I thought it was a clever (and apparently deliberate) touch to make one of the plot strands of the very first episode, Vince getting rid of his sofa - the sofa representing one of the conventions of the traditional sitcom.
But that's probably just me... 
I've been chucked out of the TV room so I'm catching up on some DVDs.
So far I've watched:
Big Train series 2 ep 2, Armando Ianucci show ep1 & 2, Missing Scene, & I'm now on the best of Larry Sanders ep 2.
Next up, last but not least, 15 Storeys High series 1 episode 2.
That anecdote was as boring as it was true.
I got the 'box set' of this recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lock's cynicism comes across very affable.
I really liked this show but never get the urge to rewatch it. Once is enough.
I see what you mean.
But I've just watched series 1 & I bet there were a few bits I didn't get at the time that would get second time around.
There were a few brilliant lines that took me a second to catch up with.
'I du luv it' as they say in the valleys. Swan episode made me cry with laughter.
Quote: honora @ October 9 2010, 6:32 PM GMTWhy didn't it have another series? Was it lack of viewers or was Sean Lock not up for another series?
Sean talked about wanting a third series but it was turned down. I'm pretty sure they had written material for it too. I spoke to Stuart Murphy, then controller of the channel, asking him why and he said it just wasn't getting the ratings. I said that he should have tried advertising it better and he said that some shows get trailers on TV but for others they had different approaches and they'd decided to promote 15 Storeys High via the web. What a totally bizarre thing to say. Anyway, it was buried and I miss it deeply.
It had many fans in the comedy world, most notably, Matt Groening, Paul Whitehouse and Armando Iannucci, who wrote;
Life is full of mysteries, such as "where do they put the emergency exits in the Channel Tunnel?". But for me, one of the greatest is why isn't 15 Storeys High recognised as the comic classic it is? The second series, which starts on BBC Two this week, has been dumped, like an insane relative of the Royal Family, out of sight where no one is likely to notice (late on Sunday nights).
In case you know nothing about 15 Storeys High, it's a quietly absurd sitcom starring Sean Lock as Vince, a grumpy swimming pool attendant who lives in a tower block with a second-generation Chinese northerner called Errol, played by Benedict Wong.
It's filmed in a blanched-out sequence of static, grainy shots that trap you into thinking you're about to get some grim kitchen-sink piece of social commentary. In fact, what you get is a joyously escalating series of warm and hilarious plots prompted by the inconsequential. My favourite memory from the first series is of Errol peeling off a bit of loose wallpaper in the bathroom, only to end up stripping the room bare and backing out of the flat with all the wallpaper down his trousers, his bum now enormous and crinkling, trying to pretend to Vince that nothing had happened.
Even little moments of dialogue burst out of control, such as Vince persuading Errol not to buy goldfish: "You get one goldfish and it's lonely. You get two and they don't get on. You get a third and it's two on one. You get a fourth and it's a borstal."
15 Storeys High is difficult to describe, because it is unlike any other sitcom. The last comedy I can remember that arrived with such a perfect, idiosyncratic and fully formed comic world of its own was Father Ted. It's that good. I want you to watch it so much it hurts.
15 Storeys High, Sunday, BBC Two, 10.40pm/11.10pm (regions vary)
Source; The Times - 15 / 05 / 04
"COME AND CLEAN YOUR HANDS ON ME COAT!!"
Quote: Marooned @ January 10 2011, 7:03 PM GMT"COME AND CLEAN YOUR HANDS ON ME COAT!!"
I was rewatching that episode only a few days ago. I think that's one of my favourites. The coat, the Blue Rat, the horse - genius.
Quote: Ben @ January 10 2011, 7:05 PM GMTI was rewatching that episode only a few days ago. I think that's one of my favourites. The coat, the Blue Rat, the horse - genius.
This is the only episode I've watched so far (just ordered both series tonight), but it's brilliant, like...why haven't I seen this before?
"And their motto is: If you can find it cheaper anywhere else, we'll be embarrassed."
Just reminded me that I still haven't seen this; off to Amazon!
Quote: Matthew Stott @ January 10 2011, 7:12 PM GMTJust reminded me that I still haven't seen this; off to Amazon!
YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
I've ordered it from Play but only just realised that I could have ordered it from Amazon with free next day delivery (there's a free trial on Amazon Prime at the moment).
There's a horse in that flat!
Quote: Ben @ January 10 2011, 7:17 PM GMTYOU WON'T REGRET IT!
I'm now four episodes into the first series; it's very odd, but very, very good.
I still think the "have you been disloyal?" line is one of the best ever written. Also the sofa chase in the first episode is very well executed.
