Chelmsford 123

The first half of the first episode is set in Rome- with the appointment of a new governor for the province of Britannia. In Latin. It is subtitled- but this very bold move had me hooked instantly. Then the scene moves to Wassers Tavern in Chelmsford- and is a delight from then on for the duration of both series. It has hard to pick a favourite episode. I can only exhort you to get a copy or watch it on-stream. It is clever, funny beyond funny- and deserves to be known. Rory McGrath in his dopey the frog battle jock strap is a site to behold! Treat yourselves.

Mungo: They call me Mungo the contradictory.

Aulus Paulinus: Do they?

Mungo: No.

One of the best historical comedies ever - and at last after 20 years we can get it on iTunes for less than £5 a series, and on Channel4 On Demand.

"Oh mighty Hadrian, I have just spent the most miserable four weeks of my life inspecting our borders with Caledonia. It seems you have instructed our engineers to build a long stretch of stonework right across the country. Now if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a wall. Is the idea to continue the wall all the way around Caledonia, then put a roof on it, thereby making it the biggest indoor toilet in the Empire?". - Governor Aulus Paulinus, dictating a letter to Rome, season 2, episode 1.

I can't believe there are no comments about this show. Set in Chelmsford, Britania, in the year 123 AD, it tells the story of Roman Governor Aulus Paulinus's everlasting struggle against a bunch of savage and occasionally philosophical group of Brittons led by badvoc, the man who hasn't had a haircut in 25 years. Marvelously zany humor, superb acting and writing, a true gem from Channel four and "Hat trick" (who is also responsible for the original, and still the best, "who's line is it anyway"). This show is a british comedy extraordinaire, second only to FAWLTY TOWERS, if you have a chance to watch it, or maybe find it in a video store, it's worth every minute.

Not to be missed!

I agree with your man above. This was funny. Rory McGrath show glimpses of his humour in "They Think It's All Over"......in Chelmsford 123 he has run riot. He is a very clever bloke. For a hairball gooner.

So why hasn't this been released in any format ? I've been after this for ages - similar to the equally brilliant Bostock's Cup with Neil Pearson. I only hope they haven't been deleted.

Absolutely brilliant comedy, well written and superbly performed. A terrible shame no more than the two seasons were made, an even bigger shame that when trite rubbish like "Absolutely Fabulous" gets famous this gets virtually ignored. I just wish that Hat Trick would get the two series of Chelmsford 123 released on DVD. I contacted them a year ago to ask if it was in the works and was told they had no plans to do so. What a missed opportunity. Anyone remember in the first episode the cameo toilet stop for a well known British sci-fi character? Genius. The first episode set the tone for the rest of the story, with very very funny, sarcastic and dark humour interspersed between the slapstick. A real gem of a show that should have carried on for a lot longer, it really deserves to be given a chance again on DVD at least, to give those of us that loved it a chance to see it again. Come on Hat Trick, get on to it...you know you want to.