Phoenix Nights

Just started watching this again and it hasn't aged at all. It's still brilliant which I'm pleasantly surprised by because a lot of comedy hasn't. Just great!

When I was a lad my father used to take me & my brothers to a Working Mens Club on Saturday nights. It was AWFUL! Old people sat at regimented benches miserably supping ale, useless ventriloquists, tone-deaf singers, crap magicians & an obese nut-case who used to wander around selling cockles and mussels.

But we LOVED the place!

Peter Kay is a genius. He's got such a wonderfully original and quintessentially English sense of humour. Yeah! We love being "little Englanders" and I've laughed my head off throughout every episode of Phoenix Nights. I doubt this show will ever be seen outside Britain & I'm sure that people from other countries who live/work here will be utterly mystified by it, however. Peter Kay is the patron saint of the northern working class, of which I'm a proud member. "Top bomber!"

This IS the best thing on tv (even though it's not on at the moment. inviguratingly funny, showing that Peter Kay is a comic gem. The auditions at the end of each episode make me cry with laughter...the jugula...need i say more? 10 out of 10

This comedy, which ran for two series, was co-written by and starred (in several roles), Bolton comic Peter Kay, who has his finger perfectly on the breathing pulse of North West England (speaking as someone the same age as Kay who comes from a part of the NW not a million miles from Bolton). Phoenix Nights was set in a lousy Northern club with 'entertainment', bingo, and droll staff, just the kind of club that existed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Brian Potter, owner and sometime licensee, is wheelchair bound and sarcastic, with his wingeing voice and blustering manner. Played by Kay he is a great creation. The main target for Brian's verbal attacks is Jerry 'St Clair' (Dave Spikey) who acts as compère and - at times - terrible entertainer. Doormen Max (Kay again) and Paddy (Patrick McGuinness) went on to have their own spin-off series.

Alongside the long-running feud between Potter and Den Perry (Ted Robbins), the high points of Phoenix Nights includes the variety 'auditions' which ended each episode (who could forget the doves which flew into the air condition fans, or the ping pong lady?). The audience at the Phoenix were real-life Bolton residents, and their reactions are absolutely genuine.

I have two favourite episodes - the one with the outdoor entertainment ('Sammy the Snake' (!), and the Children's Activity Hut, formerly the Gents loo); and the Stars in Their Eyes episode (with the jam-jar glassed club worker as Gary Glitter, and Jerry and Brian as Elton John and George Michael).

It ended far too soon but the two series that were made are the stuff that makes classic comedy.

This is what comedy, and for that matter films, are all about. The characters are deep, real and extremely funny. The beauty is that these are all people we know. At times you may not notice, but Peter Kaye plays several of the characters. My personal favourite is fire officer Keith Lard who interferes with dogs in the worst possible way and has no connection whatsoever with Keith Laird of Bolton Fire Service. Max and Paddy probably take the prize of the regular crew. One of the great things about this series is that every time you watch it, you spot something else that's funny and make sure you listen to the music that's playing. The good news is that series 2 is now out and Max and Paddy will return in their own programme at some point.