Television Shows

TV Review: Flowers, Series 1

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flowers

© Channel 4

If there ever was a sitcom that could bring about feelings of discomfort and sorrow whilst also being oddly life-affirming, it is Flowers. Starring Julian Barratt and Olivia Colman as the leads, Flowers is a story of a disjointed and deeply unhappy family; each person within it acting and speaking with the best of intentions but possessing an inability to communicate their innermost thoughts and feelings.

Flowers is the artistic creation of 29-year-old Will Sharpe, who wrote and directed the series as well as playing the character of Shun, a young and enthusiastic Japanese artist who lives with the Flowers family and works for Maurice (Barratt). Deborah (Colman) and Maurice are a likeable but floundering pair, desperately trying to cling to each other as all manner of chaotic events and disruptive people threaten to reap havoc with their personal lives.

The subject matter of Flowers is morbid, the series begins with a suicide attempt, but the production is aesthetically dark also, along with a delightfully jarring score. With a rapidly developing narrative, yet still managing to capture a meandering, morose tone, as well as nurturing a fondness for each individual character as we learn more of their backgrounds and aspirations. Sophia Di Martino and Daniel Rigby (Big School, Undercover) effortlessly capture the mannerisms of, and tensions between, bickering twins Amy and Donald, who are 25 and still live at home. This dynamic is explored thoroughly but sensitively; yet another example of idiosyncrasy in the production, successfully avoiding lazy or over-generalised observations regarding how siblings interact with one another, and how the ‘children’ fit within the wider family. Maurice’s narrated excerpts from his Mr Grubb children’s novels add further sinister element to the overall production, with these readings from the struggling children’s writer giving Flowers a hint of The Babadook about it.

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© Channel 4

It seems to be rather wasteful for the entire series to have been broadcast over the course of one week, though this is perhaps an indicator of the changing habits of British television-viewers. This does, however, make it easier for eager viewers to binge-watch the series in one sitting and then step outside three hours later, blinking into the light and exhaling that breath they’d been holding since episode two.

It’s quite some feat, considering the magnitude of this cast, that the stand-out performance for me is that of Sharpe himself, particularly as his role develops from that of a jester to an emotional reconciler as events dramatically unfold. In an interview with The British Comedy Guide, Sharpe sums up his artistic aims with the project: “The show is about melancholy and family, and it’s about people feeling trapped or alone. It’s also about how your own state of mind can affect those around you.” Here is a prime example of a case where a distinct creative vision has been successfully defined and then translated into a stunning piece that seems to encapsulate everything it intended to, whilst also alluding to more. This melancholic masterpiece is hands down the most spectacular piece of television I have ever seen. Flowers broke my heart and then fixed it again.

FLOWERS SERIES 1 IS AVAILABLE ON ALL4 

TV Review: Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, Series 4

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With every new series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, I find myself not wanting to watch for fear of those who may judge but then almost immediately concluding that I do not care. Yes, Lee is a spiteful comic, but he is also incredibly astute. One can’t help but admire his craft, even if you don’t agree with his viewpoints, which are of course satirically exaggerated anyway, suggesting that those who feel alienated by his comedy may actually be misinterpreting his message. And with his frequent cuts to camera, a television audience cannot help but be drawn in, without suffering the inevitable heart palpitations that would surely follow with such a predicament.

Take, for example, Episode 2, which sees Lee dryly dissect the ever-prominent issue of Islamophobia and the questions it raises with regard to mocking religion through the medium of stand up comedy. The surface layer can easily cause offence but it would be short-sighted of the viewer to assume that Lee wants us to take what he says at face value. Episode 1 sees the comic approach the topic of prostitution and though many may switch off at quips about such matters coming from someone like the esteemed Stewart Lee we see before us, we hold out for lines that release the tension, such as empathising with those who “provide a service people crave and still be despised for it”.

