Comedy Slab

This week we review - Red Dwarf (Series 10 Episode 1)

Following a catastrophic leak of radiation aboard mining space ship Red Dwarf, technician Dave Lister finds himself as the last living human. Having been held in a form of suspended animation known as stasis at the time of the leak he was shielded from its fatal effects whilst all of his colleagues were turned into piles of dust.

Now, some 3 million years later with background radiation at a safe level, the ship's computer Holly has revived him in readiness for the long journey home. However, Dave's not quite alone: his arch-nemesis and workmate, Rimmer, survives as a Hologram; as does a descendant of Lister's own pet cat, called Cat; and Kryten, an emotionless android.

Red Dwarf follows their adventures across the universe as they attempt to get back to Earth and discover whether Lister really is the last surviving human being.

Written by Doug Naylor & Rob Grant
Produced by Richard Naylor.
Directed By Doug Naylor.
An Owl Power Production for BBC.
Red Dwarf is available here: https://bit.ly/3mTS3w5

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Hitmen (Series 3 Episode 4)

Paul Whitehouse is an experienced fisherman; Bob Mortimer is a complete novice. Their friendship stretches back for decades, but they've recently reconnected after both suffering very serious heart problems and each staring death in the face.

Paul has suggested to Bob that he take up fishing to help recover from his triple heart bypass. Now, these two much loved comedians tour the country to fish side by side in some of the most picturesque landscapes the UK has to offer.

Across the half-hour episodes they dissect life, death and comedy. Paul is in charge of the fishing while Bob is in charge of the accommodation and cooking heart-healthy food. From recipes, regrets, relationships and rituals; to childhood, comedy and the countryside, the pair discuss everything alongside the ever-present shadows of showbiz and mortality.

Produced by Nicky Waltham, Stephanie Fyfe and Luke Holland.
Directed By Rob Gill.
An Owl Power Production for BBC.
Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing is available here: https://bbc.in/2ZW5j9t

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Hitmen (Series 1 Episode 1)

Hitmen is about two best friends trying to make their way in the world with only each other to rely on. They also just happen to kill people for a living.

Having stumbled into a career in contract killing, misfits Fran and Jamie are not your typical killers for hire. Working out of their scruffy van, each episode follows the hapless duo as they try to carry out their latest hit, inevitably derailed by incompetence, bickering, and inane antics. As each hit goes south, our (anti)heroes are thrown into one bizarre misadventure after another, each full of oddball characters and unexpected dilemmas.

Across the series, as the mishaps - and bodies - rack up, Fran and Jamie's friendship is put through the wringer: while affable goof Jamie seems content to spend her days hanging out with her best mate, the more sensitive Fran starts to question whether it's really the life she wants. Will their friendship survive their trials and tribulations? More to the point, as the jobs get increasingly dangerous, will they even survive?

Written by Joe Parham and Joe Markham.
Produced by Arnold Widdowson.
Directed By Oliver Parsons.
A Tiger Aspect Production for Sky.
Hitmen is available here: https://bit.ly/2RmahI5

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Detectorists (Series 3 Episode 1)

Detectorists follows the relationship between two friends who share a passion for metal detecting.

When Andy and Lance are together, they're like an old married couple. They gripe at each other, but there is a true bond underneath.

Each has their own slightly dysfunctional lives but together they dream of finding a priceless Saxon hoard that will cement their place in detecting history.

Helping them along the way is a delightfully quirky crowd of characters who are drawn to this all-absorbing hobby.

Written by Mackenzie Crook.
Produced by Adam Tandy & Gill Isles.
Directed By Mackenzie Crook.
A Treasure Trove / Channel X North / Lola Entertainment Production for BBC.
The Detectorists is available here: https://bbc.in/3jW4TaU

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Staged (Series 1 Episode 1)
 
David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of Six Characters In Search Of An Author in the West End.

The pandemic has put paid to that, but their director (Simon Evans - also playing himself) is determined not to let the opportunity pass him by. He knows how big a chance this is for him and turns his attention to cajoling his stars into rehearsing over the internet.

