Mog

"Mog" ran for 13 episodes on ITV in the summers of 1985 and '86. Based on a novel by Peter Tinniswood, "Mog" was inevitably compared with the much funnier sitcom "Porridge": both comedies were written by the comedy team of Clement & La Frenais, and both comedies featured an incarcerated criminal as the main character. But all similarities ended there.

Mog is a career criminal (a cat burglar, hence his nickname) who won't give up his trade, but who isn't good enough at it to survive on the outside. To avoid prison, he fakes insanity and gets himself committed to the Briardene mental hospital. The security at Briardene is less stringent than it would be in Her Majesty's Prisons, so Mog has no difficulty popping out of the insane asylum at night in order to pull off his burglary jobs, then sneaking back into the asylum (his absence undetected) along with his swag.

I really, really, really dislike movies and tv shows that sentimentalise mental illness or depict it dishonestly. None of the inmates in Briardene have any discernible mental affliction. All of them are eccentrics or dreamers who simply can't 'cope' in the real world, so they have chosen to withdraw into the peace and comfort of a mental asylum. Having actually visited several mental institutions (in Britain and elsewhere), I find this premise quite offensive.

"Mog" was well directed by Nic Phillips, who later proved his versatility on "Barbara". But "Mog" just wasn't very funny.

As has been stated on this site, the lead character of "Mog" was intended to be played by Marty Feldman. Following his death, the part was given to Enn Reitel.

Feldman would have been better in the part, since he would have given the series an unworldly, surreal feeling. Reitel, whilst being a better actor, is essentially a straight man playing foil to a large number of eccentric characters, so this series is disturbing rather than surreal.

As has been mentioned by another reviewer, none of the characters in the show are actually insane, rather they are fantasists who are unable to deal with everyday life & so they have retreated into their own imaginary worlds. Think of the "barfly"who kids himself that he is a popular character & everybody's friend in his local pub, when actually his " friends" consider him to be a pathetic loser whose main social value is for them to make jokes at his expense. Worse still, think of the lonely kid who talks to imaginary friends and pretends his school routine is just a bad dream. Quite frankly I don't think such people deserve derision.

This series does have its amusing moments. In particular I remember the character of "Earl", a West Indian who kids himself that he is a member of the aristocracy. He has some great one liners, and the jokes are at the expense of the English aristocracy, rather than at the expense of West Indians. But overall this series is in poor taste, and I don't recommend it.

It's interesting that both reviews are negative yet the ratings are very high! It never ceases to amaze me that people can find comedy offensive but if they do find it offensive then why watch it? Everyone has a choice!

In actuality MOG is well written gentle comedy with sympathetic characters and some very funny scripts. It is easy to see that the character was written for / created for Marty Feldman and Enn Reitel does an excellent job of reinterpreting the role to better suit his abilities as an actor rather than Feldman's as a comedian.

Very funny and clever series HIGHLY recommended if you can find it.