Catterick

Catterick is quite simply a work of genius. Popular UK comedians Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer play brothers who have been reunited after a number of years while Bob's character has been away with the army. He's returned home to make contact with the son he abandoned. A simple journey to the town of Catterick becomes a nightmarish adventure as the brothers collide with a psychotic young man and a hotel owner with a shocking secret among others. Filled with outrageous characters, hilarious dialogue and performances from some of the UK's finest comedy actors, Catterick is one of the finest, and most ambitious, comedies in recent memory. With nods to everything from Dennis Potter to The League Of Gentlemen, this is a truly British show and a definite must-see.

I saw Catterick when it was first on BBC3 and was indifferent to it. But i saw it again and it's a real grower. More in the style of BANG BANG Its Reeves & Mortimer and the 1-off bizarre show, The Weekenders - Catterick is original and funny and well worth a second look. And this is in total opposition to the woefully bad All Star Comedy Show. Vic & Bob are back on form. Ture that Bob is not allowed to be funny enough and should be less of the straight man. Even so - that's minor. The show is an acquired taste granted but even so, the BBC are utter @rses for not showing this on terrestrial TV yet. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU LOONS!!! SHOW THIS NOW!!!! They might as well have buried it in the Blue Peter Garden.

The show also boasts fantastic performances from Matt Lucas, Morwenna Banks, Mark Benton, Reece Shearsmith and the wonderful Tim Healy ("nah, no need man, no need it's just a matter of keeping her waaarmm"). As well as great cameos from Julie T Wallace, Charlie Higson and Mark Gattiss. And i really love the Dennis Potter-style use of music from Chris Rea to the Smiths to Crystal Gayle.

This show has keep me in quotes for a while now - stuff like "your tickling my turnips intcha?", Tess's icy box, dogs that sh*t fruitcake and Bilberry Polar crush all make me laugh. Pity more people can't see it. I cannot look at a George Clooney poster now without smirking.

This comedy has everything for me. My favourite comedians/actors. I have never laughed at any other comedy like I have this one. It's cleverly under-acted, which makes it a winner. All the characters are real to me. Even the sinister parts have me in stitches. Only criticism is there was only one series. Please make more! I'm still quoting lines from it and am always imitating Chris staring through the window. As for the bullet scene, this literally kills me with laughing. I cannot recommend this enough. Why isn't it on TV more? Thank you, Vic and Bob, for bringing such humour into the world. I salute you both!

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.

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.