Channel 4’s gaming comedy Dead Pixels is back for a second series and is, so far, as unfunny and packed with outdated stereotypes as the first.
The sitcom follows a group of gamers as they navigate both their real lives and the digital world of Kingdom Scrolls, a World of Warcraft-style MMORPG.
The writers are presumably hoping to capture at least some of the monumental success of US nerd comedy goliath the Big Bang Theory, but fail to match even that slick-yet-mediocre level of comedy.
Do you find this picture inherently funny? You might be Dead Pixel’s target audience
The core problem is the main characters, who conform to every lazy gamer stereotype there is. They are socially awkward, struggle with hygiene, eat poorly, don’t go outside, are opinionated and rude, neglect their loved ones, and are letting their lives pass them by for the sake of grinding and questing.
Grow up. Gaming is a huge industry enjoyed by a vast array of people. The neckbeards do exist of course, but why focus only on them?
I don’t play MMORPGs as I dislike the grind and time-intensive nature of them, but I am an unashamed fantasy and sci-fi loving tabletop and video gamer. The friends I have made through fandom have numerous interests and personality types, yet all we get in Dead Pixels are one-dimensional characters.
The lazy stereotyping could easily be forgiven if it was actually funny, but it’s not.
Dead Pixels expects us to laugh by simply presenting the world of MMORPGs to viewers. It wastes its premise by showing gaming tropes without insight or wit.
‘Look’, it says, ‘gamers are pervy about women who stream games!’. If you’re waiting for a punchline, that’s it. That’s the joke.
Similarly, an episode in series two sees one character develops a crack-like addiction to loot boxes and starts selling his property to fund his addiction. He tries to flog his ties and underwear to colleagues. What’s the pay-off? There isn’t one. That is the entirety of the gag.
Gamers eat poorly? Hilarious! Nerds have strong opinions on film casting? UH OH! They act as franchise gatekeepers? Nurse, my sides, the needle!
Actual gamers know all this and even non-gamers are dimly aware of these issues. Who is this even for?
The far-superior Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd uses the premise of IT nerds as a launchpad – not the only joke. It also benefits from committing to surreal situations, while Dead Pixels lies in an unsatisfying hinterland of realism and goofiness, benefitting from neither.
The show aims for moments of pathos but they’re hampered by the sheer unlikability of the characters. There are scenes where main character Meg laments the wasted life opportunities her obsession has cost her, but she’s so superior, rude, and self-pitying you simply don’t care.
What I cannot fault are the cast. Alexa Davies as Meg and Will Merrick as Nicky are undoubtedly great comedy actors but are badly let down by the script. The only gags that do land are largely driven by their commitment. They deserve better.
As a gamer, I was looking forward to laughing at my own fandom thanks to Dead Pixels, but it is as depressing and unsatisfying as the lives of the characters it portrays.