James Cary

I see that Channel 4 have posted large amounts of their archive on YouTube, including this one treasure that had a considerable effect on me, Mr Don and Mr George. It was a spin-off series from the sketch show Absolutely, and starred Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty, who also both wrote it.

The show was transmitted in 1993, when I was about 18 (and a serious comedy geek). I totally loved it and the show demonstrated to me what was possible comedically in the modern era. Pythons, Goons and Goodies are all great, but they were all some time ago (even in 1993). I wanted something that was positive, genial, silly and knock-about. And I found it in Mr Don and Mr George. Lots of wordplay, daft, self-defeating conversations and surreal turns. The plots made sense, but it wasn't about the story - much more about the gags. Perhaps this was the problem with the show (though not for me) and why it never quite got a big enough audience. That said, I seem to remember it was scheduled for Friday night at 10.35pm - and this sort of comedy never really seemed suited to the slot (althoughPaul Merton had had some success in that slot a few years earlier). It's worth noting that Mr D & Mr G, this much forgotten jewel, was broadcast two or three years before Father Ted and, I believe, paved the way. I'd be interested to hear the views of others on this subject.

I taped the episodes off the TV onto a VHS back in 1993, and then a few years ago scrubbed them by mistake. The realisation I'd lost them was awful at the time, as I was pretty sure they wouldn't be re-released on DVD. And they haven't been. But they are on YouTube. Joy of joys.

Comment: Bellamy's People

I was surprised to learn that the BBC have not recommissioned Bellamy's People. Why was I surprised? Because it's studded with top comedy talent and the critics that I read seemed to love it. And sometimes, one feels, the BBC bloody-mindedly decide to recommission a series in order to prove the first series was not a failure or a mistake. That said, I can't think of that happening recently. The Persuasionists received very short shrift from BBC2 and was demoted twice during it's run. Perhaps also I thought the BBC would want to keep Whitehouse and Higson onside since they're clearly people the BBC want to continue working with. This is understandable, although a very expensive way of going about it.

The Sound Of Laughter

Another ill-conceived piece of journalism about comedy, this time on the Guardian blog. Why a decent publication like the Guardian sees fit to give e-space to a poorly argued piece of opinion (which amounts to "I hate the sound of human laughter") is rather bewildering.

I don't know when to be happy for you

I've managed to watch every episode of The Persuasionists. As you might have guessed, I've been disappointed. I've been trying to work out why it hasn't come together as a show.

The Pressure of Perfectly Paced Plotting

BBC Radio 7 has been repeating Series 1 of Cabin Pressure - which I completely missed the first time round. It's lovely show with an admirably small number of characters, as the title suggests - pressured relationships in one cabin of one aeroplane.

Understanding Failure in Comedy

Criticising sitcom is the easiest thing in the world. Like many things that are easy, it can still be entertaining and fun, but it is ultimately destructive and unhelpful, as least for the purposes of this blog and constructive criticism of sitcom in general.

Getting out at the top

It is a curiously British thing to take a sledgehammer to your own success, but that is what is regularly done - and it is, of course, partly the fault of John Cleese.

The Persuasionists Review

I'll fess up and say that I didn't really like episode 1 of The Persuasionists as I just didn't know the characters. There are other reasons, which I'll mention in a moment. But I did like episode 2.

Watching Comedy as a Comedy Writer

Whenever a new sitcom arrives on TV, I always try and watch it. I do this for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is that I'm sitcom writer myself and a bad person, and I therefore want it to fail. I then repent of this, and try to watch it without prejudice, remembering that I have more reasons to want this show to succeed. Why?

Before the first series of Hut 33 was broadcast last year there were those who wondered whether it was a wartime-based comedy series too far. What humour could the writer James Cary glean from the activities of codebreaking folk? Quite a lot, as it happened, as Cary tacitly admitted that the Enigma machine was not in itself a laugh riot, and that a few broadly delineated comic characters were what was wanted.

As a result Hut 33 could be set anywhere, at any time, and still be just as funny. You've got your dithering commander Joshua, to whom the fact that Britain is even at war comes as a surprise, your lascivious landlady Mrs Best, your psychotic Polish refugee Minka, all of whom get their fair share of laughs.