“I’ve really no idea why you’re here. Haven’t you heard of telly?” Garrett Millerick asks his audience at the beginning of his comedy special, Just Trying to Help, noting the wide range of basic household tasks being completed to an Olympic standard that form the television offerings at home: from The Great British Bake Off to The Great British Sewing Bee.
Millerick’s special, filmed at the Monkey Barrell in Edinburgh, now joins their ranks, though it’s far from household chore-based – instead, Millerick has found himself looking for some form of new religion as he looks out at the world and sees the end of days taking place right in front of him.
It’s taken three years for the special to reach screens which works against it. It would do a disservice to call it ‘dated’ but with references to the Queen’s death, Phil and Holly’s queue jumping, Partygate and Liz Truss it feels a bit like watching an old re-run of Have I Got News For You on Dave. At times, Millerick is prophetic, predicting what comes next for Philip Schofield and Elon Musk – and the astute observations go beyond predicting the future lives of rich men, even if a lot of it is wrapped in deliberately provocative scenarios, as when he frames racism as “an evil scourge” and xenophobia as “often fair enough” as a segue into a section on China.
But the in-your-face combative style doesn’t quite translate to screen – being in another room watching a comedian shout at his audience doesn’t quite have the same effect as being the person in the room being shouted at (now, there’s a sentence). It also creates some technical issues as Millerick goes off-mic in the final moments, with the sound being ramped up to make his final thoughts audible which creates a loud (and distracting) hissing interference.
Millerick has had other well-reviewed shows since Just Trying to Help, which does raise the question of why this show, with its basis in the current affairs of 2020-22, has found its release in 2025.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Garrett Millerick: Just Trying to Help is available to stream on 800 Pound Gorilla
