Here is another post reviewing some radio comedies that I have been listening to. Because of course my reviews of obscure radio programmes are always so popular! </sarcasm>
- The Castle is a radio sitcom which describes itself as, ‘a comedy set in the filth, stench and grime of the middle ages, with some nice music’. It was quite funny, and there were a few great jokes here and there, but overall it was nowhere near as good as some of the other Radio 4 sitcoms out there. But since I am rapidly running out of radio comedies to listen to, it was good to hear it anyway.
- Elvenquest is a parody of Tolkienesque fantasy epics. I wrote about it here when I listened to the show last year, so I won’t repeat myself, just see that review for a fuller summary of the show. The third series was recently broadcast so I listened to the whole show again including the new episodes. I really enjoy it, it is definitely one of my favourites of the radio sitcoms that I listen to, and if anything I enjoyed it more the second time through. I’d really recommend this one.
- Bleak Expectations was one of the first radio sitcoms I listened to last year; before that I was mostly tuning in (er, to iPlayer) for the panel shows and sketch shows. Again, you can read my earlier review for a proper summary. I listened to it all again over the recent holidays, and it is still superb. I am looking forward to the fifth series hopefully coming up this year, and to the spin off television show.
- I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is Radio 4’s ‘perennial antidote to panel games’. It was pretty much the first radio show I started listening to, and it is still the finest panel show on the radio. I have quite a few old episodes that I have been listening to, and I realised that I have never really mentioned the show before, so I should at least include a mention of ISIHAC if I am doing a post about radio shows!
I’m not sure what I’ll be listening to next but I do love my Radio 4 comedies at the moment.
I’ve written before about radio comedies that I enjoy such as Bleak Expectations and Cabin Pressure. Well here is another one I’ve heard recently: ElvenQuest. It’s a parody of Tolkienesqe fantasy epics, following a group of adventurers on a quest in Lower Earth: the dim elf Vidar, the warrior princess Penthiselea and the unpleasant dwarf Dean. They seek the Sword of Asnagar, which if wielded by the Chosen One will help them overthrow the evil Lord Darkness. It turns out that the Chosen One is actually a dog called Amis, the pet of a real world fantasy novelist, the misanthropic Sam. So they cross a magic portal and bring Sam and Amis into Lower Earth, where Amis turns into a human but with the personality of a dog. They travel around looking for the sword and coming up against Lord Darkness.
There are twelve episodes so far (two series of six episodes) and I listened to them all over the weekend. While I don’t think that it is quite as good as those other shows I have reviewed, I did enjoy it a lot. The cast is full of excellent comedy actors (including Stephen Mangan, Darren Boyd, Kevin Eldon and Alistair McGowan). It does a good job of parodying various fantasy clichés while also having a good plot itself, and most importantly it is funny. It looks as though the BBC are airing repeats available on iPlayer so now would be the ideal time to check it out.
