Ambassadors (2013)

A good show. Well worth viewing.I did spot one small error. In the first two episodes the embassy cars Union flag, when shown, was upside down.This is in fact an international symbol of distress. A very minor detail but worth mentioning. And assuredly did not spoil a very good program.M. Lingard

I knew what I was going to get with Ambassadors, some great Mitchell and Webb moments, but unfortunately they didn't come as often as I would have liked. Having previously not heard of the mini-series I had a suspicion that there was a reason for that. Whilst enjoyable and definitely watchable, it just lacks the chemistry of which Peep Show and the Mitchell and Webb Look possessed so much of.For die hard Mitchell and Webb viewers, this T.V. show will offer some good times, but I would't be bragging about it to anyone else. Whilst the comedy is still slightly visible in this snowy show, there just isn't enough of it over the babbling of words we don't care about.

I cannot understand the odd really rubbishing reviews that have appeared here and there of Ambassadors ; almost as if there is a hidden agenda. There are so many 10 star reviews, of which I agree, that to give 1 star is really perverse. For myself (and my wife) we found Ambassadors the wittiest, most original production we have seen for a long time. It was interesting to read a former member of the British Diplomatic Service stating how near reality it was; I suspected that it was and it was good to have this underlined. Both Mitchell and Webb were superb here; I have not always been a fan of their skit shows, but this was clever comic acting at its best. I would love to see a further series, but if that is not forthcoming then another Mitchell and Webb production using this characterful and entertaining format would be a winner.

As a former member of the British Diplomatic Service I found this series ticked a lot of boxes. I recognised a number of the characterisations as being similar to people I had come across in my own career, and the balance of realistic scenarios and humour was cleverly done. I found myself empathising with several of the characters in the Embassy who struggled to maintain a semblance of normal life amid conflicting, usually urgent and sometimes dangerous, calls on their time. Reviewer journalist1 clearly has a different interpretation of "politically correct" than me. The programme deliberately poked fun at institutions and individuals, from the British Royal Family to the ruling clique of the semi-fictitious country where it is set. Of course there were errors - the Union Jack regularly being flown upside down, for example, something that the producers should really have got right - and it had to be a bit "over-the-top" to be funny, but overall it was an amusing but realistic peek into the world of modern diplomacy at the day-to-day level. I hope there will be another series.