All they need to do is read the first scene, but throughout the series they come up against a multitude of oppositional forces: distraction, boredom, home-schooling and their own egos.

Written by Simon Evans.
Produced by Phin Glynn, Victor Glynn & Georgia Tennant.
Directed By Simon Evans.
An Infinity Hill / GCB Films Production for BBC.
Staged is available here: https://bbc.in/32L7fT4
 
The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.
 
Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.
 
Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Tom Wrigglesworth's Open Letters (Series 1 Episode 4)

This series started life as a one-off recording of Tom Wrigglesworth's Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated stand-up routine about a rude and unhelpful train guard.

After the success of this first show, Tom was commissioned to return to Radio 4 to regale his audience with more tales of corporate lunacy and ridiculous rip-offs.

Through the medium of four open letters, Tom investigates the countless examples of corporate lunacy and maddening "jobsworths" in modern Britain. His subjects range from traffic wardens to estate agents, with Tom recalling his own funny and ridiculous experiences as well as recounting the absurd encounters of others.

It's a show about being proud and sticking up for what is right.

Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle
Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer
A Phil McIntyre Television Production for BBC.
Tom Wrigglesworth's Open Letters is available here: https://bit.ly/3jaoAeD

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Early Doors (Series 2 Episode 1)
 
Gentle paced comedy series set in a small Manchester public house. Landlord Ken has been left by his wife (for his best friend), but lives with his adopted daughter Melanie and mother Jean. He is assisted at the bar by reliable Tanya.

The regulars in the pub include lazy skiving husbands Joe and Duffy; dense but friendly couple Eddie and Joan; old git Tommy; and useless coppers Phil and Nige.

Written by Craig Cash & Phil Mealey
Produced by Lucy Ansbro & John Rushton
Directed by Craig Cash
A Phil McIntyre Television Production for BBC.
Early Doors is available here: https://amzn.to/2FunD25
 
The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.
 
Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.
 
Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Parks & Recreation (Series 3 Episode 1)

Parks and Recreation is an American political satire sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur.

It stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Rob Lowe.

The writers researched local California politics for the series, and consulted with urban planners and elected officials and the Leslie Knope character underwent major changes after the first season, in response to audience feedback that the character seemed unintelligent and "ditzy".

Written by Alan Yang
Produced by Greg Daniels / Dan Goor / Norm Hiscock / Dean Holland
David Hyman / Emily Kapnek / Howard Klein / Steve Mesner / David Miner
Amy Poehler / Tom Ragazzo / Morgan Sackett / Michael Schur and Emily Spivey
Directed by Dean Holland.
An Open 4 Business Production.
Parks & recreation is available here: https://amzn.to/3gPl8W0

The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.

Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.

Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - What We Do In The Shadows (Series 1 Episode 1)
 
Set in Staten Island, What We Do in the Shadows follows the lives of three traditional vampires; Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja; Colin Robinson, an energy vampire; and Guillermo, Nandor's familiar.

The series revolves around the centuries-old vampires interacting with the modern world and other supernatural beings.

Written by Jermaine Clement
Produced by Joanne Toll & Hartley Gorenstein
Directed by Taika Waititi
An FX / Two Canoes Pictures / 343 Incorporated production for FX.
What We Do In The Shadows is available here: https://bbc.in/3jZ6ZaR
 
The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.
 
Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.
 
Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.

This week we review - Relativity (Series 3 Episode 2)
 
Death, birth, falling in and out of love, resentment over forgotten slights and indestructible affection - it's all relative.

Relativity is a witty and loving portrait of family life, with affectionate observation of inter generational misunderstanding, sibling sparring and the ties that bind, that will resonate with anyone who has ever argued with their dad about how to pronounce crisp brand names.

Written by Richard Herring.
Produced by Polly Thomas.
An Avalon TV Production for BBC Radio 4.
Relativity is available here: https://bbc.in/301EKA6
 
The Comedy Slab Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and Youtube.
 
Subscribe for a new episode each Monday.
 
Get in touch - we're @ComedySlab on Twitter and ComedySlab on Facebook.