biffgrimes-19023

Miranda is a throwback to the classic female led comedies of the 1960's like I Love Lucy and the Carol Burnett Show Like those two legendary funny ladies of days gone by Miranda Hart is masterful at pulling hysterical faces, many of them at the camera as she reacts and comments to the viewers her observations of what's happening on the screen. She is an extremely tall (often gets mistaken for a man} and socially awkward woman . Many of the funny scenes as in many great British comedies involve Miranda desperately attempting to extricate herself from awkward, embarrassing situations. She has a mate, Gary whom she fancies and sets out trying to win his heart but has her lack of self confidence due to her physical stature and shyness to overcome. In spite of it all she is wickedly funny and utterly charming. You want her to succeed in her quest to win Gary over. Will it happen for her? You will have to watch for yourself.

My wife and I love Shakespeare and Hathaway. We are American viewers .We have only just found out that this wonderful program is shown on daytime telly in Britain. And also the great show Moving On is shown in the afternoon there. Speaks volumes of the quality of television in the UK. There are few programs here in prime time as good. I digress. What is so special about this show then? The 3 lead actors. They have great chemistry together. Lu Shakespeare is one of the private investigators. She drives a little red Mini that her partner Frank Hathaway calls a hair dryer on wheels. Lu has a bubbly personality, always happy and smiling. She is the sweetest most feminine cop or detective character I've ever seen. Frank is the lovable portly male detective. Invaluable to the show is their assistant, Sebastian who is a trained actor that Frank and Lu use his acting abilities to go undercover to find information. His disguises and role plays are hilarious. The murder plots are secondary to the playful banter between Lu, Frank, and Sebastian. Another thing I like is neither Frank and Lu are portrayed as sleuth geniuses. Sometimes Frank solves it, sometimes Lu does and they sometimes stumble onto it. Also the show is set in Stratford Upon Avon and Shakespeare buffs would appreciate the lines from the Bard that are often quoted. The scenery is gorgeous. We have just finished the third series. The first two series were a tad better than the third. However the biggest flaw of the first 2 series was Inspector Christina Marlowe, the glum unsmiling nemesis of Frank and Lu. I groaned when she appeared, a dreadful character played by a wooden actress. Thankfully they got rid of her after Series 2. Series 3 was mostly good, and the writers seemed to be going more for comedy. Some of the slapstick from Frank was a bit cringe worthy. A couple shows from Series 3 were tedious. Now we are awaiting Series 4. I would like to see from Series 4 more scenes with Inspector Joe, the Frank hating full of himself cop. He is hilarious in his over the top arrogance. A new character from Series 3 is PC Viola. She seems to fancy Sebastian a bit and would love to see some interaction between those two. And she's drop dead gorgeous!

For you American readers of a certain age this show kinda reminded me of the old Andy Griffith Show. Like Andy Griffith it begins with a catchy tune , a soft rendition of Somewhere Beyond The Sea sung beautifully by a female British singer in a folksy ballad style. It's a perfect theme song for this program. The Cafe is billed as a comedy. If you are expecting typical off the wall raucous British humor you have come to the wrong place. Instead the jokes are a bit corny. The kind that would appeal mainly to older folk but that's OK. The show is set in a seaside British town called Weston Super Mare. The jokes ,the dialogue, and laid back characters all fit in this environment. The title Cafe is struggling to attract customers. The cafe is run by a middle aged woman named Carol. Her daughter and Mum frequent the cafe most of the day shooting the breeze with one another. Where this comedy differs from most modern day comedies is the comedy here is gentle, not the mean spirited smart ass urban dwellers that most comedies are based on today. There are oddball characters that visit The Cafe, a loopy hairdresser that loves to say "OMG", a gay guy that wears weird costumes on the beach for tips and a homeless bloke that sits outside the cafe selling newspapers homeless folks sells. He begs for food from the proprietor of the restaurant and she reminds him that he gets it at the end of the day. None of these characters are over the top and you grow to like them. I know others may find it annoying but I love how everyone says laters constantly to each other when they depart. I have adopted it myself. One thing about the show that I love is how kind and nice everyone is to one another. You watch it hoping the cafe is a success and that the daughter finally gets her book published. The seaside location looks lovely too.