© BBC

© BBC

His observational stints are deliberately placed throughout the series, disguised as digs at others in the comedy industry but serving a greater purpose: as a release of comedic tension. It may seem to be a strange decision, but one that shows great integrity, for Lee to limit his observational material to the extent that he does as he could effortlessly rely on this fine-tuned skill for significant segments of the programme. But it appears that he would interpret this creative decision as laziness and if there is one thing that Stewart Lee abhors (though of course there can’t only be one thing) then it is laziness. This can be appreciated by many, but sometimes it feels like his comments get a little too specific, a little too personal. I genuinely don’t believe that his foremost intention is to cause harm to those he ridicules for it is, most often anyway, their ideas he ridicules rather than their personalities. It seems that offence is a necessary by-product of the message and perhaps we shouldn’t cower from comedy that offends.

All that said, I don’t feel as though I can trust Stewart Lee; perhaps what we read into his jokes are not what he truly means, but I fully appreciate where he is coming from on the majority of occasions, if I am, in fact, correct in where I think he is coming from. A part of me wishes that Chris Morris’ segments were longer or more frequent during each episode, but perhaps this would dilute the impact of Morris’ scorn. Antagonism to say the least, Morris’ role is to demolish any self-righteousness in Lee’s character that has been allowed to fester during his stand up performances on film. The shock of hearing an interviewer speak so rudely to his interviewee, as though there is genuine contempt for Lee and his comedy, is yet another smart release of tension, often resulting in full-blown arguments and a lot of swearing.

Many have accused Lee of making comedy that is self-indulgent, particularly, as he mentions, “those younger comics they have now,”  but only a small amount of closer analysis can enable us to see that there is a reason behind every decision. Stewart Lee overtly works to manufacture an ‘in group’ and an ‘out group’ through his stand up and can I be blamed for wanting to be in the former? I write this on principle, knowing that many would avoid writing an article about the man who famously slams all critics of his work, and coming from a wholly appreciative perspective. I still pray to God that he doesn’t read this.

WATCH SERIES 4 OF STEWART LEE’S COMEDY VEHICLE ON IPLAYER

TV Review: Catastrophe, Series 2

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Catastrophe is back with a bang. Written by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, time has moved on since the dramatic events of the last episode we saw back in January of this year.

Sharon’s baby bump, the reason that the pair are now married and living permanently in the UK, is now a toddler. Time has actually progressed to such an extent that episode one of the new series sees the pair welcome a second baby into the world: Moirin (assuming that this is the correct spelling; a suspecting extended family are assured that it’s an Irish name, and that she is not in fact called ‘Moron’). The humorous social and cultural ignorance shown towards the baby’s name, when teamed with the sudden, crude death of the family dog, certainly sets the tone for series two of this dark-humoured sitcom.

© Channel 4

© Channel 4

The ‘loser’ status of both characters, though particularly Sharon’s, seems to have elevated since series one but this serves as a surprising relationship strengthener for the couple who stand united against various bitchy false friends and family members (clearly showing that if the company is right, it doesn’t matter how small said company is). The onscreen connection has also cemented, showing that this fictional couple are genuinely friends as well as lovers, which is a great credit to Horgan and Delaney’s writing if nothing else and arguably serves as a platform for the darker humour scattered throughout the dialogue. It shouldn’t make us laugh, but somehow Rob referring to Sharon as a “psycho bitch” in French definitely does.

It is surprising, perhaps, that the children don’t play all too big a role in this comedy; Sharon and Rob are still, arguably rightly so, the integral focus of the narrative. In fact, it feels in many ways as though the majority of the characters in Catastrophe are inconsequential add-ons to the storyline, it often seems as though the couple don’t even notice when others are around, but this doesn’t mean to say that the extended cast do not bring their own elements of hilarity with them. Mark Bonnar and Ashley Jensen return to series two as fraught and bitter Scottish hardly-couple, Chris and Fran, and this pairing undoubtedly brings another dark element to the programme, which seems to be a recurring theme with Catastophe.

