Rory Kinnear

Quacks, Series 1

October 2, 2017 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Quacks is a Victorian medical satire set in London, where the future of modern medicine is just beginning to stand on its own two feet. It’s gory, ludicrous and shocking in parts, but it seems that this is perfectly fitting with the plights of medical advancement throughout this period.

Written by James Wood (of Rev notability), the dialogue is smart and droll, with the relatively small cast working together well. The core cast in question is made up of British drama heavyweight Rory Kinnear, Lydia Leonard, and The Wrong Man‘s Mat Baynton and Tom Basden, and the dynamics within this group of colleagues and friends is relatively complex (though perhaps typical of Victorian Britain, where infidelity is common, with women being treated as objects for mens’ pleasure).

Quacks explores the work of various medical revolutionaries, from surgeons to dentists to psychiatrists (or ‘mad doctors’), mocking the Victorian folk psychological view towards health and self care, presenting concepts like tooth-brushing and hand-washing as groundbreaking and a load of unnecessary faff. And anyone with an eye for hygiene, or even those without, will surely have their stomaches turned by surgeon Robert (Kinnear), who conducts live operations in front of his captivated audiences, which are reminiscent of the frenzy and activity one might expect to see in a depiction of an Elizabethan crowd watching a Shakespearean play.

And many famous names are scattered throughout the storylines, as Charles Dickens is portrayed as an egotistical ponce and Florence Nightingale as the ridiculed revolutionary that she was. But, in keeping with the issues raised, prejudices are challenged by our female characters, particularly from Caroline (Leonard), whose wish to extend her passion for anatomy and medicine to a career as a surgeon is met with laughter and discomfort by her male counterparts, particularly her husband Robert.

Upstart Crow-esque in its conceptualisation, Quacks is a humorous look back on the notably blasé approach to health and hygiene within experimental medicine that resulted in the gruesome deaths of thousands, and yet also lead to the advancements in modern medicine that we see today.

CATCH UP WITH QUACKS ON BBC iPLAYER

Count Arthur Strong, Series 2

February 28, 2015 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

The beginning of a new year saw the return of a much-loved sitcom to our screens: Count Arthur Strong, a television adaptation of Steve Delaney’s long-running radio show. Despite only watching a few episodes of series one, I really did enjoy watching the entirety of it this time round.

What appeals to me about this programme is that there is always an unexpected twist to the plot of each episode, which makes it entertaining viewing despite following the seemingly well-trodden path of the popular sitcom. The storylines are never too airy or ridiculous because the show has a continuous plot, with ideas carried on throughout the series, which seems to give the whole programme a reason for existing; the stories never become entirely redundant.

With Delaney having teamed up with one of my favourite comedy writers, Graham Linehan, this show was probably destined to have a hilarious script. They skilfully build the hilarity and stupidity of the situations Michael and Arthur get themselves into, but never rely on laughs that are that bit too easy. These writers have proved that they’d rather go the long way round, and have created a more effective comedy as a result.

There have been criticisms of Count Arthur Strong and I hadn’t fully invested in it from the beginning so was anticipating that I would not enjoy this series. However, my doubts were unfounded because I laughed throughout every single episode, because of Arthur’s lines like “all work and no play makes Jack… and Jill went up the hill…” and his overall persona. I felt no hint of cynicism at all.

This programme is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of comedy thanks to Steve Delaney and Rory Kinnear’s wonderful on-screen relationship and a fantastic script. I look forward to a third series if and when it comes.