Writers: Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong
Directors: Becky Martin & Phil BowkerCast: Darren Boyd (Horatio), Reece Shearsmith (Freddie), Adam Buxton (Jack), Lucy Punch (Alice), Rosie Cavaliero (Louisa), Cara Horgan (Emily) & Christina Cole (Elizabeth)
In 1865, a group of friends face the unsettling prospect that one of them has committed murder to further his social status...As a massive fan of Peep Show, I was particularly looking forward to Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong's episode of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase season; entitled Ladies And Gentlemen, but formerly known as Modern Men.
Bain and Armstrong have proved themselves extraordinarily adept at taking the pulse of contemporary twentysomething lifestyles in Peep Show, but could they perform the same trick with Victorian thirtysomethings? Well, no. But that's not to say Ladies And Gentlemen is a total waste of time, just that it's too big an idea for a one-off comedy special.
The cast are familiar faces, mostly playing to type, which helps immeasurably to grasp their personalities quickly. Reece Shearsmith (The League Of Gentlemen) plays a middle-aged clerk obsessed with status and manners; Darren Boyd (Saxondale) is Horatio, a simpleton novelist; Adam Buxton (The Adam & Joe Show) is Jack, a highly-sexed doctor; Lucy Punch (The Class) is Alice, Horatio's cleverer girlfriend; Rosie Cavaliero (Saxondale) is Alice's on-the-shelf sister; Cara Horgan (Fallen Angel) is Alice, an incompetent maid; and Christina Cole (Hex) is Horatio's beautiful cousin.
Ladies And Gentlemen's plot revolves around Horatio (Darren Boyd), whose rich uncle dies and leaves him his entire estate, much to the chagrin of his uncle's daughter Elizabeth (Christina Cole). Matters are complicated when the silly Horatio begins to mockingly claims he killed his own uncle and makes himself the number one suspect in a murder inquiry...
The first half of the show is undoubtedly the worst, labouring to quickly set-up the characters and relationships. It does so moderately well, but the decision to include so many characters (most of whom have little baring on the story) is strange. For a one-off comedy, it's a bad decision, which makes me think there's an ulterior motive to make Ladies And Gentlemen a back door pilot...
The second half is much stronger, with the plot finally taking some shape and heading in an interesting direction, as Horatio's own friends begin to consider the grinning idiot was capable of murder to further his social standing. However, while the performances are very good and I have a fondness for historical comedy, Ladies And Gentlemen is very short on laughs.
Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong obviously intended to give a modern spin on the stuffy 19th-Century, with the characters mostly acting with modern attitudes. This is fine, and helped to make the characters relatable to audiences, but a lot of humour is lost by denying everyone the eccentricity and verbal dexterity you associate with the time. Blackadder is still the gold standard of historical comedy, and found a more compelling way to combine modern wit with the flowery language of the times.
The paucity of laughs is basically the show's undoing, as that's why we watch comedies. But, the performances ensure Ladies And Gentlemen is definitely watchable and entertaining. Reece Shearsmith evokes some of his League Of Gentlemen characters as the anal clerk, Darren Boyd has a real goofy charm that keeps everything afloat (the "mirror gag" was a highlight), Adam Buxton provides more evidence that someone should give him the lead in a sitcom, Lucy Punch was a pleasant surprise, Rosie Cavaliero was a little underused, Cara Horgan had one of the more amusing scenes ("Honking on your cream stick"), and the gorgeous Christina Cole was perfectly suited to her role.
Overall, this was definitely a disappointment; too many characters, an uncertain explanation for them all living together, a slow first half, and more plot than jokes. Bain and Armstrong are talented, creative writers -- but the idea behind Ladies And Gentlemen was too complex for a one-off special, and they seemed to struggle for jokes that would work in the 1865 period.
A brave failure... but, if it was a real series, I'd be compelled enough to watch next week -- purely because of the talented efforts of the cast.
12 October 2007
Channel 4, 10.00 pm