Catastrophe is a sitcom brimming with suppressed and entirely inappropriate giggles, with Horgan and Delaney effortlessly capturing the essence of what it means to be human; namely, being innately and irrepressibly self-centred.

CATCH UP WITH SERIES TWO OF CATASTROPHE ON ALL 4

TV Review: The Kennedys

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An adaptation of her comedy memoir, The Tent, The Bucket and Me, Emma Kennedy’s latest project is a wonderfully vibrant revisit to a seemingly strange childhood. The Kennedys is a microcosm of 1970s Britain, packed full of cultural references that would no doubt delight anybody who was alive forty years ago, but alas I was not. Perhaps, then, it is the stereotypes that I can best associate with; the new-age lasagnas, the cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, the disco dancing, but this does not entail that The Kennedys as a piece comedy is lazy in its observations.

Kennedy’s ten-year-old self is reimagined in the form of young actress Lucy Hutchinson, who acts as a voice piece for the adults around her. Emma’s mother, Brenda (Katherine Parkinson) is a giddy, excitable lady with a likeable naivety and admirable ambition for the completion of relatively simple challenges that she often hopelessly fails at (such as booking of a driving test a few mere days in advance, despite never having learned to drive). She is an endless source of embarrassment for her daughter, as is Emma’s father, Tony (Dan Skinner), who so often succumbs to Brenda’s wild schemes, thus leading to some very tricky situations.

© BBC

© BBC

The Kennedys is one of those television sitcoms that has a recognisable face at every corner, overflowing with comedy talent which is enabled to shine through due to the fantastic script. Tim (Harry Peacock) and Jenny (Emma Pierson) live next door and the two couples naturally divide into two pairs of friends, the women and the men. The relatively young group on Jessop Square are incredibly hard-working and well-meaning people, making their quirky relationships a joy to watch, and the way in which they are written is honest and reflective; these characters and their relationships are certainly not tropes.

Visually, it has to be noted that The Kennedys is a very attractive production and the ‘1970s’ look has certainly been achieved, as well as additional humorous visuals being slotted in, such as David Palmer, another Jessop Square resident, being delegated to sitting on the poof at Brenda’s dinner party, meaning he sits at least a foot lower than all the other guests. These flourishes are what make it clear that this sitcom has been years in the making. The attitude behind every line and every scene is one of warmth, a fond memory of how things used to be, and this can be appreciated by anyone, regardless of age.

The Kennedys is silly and sharp-witted; the music is fantastic, the characters well-rounded and the entire production heart-warming, original and uplifting- surely a programme not to be missed.

CATCH SERIES ONE OF ‘THE KENNEDYS’ ON BBC IPLAYER

TV Review: Romesh Ranganathan Asian Provocateur

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Self-confessed ‘coconut’ Romesh Ranganathan has recently embarked on a traditional tour of the country of his heritage, Sri Lanka. Spending each episode with a different distant relative, Romesh has been introduced to various elements of the culture he feels he has been ignoring up until now, and the time has come to share those experiences with the public.

The Ranganathans may have Sri Lankan heritage but Romesh himself is from Crawley in Sussex and openly admits that he knows next to nothing about the culture of his parents. The extent of Romesh’s ignorance is surprising at first but also understandable, with much of the show’s humour deriving from such obvious naivety. But there is also a willingness to sample all aspects of the traditional culture that ensures Asian Provocateur is not just about messing around in an unusual environment, which allows the programme to be genuinely moving at times. A key thing to be noted about this programme is that the places Romesh visits are not being mocked. He may find humour in the ways they communicate or the things they do, but the cast and crew have certainly not embarked on this journey merely to poke fun at the people they visit. There is a genuine love and interest behind Romesh’s exploration of Sri Lanka, perhaps as a result of the comic wishing to learn more about the life his late father lived in the country, before Romesh was born.

