Victor McGuire

Kate & Koji, review

An uneasy mix of old-fashioned sitcom and woke identity politics.

Review: No Offence - series three episode two

This was another madcap, exciting episode that was over much too quickly.

TV preview: Goodnight Sweetheart, BBC1

Is it possible for a sitcom to be terrible and very funny at the same time? That's the feat that this one-off revival of Goodnight Sweetheart as part of the Landmark Sitcom Season seems to have pulled off. This time travel comedy always was an odd idea and the internal logic problems of the original run, which ended 17 years ago, still haven't been resolved. On the other hand there are plenty of laughs.

Why Goodnight Sweetheart is the most subversive sitcom

There aren't many sitcoms about a grown man pretending to be a spy who wrote The Beatles' back catalogue. Who also befriends Noel Coward, saves Clement Attlee's life, and meets George VI, the Kray twins and Winston Churchill. Then again, time-travelling oddity Goodnight Sweetheart was no ordinary sitcom.

One sitcom that really didn't surprise me at all was Sky One's Trollied, which delivered its second annual Christmas Special.

Whilst the Gavin and Julie story was definitely there to appeal to long time fans of the show, I've always felt Trollied is at its best when focusing on the funnier supporting characters. For example foul-mouthed Colin (Carl Rice) led a band of the male store-workers against a group of young cub scouts who had attacked them several times. Equally funny was when the hopeless Neville (Dominic Coleman) ended up doing the Christmas shopping for his ex-wife's new husband and later put a bet on it being a white Christmas.

The latter half of the episode, which saw the employees being snowed in, showcased the strength of the programme namely the focus on a group of disparate characters who formed a very strong family unit. After a dodgy third series, which saw the show lose some of its big name cast members, it was refreshing to see the show back to its best.

Though I wasn't a fan of the story that focused on security guard Ian (Victor McGuire) badgering the store's Santa, the majority of the plots were strong.

I have to say I laughed all the way through and found the material between Gavin and Julie to be rather touching. Whether the show can survive without Jane Horrocks remains to be seen, but I did feel she got a fitting and respectful send-off in this rather good Christmas Special.