin of Spar's version of Special Brew. Said 'well it is Father's Day, ought to have a cheeky one'. He did this pretty much every hour for the entire day. Half way through I went outside and he was just loitering around. Clearly done it all day. And each time he would say stuff like 'ah another one for the road' or 'anything to get away from the kids for a bit' 'itd be rude to not have a drink in such lovely weather on Father's Day'. It was the middle of the week
I don't drink, I can't stand alcohol, but my family and friends do, and for my colleagues 65th birthday, I bought him a bottle of red wine (which I found out was his favourite but I just grabbed one that was pricey and looked good) I got it at a shop I frequent and was just taking it to the till like I did with any other item. The bloke was dead confused as he knew I'd never buy alcohol, which I told him it was for a colleague, and he no joke said "Tell you what mate, you're far less subtle about buying it than everyone else." I didn't quite get what he said, but after seeing this, I think I get it now
Amazing how accurate this is As an alky I recognize this strategy. Others include getting in and out as fast as possible without saying anything. Or making minimal chit chat without smiling.
I worked at a store like this. Had several alcoholics - men and women - coming in several times a day like this, buying a little bit of alcohol every time. I guess to not seem too alcoholic. Generally older people. It was heartbreaking really.
Most of their best sketches throughout the 4 seasons of that m&w look are laced with pathos and sadness, the quiz show, that final sketch of season 4 of Holmes in the nursing home slays me every time when holmes breaks and has his lucid moment with Watson 😭😭😭
this hits home, i used to work in a corner shop like that, this bloke chris used to come in everyday for his can, sometimes his card wouldn't work and i'd have to count his change out that his shaking hands put down onto the counter... :/
I'm not too embarrassed to buy booze the 1st time. I am an alcoholic but not a daily drinker. When I do drink, I really drink a lot. So to hide my alcoholism, I go to another store to buy my 2nd round of booze.
I find it ironic that this sketch ended up in my recommended . Being that guy is a bullet I only just dodged a few years ago. I know the sketch is clever, I know that comedy can be tragedy relived but it sent a shudder down my spine nonetheless.
This the sort of tragicomedy that Brit’s do so well- it’s very funny but some of that humour comes from the fact that we know it is tragically close to the truth for so many people.
Many of my friends had alcoholic parents, they despise the thing so much that you cannot make a joke about the topic in front of them without offending them. I often felt it to be an over reaction but I never said anything and complied. Years later with many stories, I realised how much of a trauma alcohol had caused them. No one ever drinks.
I worked in a petrol station in the UK for a few weeks when I was about 18. There were two customers who did exactly this little charade, every day. One was an older gent who arrived exactly at the time we were allowed to start selling alcohol, every day. His whole thing was that he'd buy a half of cheap whiskey 'because buying a full liter would be mad, wouldn't it?' He'd be back for another half around midday, though.
The other customer was even sadder as I'd been to high school with her daughter. She'd always come in and be really friendly, and walk around the store talking about what she was buying ('Oh yes I'd better buy some bananas, too!') Then once she was at thr checkout and I'd starting scanning her items, she'd 'suddenly remember' that she was 'having a party' and she needed two huge bottles of rotgut cider.
Basically, this sketch absolutely nailed it.
Reminds me of when I used to work at a convenience store here in America when I got out of high school in the mid-80s. I'd have regular customers who would come every day and buy a pack of cigarettes, and maybe something else like a cup of coffee or soft drink. After knowing they were a regular I'd suggest the moronic concept of buying a carton of cigs at a time instead of a pack, since a pack was around 3 bucks but a carton of 10 was around $20. I don't think any of the regulars bought cartons, but I do recall selling cartons to other people who WERE capable of performing simple math. The few times regulars would bother to give any excuse it was always "If I buy a carton I'll smoke more". Uh-huh, yeah. I don't care if there is a huge thunderstorm, hurricane, or it's raining fucking lava, your ass if going to get in your car and drive here if you run out. I would think this but never say it of course. Both my parents were smokers so I knew what the fuck I was talking about...
God that is sad. Booze is sneaky.
