Catterick

"Catterick", starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer is brilliant! The first episode is very strange, but rest assured all will be explained--eventually.

The series premise is that Chris Palmer (Bob Mortimer) returns to Northern England, to find the son he abandoned years ago (when the child was four). He meets up with his brother, Carl (Vic Reeves); and the two go in search of Chris's son. They do this by interrupting the robbery of a car dealership to steal a car (yes, you read that right); thus invoking a series of catastrophic events without realising it).

The end, which I CAN'T reveal here is a brilliant piece of existentialism! (And trust me, I normally can't stand existentialism, but in this it's brilliant).

In terms of style, *Catterick*, mixes music, humor, comedy, drama, and some VERY dark bits, into a sublime mix.

Given the date when this first aired, I see why I didn't see it first time. Twenty years later I have a far greater appreciation of where this comedy sits and the acting strengths of the actors. Bob Mortimer is a genuinely "nice bloke", as it's said and that comes over in his contributions to the script. Vic Reeves (Jim Muir) is more surrealist oddball but the two have always worked very effectively together. Catterick....perhaps Catholic is what is referenced - despite the actual military camp at Catterick where "Paul" and his mother appear to live. We do get to see a vengeful mother, a male who's 'bit' goes missing and a psycho child. Very much the Pagan Ishtar story barely hidden in Catholic Church worship. Interesting! Mark Benton plays his character adorably, with polite good boy vibes all along. Meanwhile, the comic acting range of Matt Lucas is absolutely showcased by his many guises throughout this series. He is a legend. There is dead-panning galore, understatement worthy of an Oscar and outright slam-dunk slapstick humour sprinkled liberally. A really lovely series which satisfies whilst also leaving us on a tenterhook.

Catterick's main premise is that Carl Palmer (Bob Mortimer) returns to his hometown in search of the son he left behind. However, things don't go to plan, and various exploits occur along the way.

I tried this series by chance, and I didn't expect to like it very much as I'm not generally a fan of Vic and Bob, but I thought this was actually quite good. Very unusual, odd humour and a dash of slapstick. This series is full of bizarre characters like Matt Lucas' hotel manager and Reece Shearsmith's superb madman.

This series contains a surprisingly good comedy cast, with Vic and Bob supported by Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen), Matt Lucas (Little Britain), Morwenna Banks (Saxondale), Mark Benton (Murphy's Law) and Tim Healy (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet).

Reece Shearsmith was the best thing about this series, his performance as Tony, a psychopath who still lives with his mother, was in turn vicious and hilarious. Without Shearsmith's performance, this series could not be as great as it is.

Vic & Bob are back!!

Irreverent humour at it's absolute best. This program shows exactly the sort of python-esk comedy that the BBC so badly needs, but this show is definately a post-watershed show and is all the better for it as there is nothing else like it (or ever imho).

Vic plays Chris, a 70's permed guy who is a few cans short of a six pack with Bob playing Carl, a man whose come back home from the army to look for his long lost son. Both Vic and Bob also play other roles including a nutty police inspector and a cross eyed accident victim getting laid respectively.

Add in Matt Lucas as (amongst other roles) the Psycho Hotel Manager with the strangest accent ever heard (Scouse meets Geordie meets Indian meets German meets French) who constantly picks on the porter which must be a tip of the hat to Basil Fawlty, Charlie Higson as a Barman and Morwenna Banks as the Hotel Receptionist who is married to the Hotel Manager.

Can't wait to watch the rest of the series and would recommend it to any fan of the genre.

Catterick may not be as hilarious or well-polished as Spaced and The League of Gentlemen, but it's definitely worth a watch if you like that kind of comedy.

Written by and starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it is clear from the start that it isn't going to be an ordinary sitcom. The show follows two brothers, one of whom is searching for his estranged son, around the town of Catterick. Along the way they encounter some very odd people, such as a cruel but very funny hotel owner played by Matt Lucas, and a psychopath played by Reece Shearsmith.

It's pretty surreal humour at times, with characters suddenly miming along to songs in the middle of scenes, and others having conversations that appear to make no sense whatsoever.

It may not set anyone's world alight, but it's definitely worth a watch.