Mandy

I've been enjoying Morgan's sharp characterful grotesquery since the creation of the curiously stupid (or stupidly curious) Philomena Cunk - intended as another fake "dumb general public view" talking head alongside Al Campbell's Barry Sh**peas on Charlie Brooker's evergreen Wipe cultural commentary shows. In this she creates her own surreal (but strangely believable) British figure - a sloppy ignorant buffoon called Mandy Carter.

Unlike Cunk (and the works of Cunk) this is a pure creation by Morgan who writes the entire thing and it's... a mixed bag really but admirably surreal. In the short episodes the plots are fairly perfunctory but the situations and the wildly inspired cast shines through. Watching Mandy interact with people like David Bradley, Sean Lock or Maxine Peake is a pure joy but to spotlight extremely specific people like Natalie Cassidy or the great Mark Silcox (the latter in multiple roles no less) is almost poetry.

Essentially, Mandy is a willfully strange bit of comedy frippery with a who's who of British oddbods. It's not doing anything particularly revolutionary but like Mandy herself it has a curious charm all of its own.

Seaon 1 and 2 are great, as you probably know the character is basically Philomena Cunk looking for a job. The first two seasons are surreal and funny with a few moments where we are expected to suspend our disbelief.

Whereas with Season 3 it seems like we are being asked to suspend our disbelief for way too many episodes.

I really get the feeling that Diane is getting bored with the character or is just trying to see how much she can get a way with.

Episodes in Season 3 I thought were decent.

Episode 3 was fun and had some snooker jokes in there for the....snooker fans.

Episode 6 for the most part, goes back to the season 1 formula, and it works.

Basically it just feels like for a lot of these episodes someone said "what if we did this..." and no one said "well that makes no sense and is too stupid, there's no parody in that. What are you trying to do? Get the show cancelled? Oh that is what you want?....ok...you CAN walk out on the wing of the flying plane... twas nice while it lasted"

The entire show is beautiful in its simplicity, broad comedic strokes delivered with an element of sadness and the result is stunning to watch. From the wacky situations to Diane Morgan's stunning portrayal of Mandy. It was perfect. I also enjoyed the abrupt editing and the perfunctory use of music. The cinematography, while simple in parts, felt like it had purpose. Every shot felt meaningful and impactful, compared to some shows where the camerawork is utilised to fill time.

Overall I want to see more of this, but I don't want the format to change. The reason being that the 15 minute format forces the show to be as concise as possible which I think really benefits the show.

BBC, make more please!

Mandy is mental. Both the character and the show.

Proper belly laughs from both the dialogue and Mandy's squinty pouty mouth thing.

Great cast, snappy 15 minute episodes that leave you wanting more and the always amazing Diane Morgan.

Diane Morgan is a genius!

Another series would be most welcome. Keep the 15 minute length as it fits surprisingly well and makes sure neither Mandy or the storylines outstay their welcome.

Possibly my 2020 comedy of the year!

She is brilliant as a comedy actress, but I just can't get on with Mandy. Too much face pulling gets a bit annoying. 🙄 Her other roles are fantastic, like After Life and Cunkt she's amazing.