This starts monday at 10pm on BBC Two. There's an interview with Coogan and Brydon in today's Guardian.
I'm rather looking forward to it, as I enjoyed Cock And Bull and this apparently is also directed by Michael Winterbottom.
The Trip - Series 1
I'm looking forward to this too. It could be an indulgent car crash but I get a good feeling from the clips and Coogan's ready to do some great work again which he does inbetween less memorable appearnces.
It's Coogan, so of course I'm looking forward to it. I've no idea what it is though, apart from the fact he and Brydon are travelling around and talking. I did enjoy the film this is spinning off from.
Oh, so you *did* get around to watching that one then? How was Four Lions? 
This looked quite funny from the trailer, but I wasn't sure whether it was comedy or just a documentary!
Dan
Looking forward to it, but just hope it's something more than a self-reverential vanity project. Michael Winterbottom has done enough "deconstructing the form" for my tastes, frankly. Hopefully this will be something other than simply clever. Maybe actually take the "characters" on some kind of decent emotional journey?
I really loved A Cock And Bull Story the first couple of times I saw it, but watching again recently it seems more than a bit smoke and mirrors - style over substance.
I'm sure this won't to be many peoples tastes, but I really quite enjoyed that first episode, I could have carried on watching for a lot longer. Be interesting to see it develops, if it does at all!
It's rambling, indulgent and incestuous, but I sort of enjoyed it. Not exactly laugh out loud stuff, but the Michael Caine-Off did make me chuckle. Interesting to see how it develops.
Quote: chipolata @ November 1 2010, 11:37 PM BSTbut the Michael Caine-Off did make me chuckle. Interesting to see how it develops.
Me too. I think Coogan's was better but Brydon's was more clichéd.
It didn't really grab me as comedy, but the hotel looked nice. Good food, good service, nice grounds and fishing. The surroundings looked really beautiful.
I'll definitely watch again to see how their hotels compare.
That sticky toffee pudding looked lush.
I lasted about ten minutes. Normally when a project can be described as indulging its stars it at least refers to their egos rather than their stomachs.
Nevermind the sticky toffee pudding, Magda was lush!
Thin, but occasionally fun. Of course, we've already seen this conceit in A Cock And Bull Story. Not sure if "a version of" Steve Coogan's neuroses about life and relationships is going to be compelling for 6 episodes. Personally, I find the whole idea a little disingenuous. Why should we really care about these "versions" of Coogan and Brydon and their fictional relationship issues? Ah, so Steve's pretending to have an American girlfriend (though he's still eyeing other women, naturally) and Rob's got a new baby? Great - I know it's not true - but I'm fully ready to commit to giving a toss!
Although I'm sure that's not the way it's intended, it's almost a joke at the audience's expense. Does Michael Winterbottom want to entertain his audience or just to de-construct - or even mock - them and the medium he works in?
This first half hour felt like a lot of padding. Is it right that there is a 90-minute(-ish) version of this? Because in a film this first half hour would have been cut down to 10 (tight) minutes at most. Rob Brydon in interviews suggested that Winterbottom cut a lot of the humour out to give it more balance. Perhaps the out-takes reel is hilarious? Because this episode had the two of them re-treading a lot of old ground. A little too much of the "if we talk about prosaic stuff long enough it shall become funny" school of comedy. (It is a real school. A very wide school, in order to accommodate it's extremely long name.)
Some reviews have already described Coogan & Brydon as "subverting their public image". What public images exactly? The only public images the pair really have are those which are presented here. How exactly are these "versions of" themselves playing against type? I really don't understand this concept as it implies to these two otherwise generally (publicly) discreet men.
There's no doubt that Steve and Rob are two of this country's most talented comedy actors, so why not put some actual hard graft in and write a proper script with characters which require them to do more than mere comedy exercises?
Of course, I may be completely wrong and this will develop into a proper story with some real depth to it, but I fear it will most likely just coast along, providing a few short-lived laughs at best.
Still, as others have said, some lovely scenery committed to film...
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 1 2010, 11:55 PM BSTThin, but occasionally fun. We've seen this in A Cock And Bull Story already. Not sure if "a version of" Steve Coogan's neuroses about life and relationships is going to be compelling for 6 episodes. Personally, I find the whole conceit a little disingenuous. Why should we really care about these "versions" of Coogan and Brydon and their fictional relationship issues? This first half hour felt like a lot of padding. Is it right that there is a 90-minute(-ish) version of this? Because in a film this first half hour would have been cut down to 10 (tight) minutes at most.
It would have worked well as a bite-sized Marion and Geoff ten minute show.
Thought it a bit dull. Had its moments, but no real laughs, just some smirks of amusement. There's possibility in it, but Coogan's persona alone was quite the turn off. I understand he mellows and becomes a little more reasonable over the series' duration though.