Lead Balloon
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two / BBC Four
- 2006 - 2011
- 27 episodes (4 series)
Sitcom starring Jack Dee as Rick Spleen, a grumpy misanthropic stand-up comedian whose life is plagued by let downs and embarrassment. Also features Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Rasmus Hardiker, Tony Gardner and Anna Crilly
Streaming rank this week: 3,141
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 5 - Pistachio
Further details
Rick buys himself a scooter. His initial excitement about the purchase turns to dismay, however, as he starts to worry that it makes him look gay, and Mel is doubtful that his solution of buying a leather jacket will have the desired effect.
Rick's work isn't going too well either - his spot hosting the Air Conditioning and Climate Control Awards didn't go as well as planned, and his paranoia about being gay leads him to write a series of homophobic jokes for the Annual Hairdresser Awards.
Meanwhile Rick has a spectacular row about 'invisible' mending with local dry cleaner Mr Tilak.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Wednesday 1st November 2006
- Time
- 10:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Four
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Jack Dee | Rick Spleen |
| Raquel Cassidy | Mel |
| Sean Power | Marty |
| Antonia Campbell-Hughes | Sam |
| Rasmus Hardiker | Ben |
| Tony Gardner | Michael |
| Anna Crilly | Magda |
| Omid Djalili | Mr Tilak |
| Nathalie Burgun | Actor |
| Steve Jones | Voice (Voice) |
| Jack Dee | Writer |
| Pete Sinclair | Writer |
| Alex Hardcastle | Director |
| Alex Hardcastle | Producer |
| Addison Cresswell | Executive Producer |
| Andrew Beint | Executive Producer |
| Lucy Lumsden | Executive Producer |
| Russell Beeden | Editor |
| Gordon Whistance | Production Designer |
Press
When Lead Balloon started, I obsessed about its debt to Curb Your Enthusiasm and whether it was too self-regarding in having a comedian playing a comedian. But I guess what counts is whether it's funny, and Lead Balloon has delivered lovely moments as well as scene-stealing turns from Anna Crilly's Magda, as perpetually gloomy as a Soviet tenement block, and Tony Gardner as a shell-shocked City trader-turned-organic restaurateur. And leading it all is Dee, who turns childish pettiness into something almost endearing.
Ian Johns, The Times, 2nd November 2006