I was behind an old boy in Asda the other day, A 4-pack of bargain bin stout on the conveyor, he was getting them in "for the tradesmen" you know? just so he "can give them a couple of cans as a treat". Was heartbreaking, and 6:05 AM.
One Sunday morning when I was working at my convenience store job this girl came in looking like she had a very late and very rough night. She got a big cup of coffee and a newspaper IIRC. As I was ringing her up she said "Don't I know you? and I thought "I don't recall knowing anyone that looks as rough as you do" ;-p Then she says "We went to the same school!". In 6th and 7th grade I went to a private school. There was a girl in my class who was very pretty and I kind of had a crush on. She had two older sisters and one older brother who also went to the school. They were all one year apart; 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th. The two older sisters were even prettier than the sister in my class, with one of them being considered the most beautiful in the school by far. Yep, it was her! I was impressed that she remembered me since we were never in the same classes, and considering she still had a serious buzz going and reeked of alcohol. We chatted for a few minutes where she told me the sister I knew was doing great. Of course I was wondering WTF happened to THIS sister? It pisses me off to see someone born with the winning genetic lottery numbers, and then later that they used the ticket to wipe their ass and throw the ticket away. What a pathetic waste. I never saw her again.
@@SirReptitious I dunno man, sounds like they'd just had a Saturday night out! Nothing wrong with that, surely? I mean, if they were just buying a paper and a cup of coffee, I don't understand your issue.
Alcoholic here, three years sober now. Yes, I used to walk around the shop trying to calculate the highest concentration of alcohol per volume for the lowest cost. This is one of the most highly relatable videos I've seen.
Robert Sievert Was K cider for me, used to buy 4 cans and a small bottle of vodka in the morning. neck that, have breakfast and go back out for a bigger bottle of vodka. smoking weed helped me stop my drinking problems.
Robert Sievert - Congrats for staying sober Robert, I'm not an alcoholic but I've seen people who are, so I can only imagine the level of willpower it takes.
Massive congratulations to any and all who sober up. Immensely proud of you
Man, that's fucked up. But I'm glad you're better now.
Robert Sievert Kudos on your recovery!
That checking unsure glance at 2:08 where the character momentarily drops the facade and feels the shame is kinda brilliant acting Mr Mitchell.
@@jacksprat9209 then maybe dont pick the booze. Actions have consequences and shame can be one of them
@@l.h.9747 it's just that easy isn't it.
@@rdcanyon why should alcoholics not be seens as alcoholics ?
@D B well it depends. someone who gets beaten up or an injury ok someone who drinks alcohol and is somehow surprised that its addictive and destroys your body not realy no. we know what alcohol does and its not a surprise to anyone and adults in general can and should be held accountable for their actions
@@l.h.9747 Sir, this is an Arby's.
£2.70 for some lager, a paper, milk and a newspaper? I miss the 2000s.
I remember when you could get 3 pints and a newspaper and still have change out of £2.70. ah the 80s, before social media ruined society..
@@michelguevara151 40p for the bus to school.
@@michelguevara151 think you’re confusing social media with inflation there grandad 😂
You said paper twice - an apple it was :P
By 2030 we’ll be reminiscing about the early 2020’s 😳
Sadly, after working in a Wine store for several years, I can confirm that people like this do in fact exist. Same innocent act every day, but get the same bottle of rotgut every day.
sadlol
the sad part of your story is that worked in a wine shop for several years. those who live in a glass houses shoultnt throw stones mate :)
andy pandy nice.
Those who work near glass bottles shouldn't throw stones. . . . .
andy pandy "Hah he had a job so sad lol"
I love how Hugh is constantly looking up at the cashier for any look of disapproval before immediately seeing it and then looking away. Not actually being deterred by his disapproval, just slightly ashamed. But then he realises that all of that shame will be gone in a few minutes by the end of the second can.
the look after he goes back for the second drink is actually really disturbing to me
"Just in case one doesn't rid me of my perishing thirst..."
The script for this must have been fun to write it's hilarious.
I love the costume design of David's character.
The way he's wearing a suit but the scuffiness of it, the tie that's too small, the hair, the way he doesn't look like he's washed in a couple of weeks...
Looks very much like a man who's trying to put on a charade of being an upstanding member of society but you can see how he's unravelling underneath.