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The addition of Romesh’s mother, Shanthi Ranganathan, is a brilliant new perspective for the show to take. If we were to compare Asian Provocateur to An Idiot Abroad, and let’s face it there are many comparisons to be made, it would appear that Shanthi has taken on the role that was once occupied by the likes of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The interesting thing about the scenes with Romesh’s mother, as opposed to with Karl Pilkington’s bullying friends, is obviously the presence of a genuine, unbreakable blood connection between them. It shines through in their conversations regarding Romesh’s trip to Sri Lanka, with chat that is clearly unscripted and made all the more unpredictable by Shanthi’s motherly instincts clashing with Romesh’s comedian persona (which will undoubtedly be slightly shifted from his usual son role): “Your mother would be sad if you died, but part of me would be thinking, what a stupid son I had”. Romesh has also recently stated: “I think for her, in an ideal world, series two would not involve me. It would be a spin-off show where mum’s like: ‘So we got rid of Romesh and now we can really get into the show.’”

Asian Provocateur is starchy and awkward in places and these are the moments that allow Ranganathan’s brilliant comic timing to come through. The cultural and language barrier, despite Romesh himself being Sri Lankan, provides many of the laughs per episode, with the comedian being made to spend time doing some very unconventional activities, to say the least. Despite what Romesh has spent his entire career as a comedian trying to get us to believe, he is clearly a person who finds it easy to get on well with others. The relationships he is able to build with various uncles, cousins and tour guides are surprisingly strong, and these bonds enable the show to feel all the more homely and substantial.

Perhaps it is not the most original of television formats, but Asian Provocateur certainly feels like it has more of a point to it than other similar programmes, due to the cultural family connection as well as Romesh’s booming comedy profile.

ROMESH RANGANATHAN: ASIAN PROVOCATEUR IS AVAILABLE ON BBC IPLAYER

Ask The Expert: Sian Harries (Writer)

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Sian Harries is a comedy writer and performer who has recently worked on television shows such as Man Down and Never Mind The Buzzcocks as well as writing and performing in the radio sketch show Here Be Dragons. Sian is currently working on a new sitcom project with her husband, comedian Rhod Gilbert, and has recently announced that a third series of Man Down is also currently in the works.
To gain insight into the career of a comedy writer, I asked Sian a few questions about her work…

What is the biggest perk of being a comedy writer?

Getting to laugh a lot every day with some of my favourite people. My husband Rhod and I are writing a sitcom together and last Friday we were in a meeting discussing it with Henry Normal when he said “isn’t it wonderful that it’s Friday afternoon and we’re laughing about dirty underwear and this is our job?”

It also means I am never bored as I can find the funny in anything. I think it was all those years spent going to church as a child and being forced to sit and do nothing but be in my brain for an hour. I’d make up relationships between the vicar and the old ladies in the choir stalls; affairs, scandals, you name it. By the time it was over it was like I was watching an episode of Dynasty.

How was your experience writing for Man Down?

Writing a sitcom is hard. I think Greg once described it as “trying to do a jigsaw designed by Satan” and I’d take it one step further and say it’s like “trying to do a jigsaw designed by Satan, that you’re trying to finish in record time as your mother hoovers around you.” There were days where I thought I’d be sick with laughter making up hosts of funny characters and acting them out with Greg and Steve; other days where all we’d done was drink far too much coffee and written down the phrase “oh Bobby!”

Rik Mayall dying was such a shock. We’d written for him on the first series and he was our childhood hero. The day of his funeral we all abandoned our work and drove to Brighton, in a car with no roof, playing The Smiths very loudly, got smashed and went on a log flume. I don’t know why but it seemed rebellious and a bit Rik-like I suppose. It was extra difficult because a few weeks later Greg’s real life dad died as well. So that Christmas Special episode was incredibly poignant for us and we knew we had to address Rik dying. You can’t not mention the king is dead. To us he was irreplaceable.

