Still Game

Still Game is an absolute little gem of a comedy taking Victor and Jack from their sketch's in 'Chewin the Fat'into the wider world of fictional Glasgow scheme estate Craigland.

Victor and Jack are two elderly widowed gentlemen living in a grim world of scraping by on their pensions trying to keep warm in their high storey flats. But they make sure they make the most of their situation and it's pretty inspirational stuff.

The best laughs come from the other characters, crafty Winston, gossip Isa, shopkeep Naveed, barman Boaby etc, plenty of good story lines and sharp put downs make for the type of show where if you buy the DVD you watch one episode and keep on until the end, then go out and buy the another series Sadly on the network the BBC has seen fit to screen only a select few episodes. Okay the accents and certain jokes/references require a knowledge of Scottish culture/dialect but like Rab C Nesbitt the comedy is strong enough to shine through.

The laughs are often dark, and set amongst the bleak black drops of old age, poverty, crime, loneliness you name it! But like say 'One foot in the Grave' it is adept at handling serious situations then bringing us back to the comedy with just one hot line. For a spot of spirit in adversity look no further.

I was introduced to this series a fortnight prior to the time of writing,and can honestly say it is one of the best programs i have seen for years. Being a big fan of Phoenix Nights,Max and Paddy,Little Britain etc.. and even the Black Adder series, i thought when told about this 'Still Game' thing it would suck. How wrong i was..its absolutely BRILLIANT. The characters it portrays live on a council estate in Scotland. A shopkeeper,A landlord and a collection of various ageing punters who specialise in malicious gossip and sometimes cruel but funny mockery of each other. The acting is incredibly convincing and for the first time in years i can say,"Here is a series in which every character has you in stitches". All these factors contribute to a package that will have you splitting your sides. If you haven't seen it,watch it. If you have seen it,watch it again. I have over and over.

I found this on Netflix. I've always loved the humor of Ireland and Scotland and figured, eh, I'll watch an episode or two. 13 were available (seasons 4 and 5) and I watched every one and laughed like hell. OK, I admit there were times I wasn't sure just what was being said, but even when I missed a joke (accent or local reference) I still laughed. It's that good.

If you want to have a summary of what this show is about, there are loads of places for that, but this is a review, not a summary so, no summary.

The lead actors are just amazing and can do deadpan so well, it seems like they're really just engaging each other, we're looking in on real people in their normal every day lives and, like every day life can be, we laugh.

There are occasionally poignant moments, but they seem almost like a tease, the humor is right there to push you back and say, "Oh come now, this IS a comedy after all." One side note, in the episode where the boys take the tour of the distillery, I could identify. My son and I took a tour of a brewery and were actually more interested in getting to the tasting room than how it's made. These guys took the idea of 'revisiting' to a whole new, hysterically funny level.

Worth every second, even if some of the dialogue slips by, sometimes if you just take what was said, figure in the goings on, you still get the joke, and it's still funny.

C'mon Netflix, bring on all those earlier seasons and let me enjoy every moment.

I had to amend my review and THANK Netflix for putting the first three season into the mix. I'm dancing through the heather with joy. Plus I have to add something that I neglected to put in the first time around, the supporting cast is as wonderful as the leads (though they have the edge of being the stars) and each one's little quirk and eccentricity makes them all the more fun to watch. Enjoy, ya bastards! hee hee hee.

Jack and Victor from Chewin' the Fat now have a show of their own and if the first episode is anything to go by then success is a certainty. The first episode was about Victors next door neighbour dying and Jacks attempts at getting the house and removal day. A nice little subplot was the grandson trying to be a boxer. As per usual there was lots of originality and typical Scot's humour. One of the best scenes was all Jacks worldly possessions going up in flames in a dodgy removal van. Of the new characters I liked was the Asian shopkeeper and his wife. The wife you never seen her face, that sort of reminded me of the next door neighbour in Home Improvements. Shot on location in Maryhill, Glasgow its good to see old characters played so well. Possibly only Harry Enfield has ever made being an old git so funny.

Still Game is fantastic - taking on board some of the other peoples comments - the humour has been crude at times, and you could see some things coming - but the best thing about it is that a joke comes completely out of the blue (eg. Series 3 Ep1 with the tacky souvenirs and the "Canadian Beaver" t-shirt).

Either way, it's worth a shot. Like many TV programs, it may take a few episodes to get into. In Scotland this series has been highly popular in the ratings, but not shown Nationwide in the UK.

There is some talk about toning down the language - It is a disgrace trying to change it, as this is a representation of part of Scottish culture. If we apply the BBC's attitude to Still Game to other comedies then Only Fools and Horses would have contained no Cockney Rhyming Slang (and no where near as funny as it actually is)

One interesting thing noted is that as a series it appears to be taking a leaf from "The Simpsons" and branching out with many supporting characters who appear from time to time. I think this is keeping the series fresh.

For those brave enough to visit where the series is filmed - you'll no be able to get a pint down the Clansman - as the pub you see from the outside was knocked down sometime between April and May 04.

Like most of the other comments about this show - I would recommend this to anyone.