Great show.
Ever Decreasing Circles Page 2
My EDC arrived yesterday, 6 discs with commentaries and extras for a touch under £15. I am three espisodes in and I have realised just how good it is. I have said this before elsewhere but that was based on remembering it from when they first went out (in my mid teens at the time). It is almost too painful to watch at times because you're watching a man (Martin) who for all intents and purposes has a mental illness. I think Esmonde and Larbey would have only needed to work on the scrips for a day to turn the series into a pretty bleak drama. The series reminds me of some of the characters in the Alan Bennett 'Talking Heads' monologues.
Ricky Gervais cites 'Ever Decreasing Circles' as his favourite sitcom of all time.
What makes the writers Esmonde and Larbey so brilliant is that they have created a textbook version of a man with Asperger syndrome - ten years before 'Asperger syndrome' had been used as a popular psychological diagnosis associated with autism.
And what makes the show so brilliant is that Richard Briers is playing so utterly against type. Poignant comedy-drama without a drop of sentimentality.
Dave
Are you starting from the first series, Rook?
Quote: Anorak @ March 8 2009, 9:01 PM GMTsitcome
Sorry Aaron, my 'edit' wouldn't work.
I think you know what I mean.
Not sure why that wouldn't edit for you Dave! Sorted it out now. 
Just ordered my copy.
Quote: Anorak @ March 8 2009, 9:01 PM GMTis that they have created a textbook version of a man with Asperger syndrome - ten years before 'Asperger syndrome' had been used as a popular psychological diagnosis associated with autism.
To a large extent an awful lot of great sitcom characters could be labelled as suffering from Asperger's Syndrome.
I have been diagnosed with Asparagus Sindrum - the naughty usage of vegetables in percussion playing
Quote: shaggy292 @ March 8 2009, 9:01 PM GMTAre you starting from the first series, Rook?
Yup
Well I must say it's nice to see a thread about EDC. One of my very very favourites. I'm two episodes into series 4 and loving it all over again!
Lovely to hear people are discovering this little gem of a sitcom.
I agree that it has shades of Alan Bennett. It is also like Alan Ayckbourn in his darker plays.
(If you ever get a chance to see 'Absurd Person Singular' by the way, go. One of the funniest black comedy farces ever. The Beeb actually filmed it for a Christmas broadcast some years back with Nicky Henson, Maureen Lipman, Geoffrey Palmer, Michael Gambon and Prunella Scales - how about that for a cast!)
The sad thing is I doubt that EDC would get commissioned thesedays.
This was a BBC1 popular sitcom. We now get Life Of Riley.
I do love the dark undertones to it.
Without that edge it is still very funny but that addded bit of pathos marks it out for greatness.
I'm quite proud of the fact that I absolutely loved EDC when it was originally shown. Let's just say it wasn't exactly highly regarded amongst teenage boys, at least in my experience.
Glad to see it's acknowledged as a minor classic now!
Three episodes in. It has a lot of potential. Each episode has improved. There have yet been any laugh out loud moments, but I'm expecting them to come as the series goes on. But a decent third episode anyway.