Monday 28 January 2013

Wodehouse or Chesterton?

I've tried, I really have tried very hard, to like the TV series Blandings, based on the stories of P G Wodehouse. But - and I can't believe I'm writing this - I'm finding them a bit, well, dull. I know that this will be taken as heresy in some quarters, and I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I don't think they're funny. I can't be doing with all the girning and the daft names and the silly voices. I've watched three episodes, but have found each of them intensely irritating.

On the other hand, Father Brown, tucked away in the early afternoon slot, has been a delight. Yes, the plots are absurd and it is set in a version of England that I'm pretty certain never existed, but I've really enjoyed them. I've timeshifted courtesy of the i-player and slotted them into the evening, where they have restored me like a warm bath.

Mark WilliamsBoth shows feature the excellent Mark Williams. Does anyone else remember him from the old TV ad employing his brummie accent to great effect, saying: 'We want to be together'?

2 comments:

  1. we have all of Blandings recorded as I thought it had the potential to be good. But it is obviously the wrong cast. Jeeves and Wooster worked because Fry and Laurie played the parts seriously so the humour of the writing was allowed to shine, no need for girning.

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  2. I hope I haven't spoiled it for you. It might just be me that's out of step. :(

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