Critical Review
The characters were tepidly received by critics; however, the stand-up comedy was roundly slammed for being too morbid, self-indulgent and unfunny. The two rarely performed any non-character material together, suggesting little writing as a partnership, and the comedy output suffered. Tension was evident between the pairing too, and this was confirmed when they announced they would no longer be working together at the conclusion of the "Live and In Pieces" tour that followed the series.
The other duo from The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Punt and Dennis (Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis), also wrote and presented their own sketch show, called The Imaginatively Titled Punt and Dennis Show. This, despite getting a more mainstream slot on BBC1, was not too well received either, though it was not subjected to the same vitriol that some critics laid at Newman and Baddiel, which famously led to Private Eye printing a special letters page from their correspondence on the show, entitled The Great Newman & Baddiel Debate.
Newman and Baddiel have not worked together since the show ended. Newman became a successful novelist, activist and anti-capitalism campaigner; Baddiel joined forces with Frank Skinner for a number of successful TV and music projects and also wrote three novels.
The series was repeated under the title Newman and Baddiel: Rest in Pieces, with new title animation showing the duo lying in state in an open grave.
Read more about this topic: Newman And Baddiel In Pieces
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