Also his gait and posture. Pain in liver forces him to step carefully not to shake his innards, which would make the pain worse.
You can imagine he used to be quite respectable and something led him to this point.
It's not a facade, he's not faking being respectable. He's trying really hard to hold on to a life that's gotten away from him.
I've seen hundreds of these, the 'one bad day' stories, where there's a slippery slope and they're constantly trying not to slide down it and constantly losing ground.
And the really sad thing about it is, the 'one bad day' actually usually happens long after the slide actually started - it's the divorce or the loss of the job that ends up with them on the street, but it was usually something trivial (a bad relationship with a middle-manager at their company, for example) that started them drinking or doing drugs in the first place.
It's tragic because it's so avoidable, if only people actually gave a shit about other people.
Like Mark Corrigan
I know it's hammed up, but the acting here is really good - the little guilty glances that Mitchell gives - almost grateful to Webb for humouring his story and carrying on the pretence. Bravo.
David Mitchell’s acting in this one is spot on.
Webb’s facial expressions and subtle delivery is also great
having owned a small convenience store, this wasn't a comedy sketch, this was a documentary.
Great to see so much empathy and compassion in the comments section. One of the most difficult things you face when going through addiction is people's lack of understanding - makes you feel more lonely than you already do. Good on you UA-camrs xx
@@MrHarrystank Wow. That was, just, *beautifully* put.
This actually made me kind of sad.
Alan Frost P
Humor is tragedy relived
Mitchell and Webb are truly experts at making one laugh at situations that should make you cry or cringe
Alan Frost I was just going to post the same.
Ohhh how I love the sweet smell of sirosses
What really hits home for me is that, when I drank, I'd have a similar inner monologue to Hugh's excuses and explanations to the shopkeeper. "It's the continental way", etc. Paper thin excuses to sustain a horrendous and punishing lifestyle. I'm fit and healthy now so I pity this old caricature of myself.
Congratulations on becoming sober and changing for the better! :) All the best for the future.
Tony Gormley justification, all true addicts tell themselves this stuff (heroin was my downfall, they did a sketch about that too).
Your old self was the real you. Deep inside, you know it... Come on then, just another drink for old time's sake... It's what you want, isn't it! Yes, it is...
AuH2O just piss off mate yeah? I don't know whether you are trying to troll or just making a rather poor attempt at humour but just don't. if you are trying to joke there is a time and a place for dark humour, hell the general comments on this video would actually be an alright place for it but not in a reply thread with people opening up about the things like likely nearly destroyed them.
@@lavenderwalrus9875 So it doesn't seem possible to you that he was just spelling out the stupid inner monologues you have when giving in to your addiction? Because to me that was quite obvious.
To me, this is their best sketch - mainly because it's hardly a humourous piece, but a sad and depressing look into an alcoholic's mind.
My mum was an alcoholic (in the end it killed her) and this is easily something I could see her do - put up a facade and make a grand charade whenever confronted with her issue.
My oldest brother visited her a short time before she died in 1998. He said there were bottles EVERYWHERE in her flat. But she denied it all like "oh that's not mine, a friend will pick it up later" and such. Obvious to everyone she was lying, but I guess in her mind (and people with similar diseases) she thinks "If I just play along a little more, maybe they'll believe me (or leave me alone)".
Mitchell's look at 2:07 as he grabs the second beer speaks for itself. As much as he tries to hide it, he's deeply ashamed of himself and he fears the judgemental look of the shop owner.
Fantastic acting!
It's because it rings true it is humourous. Comedy and tragedy are not that far apart. Last year a met a neighbour outside before noon (On a sunday when you can't even buy alcohol here in sweden) and he was drunk to the point of almost needing subtitles. He was bagering me about dinking sugary drinks which, sure is not great but maybe not as not great as being drunk every day.
@@jacksprat9209 You can drink in restaurants the bottle shops just are nt open.
@@jacksprat9209 not like america where you can go down to the gas station at 3am any day of the week and buy a beer and a hand grenade
@@dejdehddh unless you’re in Utah !! I travelled through and was shocked I couldn’t buy anything but 3.5% beer at 5pm on a Friday night as the liquor stores were already closed
Hadn't noticed that glance like that. Great point.
