Mitchell and Webb take aim at the strange logic of online video analytics in this sketch from Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. When a plumber named Barry learns that viewers are fast forwarding through the sex to watch him replace a washing machine drum, his whole career as the “sexy plumber” begins to unravel.
The team debates the punchline of a plumber and porn star sketch. One writer argues that plumbers are more expensive than porn stars. Another finds comfort in complaining about bloody plumbers and bloody weather. A third insists the sketch is about confronting the sex industry and the clients who hold the means of production. The conversation ends with a worried thought about the boiler going at any moment.