Here Be Dragons

The cast of Here Be Dragons, with Sian Harries (3rd from right)

Are there any unexpected differences you have found between writing for TV and writing for radio?

I love writing for both TV and Radio. With TV I love how you can have a small visual gag happen in the background to undercut something a character is saying e.g. in the first series of Man Down I wrote a scene where Dom the guru is giving a motivational speech whilst in the background several ornaments are being knocked over by his enormous bottom.

Radio however, is far more freeing, you aren’t limited to what can happen within that little space. The audience have to use their imaginations so you can set radio comedy pretty much anywhere you want without spending any money. Furthermore, because less money is being spent, it also means there are fewer people in nice jackets telling you what you can and can’t do.

Would you rather be performing or working behind the scenes?

I think the dream for me is to write something I think is hilarious and then to perform it the exact way I imagined it being done. Although there are plenty of times I’ll write for someone else and I’m blown away with how funny they make it themselves. I have no interest in doing stand up. I far prefer it when I’ve learnt a scene off by heart and I’m working with people I find funny and I can mess around with. I would hate to be recognised in the street like Rhod is, it’s not for me. I enjoy leaving the house looking like shit too much to go back to having to think about my outfits. It’d be like being a self-conscious fifteen year old again. I also love eavesdropping too much, listening out for funny bits of dialogue or exchanges, and you can’t do that if you’re recognised.

Who would you most like to write a role for?

The ideal person I would write for would be Judy Dench as I think her comic timing is impeccable. I saw her in a brilliant  play called The Vote and I think she said the F-word and it brought the whole house down. She reminds me so much of my wonderful late grandmother and it’d be a dream to have her play a character I’d based on her. There are so many women I’d love to write for though; Julia Davis, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Thompson, Celia Imrie, Alison Steadman, Sharon Horgan… far too many to list.

ASK THE EXPERT…

TV Review: Doll & Em, Series 2

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Airing in June of this year, series 2 of Doll & Em has been a relatively long time coming, but it was worth the wait. The premise is simple enough: Dolly and Emily are best friends and have been since they were children. Both women are British, but Emily has since become a considerably successful Hollywood actress, as well as marrying an American and having two children. Dolly, on the other hand, currently has less going on in her life. The beginning of the first series saw her break up with her long-term boyfriend and move to LA to become Em’s personal assistant. Since then, Dolly has proven that she is not personal assistant material and now works with Emily, rather than for her: the pair are writing a play which is inspired by their long-lasting friendship.

© Sky Atlantic

© Sky Atlantic

An interesting aspect of Doll & Em is that it feels as though the writers (Mortimer, Wells and Azazel Jacobs) feel no particular need or desire to have their audience fall in love with the core characters. It seems that all viewers, women in particular, can identify elements of their own personalities, their friends, their sisters, their mothers, reflected in Dolly and Emily.

There is a great deal of skill present in the writing that has enabled Wells and Mortimer to tackle serious topics like marriage problems, friendship issues and creative disagreements whilst maintaining a definite bright and airy feel to the whole production, perhaps presenting a more natural representation of how people deal with struggles in their lives whilst getting on with whatever also needs to be done. Here we have a British sitcom that is entirely binge-watchable. It isn’t a psychological drain to watch too many episodes in one sitting,  unlike many other cringe-style comedy shows such as The Office, Peep Show or Lead Balloon, making Doll & Em feel almost of its own genre altogether.

Doll & Em is a comedy about what is important, to the writers yes, but also to people in general. It considers what it is that makes us continue to invest our energy into certain things, whether that be friendship, family or a creative process like the crafting of Doll and Em’s play. It shows life as a string of incidents, of positive and negative experiences that make up who we are. The laughs are not riotous, but they are certainly there. They are not forced, manufactured or pitiful; they are honest. This is a comedy that truly warms the heart.

SERIES TWO OF DOLL & EM IS AVAILABLE ON SKY.