If you don’t quite understand this sketch, play it again and imagine it’s the next day
Good point.
people are actually retarted, fascinating
I knew of a guy practically exactly like this, but in his case it was a hint of dementia along with alcoholism. Which brought on the other is hard to say. He was such a gentleman. Kind, easy to talk to.. but completely oblivious to how others obviously saw him. He came to the TV store/repairplace I worked at with outdated tech. VCR from mid 90's. CRT from late 80's. Grimy, dirty controllers that he couldn't figure out. Mind you this was in late 2000's too. But he was so nice. Acting like a kindhearted, wealthy, well traveled person. If he had money, he'd be the kind that gives and gives and gives. That's the impression he gave me. But his suit was dirty, his shoes worn down.
Then one day I was tasked with installing a new decoder at his place. I got in and it was littered with paper all over the place. Dust that had seemed to pile up over decades. The air was extremly heavy. The house itself was actually a VERY nice house, but completely at the mercy of time, weather and negligence. Hadn't seen a handyman since the 60's. He excused the state of the house, showing that he had atleast some awareness to it, but not the mess itself. He said he had just been on a long business trip and that was why his garden was not properly tended to... it was a wreck.
But the man was so kind. So pleasant. He was fully aware of his surroundings outside the house and knew what was going on in the world, but not at his own sorry state of affairs. One day he just stopped coming. I never heard he had died, so I hope it's just that someone took care of him. He wasn't really that old either. Maybe mid 60's.. so he might be alive today. Hopefully in a better state.
You have a way with words friend
Have you considered writing?
He probably wasnt able to keep it up after he became an alcoholic. He might have been someone before it went to shit.
Unfortunately if he is even still alive the dementia would have completely taken over by now
u didn't u go by his place, and see if its still the same state? might be a inkling if he died / moved etc just by the house.
I love how Hugh passes off his day drinking as "the contintental way."
I knew an alcoholic who used this exact reasoning all the time.
@@ObsessiveGeek Any excuse is a good excuse, they say.
I'm a recovering alcoholic and I did the exact same thing, man. I'd say anything to try avert the guilt. Or hide what I was doing.
It's shameful and for a good reason. Drinking every day isn't a healthy way to live.
You know all of those bohemian aristocrats starting their mornings off with “a couple cans and a vodka”
@@bkr1895 I think they started their days with absinthe and opium. Cans and vodka were after lunch lol.
This has to be one of the darkest sketches. The canned laughter adds to that darkness. Grim.
Studio, not canned, Andrew.
All best
Yes I think you're right, it is definitely shot in front of a studio audence, and though this scene is clearly shot on location, I guess they still play location scenes in front of the audience to get the laughter. Though I still don't get how anyone laughs out loud at this sketch...dark humour to say the least, the most I managed was a slightly grimaced guilty smile..
i got so confused by you answering being andrew and yet not being the andrew he was reffering to when i scrolled back up
@@Mollari42 Yes, BBC comedies are recorded in front of a studio audience. The audience watches the sketches being filmed in the studio; then while the actors are changing costumes etc and the sets are being changed, the audience is shown pre-recorded sketches that were filmed on location (where an audience would not be possible). The laughter is then recorded and put on the soundtrack of the original sketch.
You've obviously never seen Jam then.
The most overlooked part of this sketch is when Hugh finally breaks out his charade right at the end with a nonchalant 'See you tomorrow John."
Maybe I’ll get TWO cans of this lager beer “THAT YOU RECOMMEND”.
Lol, the shopkeeper never recommended anything.
he did indicate that it was the most alcoholic for price by volume
01:15
@@thatoneguychad420 That was not a recommendation
This scene plays out in our village shop, almost word for word, every day. The customer is an ex school teacher who wears tweed, speaks very well and is highly intelligent but, sadly, has long been in the grip of alcoholism. He is what is euphimistically known as the village character.
