Spy

I really enjoy this show on so many levels. I think the best thing I can say is this- it entertains me, never bores me, it brings me happiness and joy. The actors are all excellent truly gifted.

Sometimes I just want a show that helps to take away an awful day and this show is an excellent escape.

Timing, content, characters all come together to ensure a great time. The shows writing staff must be terribly talented. They never go over the top the "joke" is never overdone or lacking.

The timing is perfect and delivered by actors that seem to just naturally pull it off and get it right every time. No great problems solved, no preaching, no motive except to just do it all perfectly and to the enjoyment of the viewer.

I just viewed the first episode of this series on WLIW-21/Channel 21 in New York City. I decided to record it on my DVR based on the synopsis provided by Time Warner Cable and also because it followed another program that I love, The Cafe.

I tend to love British TV but did not know what to expect from Spy, and was truly amazed at the solid character development, brilliant acting and the witty storyline. I literally had just finished viewing a limited HBO series, Doll & Em, which starred Dolly Wells and Emily Mortimer, and decided to look at Spy. I did not know Ms. Wells was a part of the Spy cast.

I am so glad that I recorded this episode of Spy. I laughed repeatedly and was riveted to all of the characters. Darren Boyd and Jude Wright are excellent as father and son, and their supporting cast is superb as well.

This program will be on my list of must-see shows to watch on PBS and I look forward to recommending it to my other friends who enjoy smart, fantastic and entertaining television from the United Kingdom.

There are so many good characters in this sitcom but I must say Robert Lindsay as the Examiner is excellent. Also Rosie Cavaliero and Tom Goodman both give top notch performances. As does Dolly Wella and Rebekah Staton. Jude Wright, all though young in this series, does an excellent job as the son. Of course Darren Boyd and Matthew Bayton (one of my favorite British comedians) are superb. If you like sitcoms, especially British sitcoms, you will not be disappointed. It's funny and entertaining.

If you love Quirky, British, Family Dramadey..... You will LOVE this UK show SPY. Get through the Pilot and you will be wanting more. Just like typical British flare at first glance it comes off as pompous and insincere, stick with it and by Episode 2 you care about about the family and it's wacky friends. Also they play off a lot of American current events and sayings so the writers "cross the pond" so to speak. I was sad when I ran through all of the episode, it defiantly left me wanting more. The only child Marcus Elliot played by Jude Wright is for lack of a better word BRILLIANT. The funniest show I have seen so far.....

Spy is insanely funny. Whereas another fantastic spy farce, Archer, is prototypically American (what with the over-the-top gadgetry, lewdness and macho stuff), Spy is equally British (compact, driven by small inflections and absurdities, and politely biting). Spy is rife with the comedic mechanism of interruptive dialogue where characters finish each others sentences or over-speak creating confusion and misdirection -- some intended, some not. It takes careful listening to stay with the dialogue and it's in the subtlety of the delivery that the funniest lines are spoken.

Jude Wright is brilliant as the über-intelligent and resentful son of the main character, Tim. Tim, portrayed with superb comedic timing by Darren Boyd, is an affably charming man of small wit and large misfortune. And for us, the scenes with Robert Lindsay's zany character, MI-5's examiner, are the gems of the show.

For comedic value, Spy is a 10 to us. Flaws abound in any program, but a rare show like Spy makes one not care. As far as we know Spy is not running for any particular comedic championship. It's just an easy going ride through hilarity.