TV Review: Comedy Feeds 2015

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A whole new batch of Comedy Feeds have recently been released on BBC iPlayer with an abundance of bright new comedy talent being given the chance to create short comedy pilots for the television and online. And with an elite list of writers including the likes of Dane Baptiste, Greg James and Fern Brady, this series was set to be as strong as previous years from the get go.

Every new series of Comedy Feeds proves itself to be accessible to plenty, with actors and comedy stars from every corner of the industry. There’s a recognisable face in every episode, whether that be Michael Smiley popping up as Uncle Les in Fishbowl or Jarred Christmas in Dead Air playing the role of an irritating radio DJ from New Zealand (or was it Australia?).

© BBC

Radges © BBC

Radges is a particularly strong episode; written by Fern Brady and starring an array of young and talented actresses who may not be familiar to most, including Lauren Lyle, Lois Chimimba and Samantha Foley. Set in a teenage referral unit, the premise is reasonably dark, perhaps, but the atmosphere is not a downbeat one. This is a direct result of Brady’s sharp writing, which deserves commending here as she successfully avoids dragging out narrative or relying on clichés for laughs, which is a hard feat for sitcom writers these days as the tropes of comedy plots often seem to lead in the same direction, reaching the same destination. There are brilliant character dynamics crafted, expertly cemented by the addition of the group’s session leader, Miranda‘s Sarah Hadland, who gets some of the best lines.

Another entertaining comedy short is Fishbowl, written by Boy Meets Girl co-writer Andrew Mettam and starring Katherine Rose Morely, Mark Benton and Sally Lindsay. This episode again borders on the sinister, with nineteen-year-old Hattie being brought back home by her suffocating parents after just two months at university, and there is certainly potential for this to develop into something brilliant if given the chance.

© Bwark Productions

Fishbowl © Bwark Productions

It is fantastic for television platforms to be able to give so many creative individuals a chance to experiment with their comedy pilots because the results are not only as unique as they are impressive, but they also have so much time and enthusiasm invested into making them forthcoming pieces of excellent comedy.

THE 2015 COMEDY FEEDS ARE AVAILABLE ON BBC IPLAYER

TV Review: Taskmaster, Series 1

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Taskmaster is the brainchild of comedy heavyweight Alex Horne, recognisable to many as the front man of the Horne Section and occasional appearances on Friday night television on shows such Cats Does Countdown. Alex Horne is a comedian who knows how to make the Edinburgh Festival exciting; for fifteen years he has been delighting crowds with whacky conceptual shows and experimental games, with an admirably positive attitude when it comes to testing these extravagant possibilities. He is not afraid to push the boundaries and this gives Horne a fantastic creative advantage.

Taskmaster began as a year-long competition with comedians (and sometimes critics) being pitted against each other in a set of bizarre challenges, with Horne hosting and Mike Wozniak as his trusty assistant in recent times. Now the game has been given a new medium, a risk for a television channel (though perhaps not for Dave, which is already renowned for its experimental nature) and no doubt a delight for countless comedy fans. The television adaptation of the game is hosted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne and has a regular group of contestants, which binds the show together well and allows a sense of camaraderie to build as the episodes progress and the responses to tasks to become slightly more competent and imaginative. The comedians are diverse in their background, audiences and generations, making the whole programme feel accessible to a larger audience, with the five contestants being Frank Skinner, Josh Widdicombe, Roisin Conaty, Romesh Ranganathan and Tim Key.

uktv-taskmasterIt is fascinating to watch the contestants figure out the best way to approach obstacles, particularly in group tasks where the thought processes are made vocal, but this perhaps makes them less constructive as opposed to when certain individuals are allowed to work on their own. As the series develops it becomes clear that the comics excel in varying areas. Take Roisin Conaty as an example: hopelessly slow at carving up a watermelon but a high-flyer in any rounds that require social skills, such as the task involving high-fiving a 55 year old member of the public. If you want canny solutions to problems that bend the rules, sometimes to the point of breaking them completely, Tim Key is your man. Time and time again on Taskmaster Key proves himself to be a devious, quick-thinking non-conformist, shaking up the system so carefully crafted by Davies and Horne, with hilarious effects.

