Simon Day

TV preview: The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern, BBC Two

You don't often get surprises in TV comedy. But it was a genuinely brilliant surprise when Peter Gabriel pitched up on a segway in the final episode of Brian Pern: A Life in Rock on BBC Four earlier this year. All the critics had been suggesting during the series that Gabriel might be livid if he thought that Simon Day's spoof prog rocker was based on him. In fact he clearly wasn't livid, he loved it.

Radio Times review

This is quite simply TV heaven. Just stick two colossi of comedy writing in front of a telly and get them to comment on favourite scenes. At one point in another delicious serving of Porridge memories, writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais do just that, the latter nailing the success of the show's plots and its main character with one phrase.

But there's much more besides. Celebrity fan Simon Day tracks down the famous, clanging doors of HM Prison Slade, there's brief behind-the-scenes footage from 1977 (more!), and Kate Beckinsale, daughter of Richard (Godber) will bring a lump to your throat with a story about her favourite episode.

Radio Times review

Moone Boy specialises in unlikely events, but the handball duel in this week's episode takes some beating. It's also a thoroughly deserved chance for Peter McDonald to go centre stage as beleaguered dad Liam Moone. When his former rival for Deb's affections comes calling - as a debt collector - it reopens old wounds. And the lack of family cash puts a crimp in young Martin's dreams of a Sega Mega Drive...

The ensuing showdown, as ever, combines all the sheepish delights of retro with the sharpness of a modern family sitcom. All this plus a quirky cameo from Simon Day as a sepia-tinted golfing champ.

Moone Boy: the satisfying middle ground where stupid meets feel-good.

The Life of Rock with Brian Pern review

This is an absolute gem of a comedy series, reminding us why Simon Day is such a well-regarded performer, and will enhance Rhys Thomas' reputation as a comedy writer/director to watch.

The reception to Simon Day's mock-history of guitar music has been mixed, with some critics praising the series for its skewering of BBC Four music docs and others feeling that its on-the-nose parody comes at the expense of actual, y'know, jokes. Still, it's hard to be entirely dismissive of any series that features a guest appearance by Vic & Bob's freewheeling folk duo Mulligan and O'Hare, expressing their belief that the synthesizer is only good for "calling the pigeons home".

Why you must all watch the Life of Rock With Brian Pern

It is very low budget and was sold to the BBC as essentially a clip show with a bit of comedy tacked on says Simon Day. It is much more than that, of course, but even this apparent shortcoming actually helps because there are occasional moments when you are not sure what is from the archive and what has been shot for the show.

A second outing for the spoof rockumentary that makes you wish its creators hadn't sat down after watching The Rutles or This Is Spinal Tap and thought: "Well, that looks easy." Tonight, Pern (Simon Day channelling his inner Peter Gabriel) explores rock's middle age. One halfway decent gag about Phil Collins at Live Aid notwithstanding, this mainly serves to remind us that there are even more depressing things than out-and-out horrors such as The Now Show, and that is comedies that just aren't funny enough.

Comedy of the week has to be the spoof documentary series The Life of Rock with Brian Pern. Simon Day plays the eponymous narrator - a self-regarding, pretentious prog rock legend, whose career bears more than a passing resemblance to Peter Gabriel's - eliciting contributions from genuine rock stars including Rick Wakeman, Roger Taylor and Jools Holland.

Rock music's indulgences are an easy target for parody, with the mockumentary format a far from original approach, but The Life of Rock's combination of affectionate derision, pure silliness and a non-stop array of gags is very hard to resist.

The Life of Rock with Brian Pern, BBC Four

Move over Spinal Tap, Simon Day updates the mockumentary genre.