Don't Forget the Driver

Bassets Assets rule!

A well crafted story set in the bleak tacky absurdity of a south coast English town, with characters that are crippled either physically or emotionally or economically, losing with life, in a claustrophic darkly comical setup.

The silences speak volumes, the camera lingers on decay and mundane things. The ever present 80s/90s music radio adds to the faded feel of everything and everyone. Meanwhile dementia, disability, homelessness, illegal immigrants, human trafficking and economic malaise form the storyline.

I liked it a lot. Toby Jones and the many actors are suberb, totally credible, and give satisfying performances.

This series is not for those who want instant gratification, it is not for those with short attention spans. But for those who persist it's rewarding. I hope they will make another series.

Having seen the trailers I have wanted to see this perhaps more then any other new comedy for years. I was not disappointed, I have absolutely loved it. It's so witty, well written and gorgeously put together.

The stories are great,the situations baffling, and the characters are a joy. I adore Toby Jones, and he is terrific as the down on his luck driver. Marcia Warren is an absolute comic delight as his mother, Dino Kelly also great as Lech.

It's wonderful observation comedy. Loved it. 9/10

Dark comedy yes, but more a contemporary piece on the state of the nation. Casts a great sense of shame on the way society often treats those marginalised and cast out by society, including immigrants, those with disability, single parent families, trans and non-binary and dementia. It has moments of sympathetic laughter and many moments of tears, some of sadness and despair but also of joy. Cinematography, lighting and editing all thoughtful and beautiful. Very powerful and highly recommended.

Written and starring Toby Jones and very much in the mould of the successful "Detecterists" in which Jones co starred. Don't forget the driver is a charming sometimes moving piece on the daly life of a day trip coach driver. The humour mostly comes in the shape of the diverse coach trips, the driver engages whilst trying to cope with a hectic home life of being a single parent to a teenage girl, a mother with dementia a will he or won't he relationship with a women who has a severely disabled son. If you enjoyed Detectorists or Ricky Gervais After Life then this will be for you. 8/10

Toby is wonderful. The sinister side of a modern humanitarian crisis laid bare alongside its' encroachment upon the everyday mundane existence of an imperfect gent and his family, in the seaside town of Bognor. Some of the worse bits of humankind exposed, but utterly eclipsed by many of the best bits. Captured with quality cinematography, thoughtful editing and a lighthearted but not flippant frivolity. Thoroughly recommended viewing.