Viva La Dirt League

Tying in with my passion for gaming and technology, and all the corresponding highs and lows, comedy skit channel Viva La Dirt League offers regular laughs, often bringing me to tears, with their clever observation and re-enactment of typically recognised tropes and failings.

Established by New Zealanders Rowan, Alan and Adam, the trio release three sketches a week, often relating to a specific theme but sometimes broadening out into a more general affair as well. Boasting over six million subscribers, their channel has seen huge success with more recent videos gaining a vast quality boost following a triumphant Kickstarter campaign, enabling them to purchase a studio space by which to establish their own sets. Alongside the three core actors are a cast of other series regulars: Ben, Britt, Ellie, Byron and Hamish all bringing their own unique charm and personalities.

One of my favourite series on the channel is Bored. Set in a legitimate tech store in New Zealand, each sketch plays on managerial ineptitude, difficult customers, technical issues and many other scenarios familiar to anyone that has ever worked counter-side. A particular highlight for me is Ben’s character, Ben (they always use their actual names which I find endearing), always coming up with schemes to con, rip-off or generally irritate the store and its employees. Here he aims to play out a change raise scam, with some wonderful editing and music perfectly mimicking the feel and aesthetic of a movie heist — the split screen and monochrome.

Perhaps the series the channel is best known for is Epic NPC Man, at least among gamers. Have you ever played a game and laughed at poor NPC dialogue, wondered where your mount suddenly appears from, or despaired at the endless tutorials? All of these feature and more, explored to much amusement by an array on wild and wonderful characters, both ‘players’ and NPCs. My personal favourites from this series involve Rowan and Ben arguing over a ridiculous gaming concept, the former often having no understanding or knowledge of it at all: talent points, double jump, eating the glass bottle potions come in…

As well as the above and various other specific series, the channel also has a range of adhoc sketches based on more real world scenarios like ordering at a restaurant, following an online recipe or attending couples therapy. Their interpretation of dating apps was particularly funny, especially seeing it from a female perspective, the examples sadly aligning to past anecdotes told by family and friends.

A brilliant channel that is sure to trigger a chuckle, Viva La Dirt League is bound to have at least one area of interest for all, even if you’re not a hardcore gamer like myself. With fantastic production quality, acting and sets, as well as some equally witty comments from other viewers in the chat below, it has brought many a smile to my face over the years and, with technology constantly evolving, I look forward to smiling for many years to come.