The Savages

I first saw Marcus Brigstoc on BBC's open mike awards, naturally he won, although a little wooden you can see he is setteling down infront of the camera, a very dry, witty comedy with not so much belly laughs as a constant titter, nice way to pass 30 minutes but you may find yourself drifting into other channels whilst the "big" jokes are set up. A little predictable and a waste of Marcus' tallents! worth a watch, but would be very supprised if auntie beeb picked this up for another series.

Sadly overlooked, the Savages combined warmth with sharp wit and a (mostly) fine cast. Marcus Brigstocke, although slightly self conscious at times, delivers a likable and genuinely amusing performance, whilst Victoria Hamilton was fantastic as his sarcastic, weary but adoring wife. Geoffery Palmer was a good catch for the series too, and I was surprised that it didn't get picked up for a second series, as it had a lot going for it. I think one of the major flaws was the casting of the children, who were frankly dreadful, and when children are that bad at acting, they can throw off the atmosphere of an entire episode. A travesty really, seeing as everything else was pretty much spot on (as far as I'm concerned anyway!).

I would love to see this released on DVD, just so I can have a quality copy instead of the dreadful one I've made for myself. Sadly I think this is going to be forgotten, even though it could have grown to be well loved by many. Simon Nye is clearly a very gifted man, it's just a shame that there wasn't a future for the Savages...