David’s glancing away from Robert with shame at 2:08 is just so perfect. He nails this character.
bro got moe lested 💀
I work in a small general store and I've had almost exact conversation with various similar characters multiple times, as I sell them the alcohol which is quite obviously destroying them. I feel like an accessory to slow murder.
can you not refuse service? genuine question, i dont know if you can, just if i had it my way there would be a law to instead of having to serve them alcohol ring up a charity or the samaritans to try and help them
You're basically a vending machine. In fact if there was one, they'd use it. So I don't see how you feel like an accessory to murder because you handed somebody their change
You should have a drink - to help you forget.
gaggle64: I work in a bar. Exactly the same sentiment. Our cleaner finishes at 12 and immediately buys about 7 pints, every single day. He also empties the bins every morning, so it isn't hard to assume where the empty cans that are always in there come from. It's genuinely upsetting, because I always speak to him and he really is a very nice man.
@@rashid8646 Idiot.
thats a Hugh if I ever saw one
It's more of a Huw I think....
This is a masterpiece of a sketch, managing to find the extremely fine line between comedy and highlighting the dreadful consequences of alcohol dependency and the misery it causes to individuals and families.
Theres a chap like this who lives near me. Lovely fellow always friendly. Always out taking his dog for a "walk to the park" His route to the park always seems to take him right past the Off-license though.. and he works up a perishing thirst on the way. You'll see him sat on a bench, on his own, suppin several cans of high strength lager. Poor bloke. At least the dog gets plenty of excercise.
In Spain they wouldn't dream of starting the day without a couple of cans and maybe a vodka! fabulous
Sometimes, I've started my warm days on Spain vacations with what I call "continental coffee". That is - cheap red wine poured into a coffee cup. It looks like coffee unless you really put a close eye to it.
In continental Europe we are under the assumption that British people drink way more than us on average. I didn't know you think the same of us 🤣
I never understood this sketch until recently... now I find it hilarious (and sad)
A short play that the shopkeeper is cast in every day against his will lol.
bet he can't wait until that corner store installs a self-service system
This reminds me of a chap who used to wander around Camden Town in the early 90s. Very well spoken, obviously educated, wearing the tattered remains of good quality clothing. Always the worse for drink but holding it well. He used to politely ask people 'I wonder if you could possibly spare 2p, or 5p?' while showing a grimy London bus pass, presumably in the hope that people would think he was some sort of licensed charity collector.
@@michelguevara151 Why does everyone spread the same bs millionaire story about their local homeless wine-o?
@@ChartreuseDan I'm not sure, but as a billionaire astronaut I find it strange that they would add that random detail.
@@ChartreuseDan i'd rather be a millionaire than a bs millionaire...
@@ChartreuseDan Being a millionaire's not all that hard these days, if you own a house at all, or stuffed even a tiny amount of your money away from the start of your working life for long-term investment (in the US it'd be something like Franklin Funds or Vanguard) but of course if you became an alkie the house and funds etc would be gone surprisingly fast.
Sure that wasn't Withnail?
Nobody does contemptuous apathy quite like Robert Webb. He’s like a Beethoven, a Monet, he’s a master of the art
He doesn't come across as contemptuous in this sketch.
@@simonmackenzie8571 Are you Autistic by any chance? I ask because his voice and mannerisms clearly show exasperation and mild contempt.
This sketch resonates with anybody who has worked in a convenience store in the UK. I remember a posh, formerly refined elderly gentleman sheepishly buying gin and asking me to dispose of his empties. The saddest was an attractive older woman who used to make comments about having a party, after a few years she would just walk in wearing sunglasses and grab a litre of vodka. Terribly sad. Used to wonder if I should maybe stop them?
Sadly you can't stop them. It's very sad, I've lived an extreme alcoholic and it's a very fucked up life style.
Weeds illegal but drink is okay 😞 fuck alcohol.
I thought the same thing but then I realized they would just go to another store that would.
Yeah... Not just the UK
I’ve been that person, going back to the corner shop for the second time that evening to get another bottle of wine on top of the two I bought earlier. There’s no need to say anything, you can just pay and leave and nothing else. But for some reason you feel the need to say stupid shit like “unexpected visitors” or “turns out none of them are driving.” All you’re doing is trying to convince some stranger you don’t have a problem in order to try and convince yourself that you don’t.
yeah this sketch really hit home. i dont even try to convince them anymore
"Oh and that's a bad miss"
Ben Berry-Allwood numberwang
@@jamesfield2442 numberwank
One of my oldest and best friends died like this. Aged 27. If you're going through something similar to what Hugh is, keep going. Love Robert and David. Peep Show was the greatest.
