The wonderful Little Britain (Little Britain)

Member Name: thespurs

Product:	Little Britain
Date:	06/11/04 (641 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Highly Amusing, Great Acting, An Insight into Great Britain

Disadvantages: None

The new series of Little Britain, series two, has just started to be shown on BBC television. It was one of the most eagerly awaited amd highly anticipated returns to the screen of a programme for a long while. The last programme to cause such a stir, was the second series of The Office a couple of years ago. It is one of the most talked about shows on the television today and probably the most popular comedy in Britain. It is written and performed by Matt Lucas, formerly George Dawes on Shooting Stars with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimers, and David Williams a relatively unheard of comedy performer. They present how they view the society of Great Britain and they had a huge element of comedy to it.


I am a huge fan of this programme and I immensely enjoy watching each and every episode. I always make sure that I am in when it is on television, or if not I try to have somebody videotape it for me. The whole of my family watch the programme and we often talk about when we see each other. It is a programme that people of all ages enjoy, although some children shouldn't really see some parts of the show. Some people may be offended by some of the sketches, but they aren't intended to be viscious or hurtful.


There are a number of different characters and sketches within the programme. David Williams and Matt Lucas take on various different guises to represent Britain as they see it today. They often choose sterotypical examples of certain sections of the British population. Some of the characters used in the first series have remained and others have been added to increase enjoyment. I will discuss a few of the characters in more detail in the next few paragraphs, to give you and idea of the type of programme that it is.


Andy and Lou - These two characters are probably the most well known and talked about from the whole show. Matt Lucas plays a wheelchair bound character with what appears to be a severe mental disability. David Williams plays the part of Lou, his carer, and he has an obvious speech impediment. Lou does everything he can to make Andy comfortable from day to day. Andy makes life very tough for him by giving him the run around and as he keeps changing his mind. However, when Lou turns his back Andy gets out of his wheelchair and can walk without any problem. Lou is totally oblivious to this and he continues to care for Andy. The most hillarious thing that has happened, was in the second episode of the current series. The pair get lost in the countryside and Lou stops to ask for directions. Whilst he and a lady are talking, Andy hops on the ladies horse and rides off into the distance and neither Lou or the lady seemed to realise.


Vicky Pollard - This is a stereotypical teenager that has been brought up living on a council estate. She gets in trouble with the police and at school and also has numerous encounters with social workers. When pulled up on something that she has done wrong, she flatly denies knowing absolutely anything about. She launches into a continuous rant often starting something like this: 'Yeah but, no but, yeah' and then continuing to ramble on about completely unrelated subjects flinging accusations out about people that she knows. The look on the other characters faces when she embarks on one these speeches, tend to be bewilderment and then that changes to a look that says: 'What the hell.....?' I think that the sketches are immensely funny and do illustrate teenage girls to show that they never stop talking and bitching.


Bubbles - This is a female character that is played by Matt Lucas. She claims to be married to a wealthy businssman who is said to be paying for her stay at the luxury health spa. She is a rather large lady, who is amazingly ugly. Bubbles chooses to have a number of treatments and sessions in sunbeds and saunas. It gets to the stage where she is amassing huge bills and is not paying for them. The manager continuosly pesters her for the monies that she owes, but she always makes an excuse. Once this is rejected, she tries to pay the manager off in rather disturbing ways. She offers hom her services, which he whole heartedly rejects. This is immensly funny to see the horrified looks on the managers face.


Daffyd - A depiction of what attitudes and situations the a homosexual living in Wales may face. Played by Matt Lucas, Daffyd lives in a small Welsh village where everything in his life goes on. He wants to be: 'The only gay in the village'. It is a matter of pride that only he is on 'the other side' and it infuriates him when anybody suggests that there are other gay members of the village community. He goes on the offensive and says there can only be one gay in village and that that person is him. In this series, Daffyd's brother approaches him for some advice on how to come out to his parents. Daffyd is furious and questions whether his brother is confused. He tries telling him that he is not gay and that he must be bisexual. His brother doesn't buy it and he isvery annoyed as he will no longer be the only gay. He then learns that his brother has a boyfriend at that makes it three gays in the village and he overcome with shock. I do think that this character is a bit over the top but that makes for better entertainment and more laughs.


The first series of Little Britain is available to buy on DVD and VHS and would make an ideal Christmas or birthday present. It costs £11.99 on DVD and £13.49 on VHS from amazon.co.uk which is very reasonable for a DVD these days. The total runtime of the DVD, spread over two discs, is 4 hours so you get a lot for your money. It is the sort of thing that you can watch over and over again and never be bored with it. I'm sure that this will become a classic and will be highly rewared at many levels. It is on a par with The Office in my view and that is saying something. I think that they will make a third series because it is hugely popular.


This is probably the programme that I look forward to watching most from week to week. It is full of laughter and also some very good acting and depictions of the way Britain is viewed today. I think that both Matt Lucas and David Williams do the characters immense justice and really bring them to life. They give them a real personalitty and you feel like you are inside the mind of the character. You watch each week to see what different situations the characters will find themselves in and you await the different ways in which they choose to deal with the problems. If you aren't already a fan, then I suggest that you look out for when it is on television next and give it a watch.


The current series of Little Britain can be seen on BBC3 at 9.00pm on tuesday evenings. This is then repeated on Sunday night on BBC2 and on the Monday night on BBC3. Each broadcast lasts for around half an hour. More information about the characters, interviews with the cast and numerous other interactive services can be found at bbc.co.uk/comedy/littlebritain. The website is very well laid out, easy to navigate and it loads very quickly.

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