Henpocalypse!

I did wonder if I was done with the women against the elements trope (Yellowjackets, Class of '07 etc) but I liked previous sitcoms written by Caroline Moran and read the glowing Guardian review so decided to give it a go.

Its no Raised by Wolves (written by Caroline and her sister Caitlin) but it continues to focus on a cast of working class female characters from the Midlands with plenty of dark humour.

The plot switches between pre and post apocalypse as it usually does in this kind of programme but it's interesting enough to keep interests afloat episode to episode.

There's also a fab mid noughties pop soundtrack for anyone wishing to revisit the solo career of Rachel Stephens.

At the start of episode 1 I thought I'd hate it, as the characters were grating and really not the kind of people I'd want to watch a show about (or so I thought) as they came across as rather abrasive.

But as the episode went on, that changed completely.

The characters are over the top and somewhat annoying in contrast with the seriousness of the situations they're in, and despite quite a bit of the humour being focused on some narrow topics, there's some pretty clever dry humour chucked in there too.

I saw one review mentioned the dialogue being really bad and I can't help but feel like they maybe missed the whole idea of the show in terms of tone. And again, the dry humour.

Also, somehow, in 6 episodes half hour episodes, it has more character development than most shows that get double the runtime and episode count per season.

My advice to anyone wanting to watch it, is that if you want to watch a surprisingly well written show wearing the mask of a badly written show, give it a go.

Its a fun concept but unfortunately the title 'Henpocalypse!' was the funniest thing in it. Yes there were a few decent one-liners here and there and some visual gags with sex toys which worked, but overall it was too short of laughs for a pure comedy and consequently a miss.

Production values really were cheap and cheerful - I wouldn't be surprised if the cast and crew stayed in the Welsh cottage and shot it over a weekend. I think viewers would have happily overlooked this if the story and characters had been better developed and it was funnier.

The acting wasn't brill, Callie Cooke was the only one that shone, she has natural comic sense and timing. Generally there was just a bit too much pointless running around and shrieking to no effect.

I have no problems with female led comedies - really enjoyed Bridget Christie's recent comedy drama 'The Change' on C4 which was LOL funny as is 'We are lady parts also on C4 catch-up. Check them out if you haven't seen them, they're both much better than this one.

This didn't look like it was my kind of thing so I opted out until I heard it was by Caroline Moran, the creator of Raised by Wolves.

The first episode is a bit like gnawing through a raw steak.

There is a lot going on and the characters are introduced as annoying, awful people.

Then there is a time lapse that you hit like a deep step in the dark.

This is actually a bold move - perhaps a little too bold looking at some of the reviews on here.

First of this has great characters.

Are they likeable and gracious?

Hell no!

Caroline Moran is great at creating colourful, interesting characters that are deeply flawed but struggle on.

It is great to see female characters that aren't paragons of virtue or who float around the screen with a supernatural elegance.

Here there is a real spread of characters some are vapid, some devious, some pragmatic, some highly intelligent some overflowing with confidence others crippled by insecurity.

Although larger-than-life I saw elements of the characters from people in my life.

The situation is silly and the show goes out of its way to be crude and vulgar but I never found it crossed into distasteful.

The characters call each other slag and throw sex toys around - but this is all for colour.

This pokes fun at apocalyptic films, hen parties and, most of all, explores the dynamics of friendships and how some friends can be more trouble that they are worth - but we love them anyway.

A silly, fun romp, well acted, very different, with some great ideas tossed around.

For the one star reviewers that only watched the first episode (this won't be to a lot of people's taste) I would recommend forcing yourself to watch the second episode - some of these seemingly insufferable women might grow on you.

I originally posted this review against the final episode of the show, but with confirmation now that it will not be returning, I've decided to add that review here also.

Five women from Birmingham travel to a remote North Wales cottage for a hen night. Unfortunately, a pandemic of crab measles wipes out much of human civilisation, particularly the men. Several weeks later, they risk a trip out to hunt for supplies but in doing so risk anyone they meet learning about their secret. That male stripper Drew (Ben McGregor) who visited that night is still alive and chained to the radiator for his safety.

The apocalypse is always going to work well on UK TV and films, because unless you want to do zombie hoards, the lack of supporting artists is going to keep the cost down. The characters are fairly broadly written to start with, but the longer the show goes, the more explanations you get for why people are as they are. After the first couple of epsiodes, the plot splits in two, as the main cast come to realise the "white gold" mine they have, with potentially the last man alive and try to convince the bride, Zara, that her fiancée is not coming to rescue her. They're all brilliantly played. Luzie Shorthouse, from "We Are Lady Parts" is Zara, Elizabeth Berrington almost steals the whole show as her mum, Bern - ostensibly the villain of the show. Callie Cooke from "Cheaters" plays her best friend Shelly and Lauren O' Rourke, from "White Gold" plays survivalist Veena.

But what I really liked was the other, madder plot, where Jen, played by Kate O'Flynn, is driven mad on a combination of pain, infection, loneliness and probably some mental illness to begin with, and goes on a fantasy quest with Danny Dyer, playing himself in "ultimate geezer" mode.

As I say, it's more amusing than funny, and if you want to argue that time is too short for all but the pinnacle then I'd say this isn't the one for you. If you're prepared to invest a bit of time in the character though, the returns are there.