27 Club. RIP. 😔
This a brilliant scene, really blurs the line between comedy and tragedy
All great comedy does.
Their "demented Holmes" sketch has the same vibe. I love this type of work of theirs.
This is probably the most ambiguously-titled video on UA-cam.
I worked in a Happy Shopper back in the 1990s. An enlightening experience. Some people would come in and pick up some respectable normal life items and then buy a litre bottle of vodka or one of those boxes of wine with the tap on it. Every. Day. Some desperate souls too. I got propositioned, sex for alcohol (I didnt!), had people come in with jewellery, their CD collection, clothes...all sorts. This is a funny sketch but its also remarkably accurate!
I find this very funny, but also feel so bad for Hugh.
Worked in grocery, can confirm, these people exist. We had this older lady who came in every other day, before noon, like clockwork for the six months i worked there. Always buying two 24-pack cases. Could set your watch by here. And without fail, if another human entered her proximity when she was pushing the beer-laden buggy, she'd offer up a very exaggerated eye roll or a sheepish laugh and say either she was having some friends over or her sons were visiting. I'd just smile and nod. Thing was, if she would have just kept quiet and did her shopping, no one would notice her, we dealt with hundreds of customers daily. Not that anyone cared anyway, you want to get sloshed, rock on, but when you draw attention to yourself, volunteering the same A or B lame excuse for months on end you make a spectacle of yourself. I started to feel bad for her after months of this, not exactly because of the beers, but because she felt she needed to lies and justifications about it, means she was at minimum embarrassed of herself.
Having the same problem with a friend over weed. He always comes up with weird justifications and stories to crash at my place to "eat pizza"
I wonder why she didn’t have a rotation of grocery stores she hit up for booze so she wouldn’t be seen too frequently at 1?
@@gxtmfa it was a small town. 10minute drive from one end to the other, in traffic. There were only four groceries, including wal-mart. And I'm assuming ours was either the cheapest for that beer, or was the closest to her home. The addict would think, why pay for the extra gas to add on an extra 5minutes both ways? when you're doing this trip almost daily, that adds up over time. Why pay for gas when you can spend that on beer?
The shame/embarassment she obviously felt about consuming so much beer was outweighted by the convience of just being able to buy the cheapest volume of whatever our store offered.
Man 48 beers every other day. I hope she was sharing that with someone, perhaps her husband, because that is an UNHOLY amount of beer to be drinking. 24 every day. Whew.
Wow 😯
this reminds me of boris johnson!!! especially the remarks made in the first 40 seconds, the mannerisms and all!!!😂🤣
What's really "amusing" it that "John" doesn't start ringing up the order after Hugh adds the beer. Almost as if he suspects that the transaction won't go through as presented.
"See you tomorrow, Hugh."
That character is utterly commonplace. I'd bet there's not an off-licence in the country that doesn't have customers like that.
Just reading through the comments it's surprising how this short comedy clip hits home for so many people. Runs a lot deeper than just quick sketch
sign of great writing
That Mitchell & Webb look was an incredible series. Gave me all the feels!
This sketch is both hilarious and heartbreaking
Mitchell's glance here 2:06 is so subtle yet so perfect
Indeed.
Got to love British comedy... makes you laugh, but also makes you realise.
You should see the one they did about the conspiracy theories after Diana's death.
So sad to watch this, brings back memories of my tragic father, he owned a corner shop too.
This is either tragically sad or a very good joke.
@@TPRM1 4 year old comment i totally forgot about, and it's both tragic and a joke, my father died from alcoholism but i hated him so i joke about his death, i know it sounds evil but he was a cruel drunkard.
@@martj1313 It doesn’t sound evil. If dead people don’t want to be spoken ill of, they should’ve made more of an effort to be nice when they were alive.
@@TPRM1 Very good point, i just wish his side of the family were of the same opinion instead of hating me for hating him.
Good luck to you, I can empathize with that, having a drunken father doing nasty drunken shit every single weekend and the next day we all pretend nothing bad happened. As an adult I find you just have to disassociate yourself from it all as the past can never be undone.