Greg Davies is fantastic; he’s harsh, loud and ridiculous, completely giddy with power, and the relationship between Davies and Horne is clearly a long-lived one. They find each other, and themselves, utterly hilarious and it’s not self-indulgent because they are absolutely right. The whole group act like children and it’s refreshing to see it contrast against a genuinely sharp wit from all players. It helps dramatically that the tasks are so varied, often absolutely mental and incredibly funny to see carried out. A highlight has to be poor Josh Widdicombe’s attempts at counting the number of beans in a can, of spaghetti hoops in a can, of grains of rice in a bag… All in vain, however, because nobody else was even set that task. Poor soul. But anyone would be hard pushed to pick a favourite moment when the likes of Romesh’s backwards film Tree Wizard and Roisin’s demands that Alex Horne eat a toothpaste pie are involved.

CATCH UP WITH SERIES ONE OF TASKMASTER ON DAVE NOW

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH ROISIN CONATY

TV Review: Man Down, Series 2

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One of the silliest, most ludicrous new sitcoms from the last few years is finally back on our screens; Greg Davies writes and stars in the highly anticipated second series of Man Down.

Davies and his costars Roisin Conaty and Mike Wozniak make a perfect comedy trio, with Dan’s hopeless communication skills, Jo’s fearlessness and general ineptitude and Brian’s constant moaning and criticisms creating a diverse and integrated unit. I don’t think anyone is sure why these three are friends, but the consequential dramas are priceless. Roisin Conaty’s character of Jo in particular is a favourite of mine. She’s brash, idiotic and absolutely hilarious; always plotting schemes which often involve her pursuit to get a decent job, or any job for that matter, which she is hopeless at. Man Down is a glorious combination of a group of painfully ordinary people, in their truest sense, with the strangest of circumstances.

Young actors Madeleine Harris (Paddington) and Alfie Davis are fantastic in their roles as ‘know-it-all’ and ‘angry kid’ respectively, and are consistently given a platform by Greg Davies to be the stars of the scene, which shows considerate comedy writing and reflects Davies’ compassionate character. The presence of the kids allows Greg’s childish side to come to the forefront, therefore accentuating the brilliant ridiculousness of each episode’s plot, and ridiculousness is always guaranteed with this manic comedy presence.

A new character has also joined the group: Dan’s over-involved Aunt Nesta (Stephanie Cole). This new arrival seems to provide company for Dan’s widowed mother (Gwyneth Powell) but that doesn’t mean she feels the need to stop doing his washing for him, or generally interfering in every aspect of his life. The onscreen relationship between Daniel and his mum is hilarious, partly due to the height difference, but also the fact that Davies often refers to her as “old woman”.

Many worried that the death of comedy royalty Rik Mayall, who played Dan’s father in series one, in June last year would signal the demise of Man Down, because perhaps no ‘replacement’ as such for Rik could ever be sufficient. Filming was set to begin in August and it looked unclear to viewers where the programme was set to go from here. But with a writing crew and cast as skilled as this, it soon became clear that not only was Man Down still going to continue, but the spirit of Rik Mayall was to live on in the show also. Greg Davies’ comedy, much like Mayall’s, is known for being silly and widely accessible, so it is impossible not to be reminded of Rik while seeing Greg mincing up and down the exam hall, playing a game of ‘Snorkel Parka’ or buying Flumps in a supermarket.

Dan may be absolutely hopeless, but I’d have loved for Greg Davies to be my teacher, even if it was just for the chance to go bike riding down dangerously steep hills rather than doing any work.

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH ROISIN CONATY