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Ever wondered what the 'Big Brother' house would have been like if it was populated just by comedians?
No?
Neither had I.
But Amazon Prime has tried to answer that question anyway with a new comedy show 'LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland'.
Originally conceived by the Japanese comic Hitoshi Matsumoyo in 2016, the show throws 10 stand-ups together in a 'Big Brother' style living room for six hours with the strict instruction that they are not allowed to laugh, crack a smile or smirk at each other's jokes or anything else.
If they do, the first time they falter they get a yellow card warning.
The second time, they receive a red card and are out of the game.
The comedian who outlasts the others wins.
Versions have been produced in Mexico, Italy, Iran, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Russia, Nigeria, Colombia and France.
And with a UK version reportedly in the works, Amazon has decided to test the waters with an Irish version with the chat show king Graham Norton as its host.
The ten performers assembled for the Irish show include established comedians Aisling Bea, Jason Byrne, Deirdre O'Kane, David McSavage, Paul Tylak and the actress Amy Huberman.
Four up and coming stars also get a chance to shine - Emma Doran, Tony Cantwell, Martin Angelo and Catherine Bohart.
What emerges is a show which has moments of hilarity but which has also really divided audiences and critics in Ireland.
Over the course of six 40 minute episodes, while trying to break their fellow competitors with various antics in the living room, each comedian gets to perform a show for the others to try and make them laugh.
They can bring in props or use the props on set to make their fellow competitors crumble.
In the Irish version, they also deploy double entendres, crude wisecracks, shock humour, dodgy impersonations of Northern Irish people, corny jokes and surreal moments to elicit laughs.
Jason Byrne is like a comedy version of 'The Terminator' and is relentless in his pursuit of laughter.
Amy Huberman is just as competitive - although inevitably her marriage to the Irish rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll is exploited for laughs.
David McSavage takes a more surreal approach, putting cereal and baked beans in his pockets and holding a make up demonstration for middle aged men.
Tony Cantwell dons weird costumes and carries a puppet of a French Dubliner to make his fellow competitors crack.
Aisling Bea is a natural improviser and immediately takes to the giant knitting needles on the set to knit Amy Huberman huge woolly pants.
As you'd expect, 'LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland' has very specific Irish references that only audiences in that part of the world and the most knowledgeable Hibernophiles will get.
Over the course of the show, RTE's beloved 1980s and 90s children's TV show 'The Den' with Ray D'Arcy makes a reappearance.
Former RTE newsreader Ann Doyle delivers the lyrics of the Irish comic songwriter Richie Kavanagh's 'Aon Focal Eile' as a news bulletin.
References are made to Mr Brennan's Bread ads, 'A Woman's Heart,' flat lemonade, the Leaving Cert, traffic on the N50, the Buttercrane shopping centre in Newry and the comedy stylings of former Irish President Mary Robinson.
Audiences outside of Ireland will probably be more familiar with some of the guests who pop up to try and break the stony faces of those taking part - Jedward, Zig and Zag, failed Eurovision contestant Dustin The Turkey and a certain cheesy pop star of the 1980s.
But does the show work?
Yes but to enjoy it, you have to really enter into the spirit of the game.
Some of the funniest moments come from simply watching the facial expressions of comedians desperately trying to suppress laughs at double entendres or the corniest of quips.
In that regard, Deirdre O'Kane and Tony Cantwell should win special prizes for the contortions their faces go through.
However the ingenuity of some of the comedians is also a delight - even if not every improvised gag lands.
'LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland,' though, is no doubt a Marmite experience.
Some viewers will be irritated by some competitors' desperate attempts to use props to get quick laughs.
Other people will be amused.
So if you don't rate comedy noses, fake boobs, a squirting double bass, Wheely bin humour, tiny tricycles or the sight of Amy Huberman rolling about the floor in a mermaid costume, then it's probably not the programme for you.
It must be said Graham Norton's running commentary on what is going on can be a little grating at times.
Do we really need him to keep telling us what we're watching is funny?
However if you get into it, 'LOL: Last One Laughing' is an amusing, interesting and occasionally hilarious watch.
It makes a great case for Deirdre O'Kane and Aisling Bea as a comedy double act.
Then again, it makes a great case for Aisling Bea being teamed up with most comics.
With Trevor Noah about to front a South African version, it would be interesting to see how well South African humour might translate.
And after watching this, you may be tempted to dip into other countries' versions - comedy connoisseurs insist the Canadian version is particularly good.
I, for one, would be interested to see if a second series of the Irish version would be as a funny.
And I'm keen to see how a British version would turn out - especially if someone like Lee Mack, Roisin Conaty, Joe Wilkinson, Bob Mortimer or Tim Vine are thrown into the mix.
Good luck keeping a straight face whoever takes part in that.
('LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland' was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime on January 19, 2024)
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