This almost as depressing as their Sherlock Holmes sketch.
They knew exactly what they were doing here and it wasn't comedy.
This is so much funnier after actually knowing an alcoholic. The desperate leap in logic to keep up the deception to themselves they don't have a problem is portrayed fantastically well here.
Funnier in the sense that it's incredibly accurate, I suppose. Mostly just saddening for me. Known too many people like this and spent time as one myself. No one really wants to admit that they've fallen this hard. They try to maintain the illusion more for themselves than the people they know they aren't ACTUALLY fooling.
@@LegalSC I supposed I can understand it'd be more upsetting if you've gone through it.
I guess it comes down to the whole comedy and tragedy thing.
Look up "Wine Moms" some real delusion - and if you're a bit mean, hilarity - looking up that stuff.
Gloating over someone's alcoholism - comedy gold.
@@pch2230 Alcoholism? His excuse for being thirsty was better.
Only hard to believe he'd pass out after two beers
"perishing thirst" what an ironic term
how so?
well if it's perishing it's decaying or dissappearing.
So if you say "rid me of this perishing thirst" it probably doesn't need a drink?
It's ironic because it's not the thirst that's actually perishing him but the super-strength beer, don't you see?
If you perish you die. A perishing thirst is killing you.
Bodragon - it's not ironic
Now we have self-check out that has removed the shame.
Having spent far too many of my childhood evenings seeing my "dad" barely conscious on his office floor, I'm glad that this masterful sketch can make me laugh.
If anyone ever wondered why David Mitchell wins BAFTAs, point them here. Comedy and heartbreak joined seemlessly
I don't even drink and yet I watched the sketch whilst being overcome with sadness.
"Yes, that is the usual solution" is the best line
Comedians rarely get praise for their acting. But I think both David Mitchell in Peep Show and in this scene for example and Ricky Gervais in the Office acted absolutely phenomenally. Truly brilliantly. But because it's supposed to be funny, light-hearted entertainment, people overlook it.
That's me, that is.
A functioning alcoholic.
I work every day to provide and care for those that rely upon me.
No issues at all ever.
I'm as crafty as f*ck though.
I take a half day holiday,finishing work at 9.30.
Go home and drink the half bottle of vodka that i bought the previous day unbeknownst to my wife whilst shopping, I hide the receipt.
So at 9.30am I drink and watch media and conk out till whenever.
Pathetic.
If I really cared, I'd try to change, sadly I'm not there yet.
Stop while you can.
@Communist-Doge I really want to, but my daily sh*t is too much for me at the moment.
The anomaly is that I could become sober and better deal with life.
I do that, then what?
I've sorted myself out, yet the problem still remains .
It's other people's shit that makes me feel hopeless, and as much as I try, nothing changes.
You're risking things that you wouldn't want to lose, mate
Any store hiring anyone to work on checkout should show this to new hires as this really is spot on. Short of the "lie down and have a nap" the proprietor handled this pretty well.
He needs two cans of that strong beer, because he reads the Telegraph.
I find this gets funnier each time I watch it. Unusual, but very impressive; it shows how well-written it was.
Having worked at a convenience store in my youth, I can confirm. Plenty of men would grab some malt liquor on their way to work, hands shaking.
hahah I worked in a spoons for a year and there were about 15 regulars, all middle aged - old men in their 40s, 50s and 60s. They would be in there every single day waiting outside before we opened and they 'd be there until the pub closed. They must have got through about 15 pints a day, shuffling up to the bar every half an hour and buying the cheapest ale that was available at the time with their big red noses and dead, vacant stares. I felt pretty bad, enabling them every day.
Why didn't you take one home and look after him?
And this happens in every single Wetherspoons in the UK
For those who don't know, most wetherspoons opens at 8am to 12 am, it's pretty depressing
Don't they have jobs? How can they afford to buy 15 pints a day, every day and never going to work?
@@mirzaahmed6589 because they bought the most alcohol per millilitre at the lowest cost in that wetherspoons, keep up mirza
Brilliant acting by David Mitchell
I worked at a Spar shop for 5 years as a teenager. Yeah this is great. The suit, the posh voice and attempt a big words to sound classy.
