The whole gang is in this one (Richardson, Mayall, Edmonson, Planer, French, Saunders), and the script is tightly written. Lately, I've been watching all of the Comic Strip movies/shows, and this is definitely one of the better ones, and possibly the best one of all.
Very tight script, and the ending of this one is particularly imaginative, I thought. Plus, you get to see Rik Mayall completely wig out (over something that would wig anyone out), which is one of the great joys of television, in general.
Some of the Comic Strip movies/shows are a bit uneven, but this is one is solid all the way through. Highly recommended to any audience, including those who are a fan of these actors, as well as those who might be new to this bunch.
Why have these not been released on DVD in the States? I have no idea. The humor here is universal and accessible without being sanitized or insipid. It's what, ideally, you look for when looking across the Atlantic for humor.
This has been true of most of the things the Comic Strip folks have done. Though American fans of British comedy will no doubt enjoy this (the cast listing alone should interest any Britcom fan worth his or her salt), I think this kind of humor would appeal far more broadly beyond that niche.
The unwillingness to export stuff like this to the States (and promote it not as some kind of novelty British import, but as unqualified humor for humor's sake) under the assumption that it won't appeal over here, continues to tick me off.
The amount of garbage many of us have had to wade through to watch this and other semi-modern classic British television is, frankly, infuriating, and I know that I speak for a fair amount of us here when I say that.
I'm not one to slag all of American entertainment, because some of it is quite good, but I feel cheated when I am denied things such as this over some ridiculous cultural assumption about the kind of humor I'm likely to respond to - which is the only excuse I've ever heard from commercial interests who refuse to release this stuff in the US.
Very tight script, and the ending of this one is particularly imaginative, I thought. Plus, you get to see Rik Mayall completely wig out (over something that would wig anyone out), which is one of the great joys of television, in general.
Some of the Comic Strip movies/shows are a bit uneven, but this is one is solid all the way through. Highly recommended to any audience, including those who are a fan of these actors, as well as those who might be new to this bunch.
Why have these not been released on DVD in the States? I have no idea. The humor here is universal and accessible without being sanitized or insipid. It's what, ideally, you look for when looking across the Atlantic for humor.
This has been true of most of the things the Comic Strip folks have done. Though American fans of British comedy will no doubt enjoy this (the cast listing alone should interest any Britcom fan worth his or her salt), I think this kind of humor would appeal far more broadly beyond that niche.
The unwillingness to export stuff like this to the States (and promote it not as some kind of novelty British import, but as unqualified humor for humor's sake) under the assumption that it won't appeal over here, continues to tick me off.
The amount of garbage many of us have had to wade through to watch this and other semi-modern classic British television is, frankly, infuriating, and I know that I speak for a fair amount of us here when I say that.
I'm not one to slag all of American entertainment, because some of it is quite good, but I feel cheated when I am denied things such as this over some ridiculous cultural assumption about the kind of humor I'm likely to respond to - which is the only excuse I've ever heard from commercial interests who refuse to release this stuff in the US.
