Another lame comedy from the BBC... (My Hero)

Member Name: Blurbubble

Product:	My Hero
Date:	11/06/01 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good cast, genuinely funny

Disadvantages: Can be a bit predictable

…actually no, this isn’t too bad. Maybe that’s because of the inclusion of Ardal O’Hanlan – best known as Dougal in “Father Ted” – as the main star of the show alongside Emily Joyce, who plays his girlfriend, Janet.

You can see this half hour comedy show on BBC1 on a Monday evening at 8.30pm after “Eastenders” as a bit of light relief! Ardal O’Hanlan is George, otherwise known as…THERMOMAN the Superhero! He sniffs out a problem (literally) anywhere across the Universe and can fly there in an instant to solve it – earthquakes, floods, war, just call on Thermoman. When not saving the world/Universe he tries to live an ordinary human life with his girlfriend with sometimes predictable misunderstandings but nevertheless, thanks to the fine actors in this programme, it remains genuinely funny most of the time.

His girlfriend is a nurse working at a doctors surgery which also has very amusing moments as the smarmy, egotistical doctor is played by Hugh Dennis of “Mary Whitehouse Experience” fame and the doctors receptionist Mrs Raven, played by Geraldine McNulty, is a scream of an extreme parody of the usual ‘iron lady’ type doctors receptionist – insulting patients and staff alike remaining sour-faced throughout. She is a true highlight of the programme!

Thermoman often gets confused by humans’ figures of speech and sayings and takes things too literally leading to misunderstandings or he just speaks his mind not realising the potential consequences. His girlfriend’s parents do not know of his secret Superhero life and therefore just think he is a complete oddball totally unsuitable for their daughter.

The couple’s neighbour is Tyler, played hilariously by Philip Whitchurch, a mentally ill man who thinks aliens and superheroes are the perfect norm and considers himself a great friend of George/Thermoman and als
o works in his health food shop. His shop is none too successful what with having to fly off to do his Superhero duties and frightening customers away and this is another fine thread to the comedy of this show.

Overall all the characters are well developed and complement the others nicely slotting together to make a somewhat, for the BBC at least, outstanding comedy programme compared to many lame efforts we have had to suffer in recent years.

If you can, give it a try, you just might like it!

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