The Chief

I went to a follow-up appointment with my oncologist today.

Rather than sitting at his desk as usual, he was using the two comfortable armchairs in his office.

There was a box of tissues on the table between the chairs.

The usually cheerful nurse had a sombre look about her.

That appointment was still more fun than this dreadful "comedy".

I'm quite sure it was written by a YTS lad with only a cursory understanding of comedy writing. Or comedy. Or writing.

The characters were cliched, the gags obvious and the production amateurish.

If this comedy production was made on a shoestring, I'd rather have had the shoestring.

A spin-off from established sketch comedy show Scot Squad, The Chief focusses on one of its enduring (and funniest) characters, Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson.

Self-important and only dimly aware of the extent to which his antiquated beliefs and attitudes are increasingly out of place in a modern world, Miekelson's character is given greater depth here, his inept flailings rendered both comical and occasionally poignant.

The show abandons other characters from Scot Squad, instead confronting Miekelson with a new cast (inept/grasping colleagues, craven government ministers, a hipster daughter) designed to accentuate his struggles to maintain a sense of relevance.

As a fan of the parent series I've been looking forward to this, and on balance it doesn't disappoint. This isn't intended to damn with faint praise, but a recognition that although occasionally hilarious, it can be uneven and is clearly still finding its feet as a series. However, there is more than enough to commend in the four episodes currently available (as at March 2025) to hope that BBC Scotland has sufficient confidence in the team to make more. Please?