Twenty Twelve

Written and directed by John Morton we have BBC series Twenty Twelve, spoofing the preparation for the London Olympic games in that year. All shot mockumentary style we follow Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville), Head of Deliverance of the Olympic Deliverance Commission, his team as they count down 1000 days to opening ceremony, and of course all the fiascos and hilarities that entails. The format is a fairly standard The Office type, with talking heads, cringe, and general incompetency, but its done quite well, and the writing and performances are genuinely great. Also starring Olivia Colman as Ian's assistant, as well as a list of familiar BBC comedic faces, the show is short and sweet at only two 6-episode seasons, with its airing of course having an actual deadline as the real-life games came to fruition. While the show is quite literally dated in its references, much of the humour doesn't derive from pop culture at the time, so the jokes all hold up, even now. The series would also eventually lead to a personal favourite and pseudo-sequel W1A, with many recurring cast and characters. If you've seen W1A and liked it certainly check this one out, and if you like this type of series generally, I'd recommend.

Anyone tuning into this show hoping it to be a match for W1A, forget it. This has none of the wonderful casting of W1A, missing essential components Hugh Skinner's Will and David Westhead's profane under-the-breath pronouncements that spoke for us, the audience. The rapid fire idiocy around the table is stilted, having none of the hilarity of its successor. But all is not lost. Hugh Bonneville is as expected, wonderful, although his character is much more refined in W1A, here more abrupt and a bit mean. And Olivia Coleman is wonderful as always.

I received the boxed set edition of this "spoof" series as a birthday gift and am pleased to say that this is one collection that won't sit on the shelf unwatched. It's a droll, if not laugh- out-loud comedy satirising the doings and undoings of the team set up to ensure the smooth operation of the then impending London Olympic Games of 2012.

Peopled by just-exaggerated-enough characters all too believable in their ineptitude, it gently mocks their blundering officiousness with fly-on-the-wall scrutiny, pieces to camera and occasional interaction with them by an unseen interviewer. Heading the team is the bumptious Ian Fletcher, played by Hugh Bonneville, the archetypal 24-7 workaholic, whose private life is foundering under the strain, while carrying an Olympic-size torch for him is his super-efficient P.A. Sally, forever plying him with massive portions of fast food, played in best scene-stealing fashion by Olivia Colman.

Of the remainder, Jessica Hynes as Siobhan Sharpe, the domineering on-the-go "Head Of Brand", with her catchphrases "Cool" and "This is the thing" and Karl Theobald as the crisp-munching but out-to-lunch Head of Logistics are particularly funny while for added realism, real life bigwigs Lord "Seb" Coe and London Mayor Boris Johnston are happy to put in cameo appearances too.

The format of Ian arriving for the daily hot-air group-meeting does grate a little after a few episodes while some of the supporting characters lack definition but I think the humour improves when the scenarios are opened out, for example the crazy coach-trip with the Brazilian Olympic delegation or the unveiling of the bizarre backward-counting Olympic Clock complete with its artistically-temperamental creator. The actors cope very well with the demands of their supposedly off-the-cuff, overlapping dialogue although as the DVD-extra cast interviews make clear, not a single line is improvised.

All in all, I think this fresh take on the "mockumentary" concept is a winner, not quite gold-medal standard, but certainly on the podium somewhere.

The first episode was criticised by the TV critics of two British newspapers for lacking jokes. That rather seems to miss the point. I found it far funnier than they seem to have done, and often it is the small, almost insignificant points which are so telling: the casting of peripheral characters is masterly and hints at the essence of Twenty Twelve. This is not in the first instance a comedy but satire which sends up mercilessly the attitudes, dishonesty and outright nonsensical babble of recent times. But it is done in such a straight-faced manner than perhaps some miss its nuances. My favourite character is the utterly vacuous air-headed Siobhan Sharpe, on secondment from the PR company Perfect Curve as the Olympic deliverance committee's Head of Brand, but that is just a personal choice and it would be unfair to single her out. I have met all the characters portrayed in real life and, oddly, they are not at all exaggerated. With luck - and the Games being just over a year away - this one will run and run.

I cannot give the single reason that makes this series is so perfect . Sharply observed narration by David Tennant is superb and each of the actors were superbly cast . Understated stereotypes all contributed in perfect measure to execute this really witty script . The ending with Hugh Bonneville and Olivia Colman is the best ending I have ever seen, bar one (Blackadder). Please give this a watch ! So that's all good.....