The Unseen Spike Milligan

The Unseen Spike Milligan was something of a revelation - broadcast on Christmas eve I expected to be subjected to a carefully airbrushed presentation of Milligan's life, conveniently free of the harsh, wickedness that made this complex man so very funny. Not so at all, after being hit as if by a sledgehammer by the first 5 minutes of this breatheless film you're in no doubt at of what a nasty piece of work Milligan was...indeed its an mightily dark opening, but then rather than a simple hatchet job (which seems all the vogue these days) the documentary proceeds to unravel why Milligan was the man he was, building up a fully rounded picture. By the end of this remarkable documentary I still thought Milligan could be a nasty piece of work but I couldn't help loving the man despite his many faults! Please more TV like this that treats the audience like grown ups!