I remember one guy came in as soon as we could sell alcohol and bought a tin of Spar's version of Special Brew. Said 'well it is Father's Day, ought to have a cheeky one'.
He did this pretty much every hour for the entire day. Half way through I went outside and he was just loitering around. Clearly done it all day.
And each time he would say stuff like 'ah another one for the road' or 'anything to get away from the kids for a bit' 'itd be rude to not have a drink in such lovely weather on Father's Day'. It was the middle of the week
Welcome to 2023 where £2.70 doesn't even cover the cost of getting to the shops.
Geniuses at a mixture of the depressing and the absurd.
I don't drink, I can't stand alcohol, but my family and friends do, and for my colleagues 65th birthday, I bought him a bottle of red wine (which I found out was his favourite but I just grabbed one that was pricey and looked good) I got it at a shop I frequent and was just taking it to the till like I did with any other item. The bloke was dead confused as he knew I'd never buy alcohol, which I told him it was for a colleague, and he no joke said "Tell you what mate, you're far less subtle about buying it than everyone else." I didn't quite get what he said, but after seeing this, I think I get it now
Give yourself a pat on the back
Amazing how accurate this is
As an alky I recognize this strategy.
Others include getting in and out as fast as possible without saying anything.
Or making minimal chit chat without smiling.
I'm gonna have to stop clicking Mitchell and Webb videos, otherwise I'll never sleep!
One of the greatest sketches ever
I worked at a store like this. Had several alcoholics - men and women - coming in several times a day like this, buying a little bit of alcohol every time. I guess to not seem too alcoholic. Generally older people. It was heartbreaking really.
You will find this sad as well.
Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but someday you will understand.
Most of their best sketches throughout the 4 seasons of that m&w look are laced with pathos and sadness, the quiz show, that final sketch of season 4 of Holmes in the nursing home slays me every time when holmes breaks and has his lucid moment with Watson 😭😭😭
i know, john. i do know
@zaphenath6756 I cant get the fog to clear
Absolutely brilliant.
Even as an extreme alcoholic, I find this hilarious.
same here brother. hope youre ok
Same here
this hits home, i used to work in a corner shop like that, this bloke chris used to come in everyday for his can, sometimes his card wouldn't work and i'd have to count his change out that his shaking hands put down onto the counter... :/
"Good morning, John" Classic!
this was so well executed I felt a bit sad
I love this sketch!
Darkly comical and excruciatingly relatable
Now I'm thirsty for an alcoholic larger beer.
Would you settle for a smaller one?
He thinks it's a corner shop, but to be fair he is pissed
A 10% lager?? Holy hell.
I play it even more subtly, I buy a couple bottles of fruit juice and some yeast.
I used to go in Lidl every week and buy 28l of apple juice, cos then I didn't look like an alkie. 😂
John Finnemore (Cabin Pressure) recommended this sketch for its gentle satire and the compassion of the shopkeeper.
This is the clip that got me into these guys. Brilliant
I'm not too embarrassed to buy booze the 1st time. I am an alcoholic but not a daily drinker. When I do drink, I really drink a lot. So to hide my alcoholism, I go to another store to buy my 2nd round of booze.
I find it ironic that this sketch ended up in my recommended . Being that guy is a bullet I only just dodged a few years ago. I know the sketch is clever, I know that comedy can be tragedy relived but it sent a shudder down my spine nonetheless.
How did you manage to dodge it?
That's the thing with M&W. Sometime's it's just bitter cynicism.
This the sort of tragicomedy that Brit’s do so well- it’s very funny but some of that humour comes from the fact that we know it is tragically close to the truth for so many people.
one of the best of sketches.. awesome..
Evil Shopkeeper, Evil Vicar and Evil Waiter are their best :)
I Think I might just crack this open an drink this here on the step of your shop 😂😂
Many of my friends had alcoholic parents, they despise the thing so much that you cannot make a joke about the topic in front of them without offending them. I often felt it to be an over reaction but I never said anything and complied. Years later with many stories, I realised how much of a trauma alcohol had caused them.
No one ever drinks.
This sketch is utterly classic! Ripping
Brilliant tragicomedy