I really do love this show, verily and forsooth. It's a Radio 4 sitcom-serial parodying Dickens (Bleak House, Great Expectations) etc., and the second series finished recording last week, so should be starting sometime in the next month or two.

I do rather highly recommend it - although might be worth hearing series one before two, if the linear episode structure is anything to go by. I'd guess it might be repeated on BBC 7 or somesuch... Anyway.

http://www.comedy.org.uk/guide/radio/bleak_expectations/


Oh wait, it's available on CD.







Anyway, does anyone else listen to it?
 

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Aaron
BSG Forums & DVDs Editor
Half man, half Internet, half TV.

 

I loved this show. It's one of the radio highlights of the past year and proves that radio can match TV in terms of unmissable comedy. Can't wait for the second series, and hopefully it features the Hardthrasher family again.

(And not one to disagree with the the Anal Retentive Comedy Guru, but isn't it a sitcom and should by rights be in the sitcom section of this forum?)
 

I also loved this show. I saw the pilot being recorded and was pretty much pissing myself laughing from start to finish.

Apparently it almost didn't get commissioned. They had just commissioned Hut 33 and when presented with Bleak Expectations the response was "A show set in the past?But we've already got one of them."

Fortunately, someone else took a look a short while later and decided to commission it.
 

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I'm an enabler...a facilitator...a possibilitiser...
 

Quote: chipolata @ June 2 2008, 10:20 AM BST

(And not one to disagree with the the Anal Retentive Comedy Guru, but isn't it a sitcom and should by rights be in the sitcom section of this forum?)

View original

I put it there originally, but moved it. Reasoning is that that's primarily aimed at TV, whilst this forum encompasses radio (check the forum descriptions on the board's front page), and a traditional sitcom is made up of isolated episodes whilst this is linear. Much like Gavin and Stacey which I also had in here, but Mark insisted on moving.
 

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Aaron
BSG Forums & DVDs Editor
Half man, half Internet, half TV.

 

I shall bump this up a bit, as much love has been shown for it today elsewhere.

I've only listened to the first episode of series 2 so far. It's just so good, I can't wait a whole week for the next part, so am saving them up to listen to all at once.
 

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Aaron
BSG Forums & DVDs Editor
Half man, half Internet, half TV.

 

Will have to get to this soon, considering all the praise.

Talking of period radio comedies, anyone ever used to listen to 'The Masterson Inheritance'? It was a semi-improvisional Victorian "melodrama" comedy starring amongst others Paul Merton.

BBC7 occasionally air repeats.

From what I remember it was very funny.
 

I'll try and keep an eye out for it.
 

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Aaron
BSG Forums & DVDs Editor
Half man, half Internet, half TV.

 

Quote: Aaron @ September 10 2008, 8:04 PM BST

I'll try and keep an eye out for it.

View original

It featured a number of Comedy Store players of the time - I think it was the early-to-mid 90's? A complete script was improvised around a plot each week.
 

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 10 2008, 8:09 PM BST

improvised

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Is there a more chilling word in the English language?
 

Quote: chipolata @ September 11 2008, 1:27 PM BST

Is there a more chilling word in the English language?

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Yes. Although technically two words, I find "John Sessions" marginally more chilling as he is usually also linked to the word 'improvised'.
 

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I'm an enabler...a facilitator...a possibilitiser...
 

I freekin' love this show! I've listened to it several dozen times.
 

Quote: chipolata @ September 11 2008, 1:27 PM BST

Is there a more chilling word in the English language?

View original

The only word worse than "improvised" is the even shorter version "improv". That really does give me a panic attack.

Having said that, Curb Your Enthusiasm is semi-improvised, and that's great.
 

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"'Reality,' sa molesworth 2, 'is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder.'"