Sean's Show (1992)

This one leads quite nicely on from 'Nightingales' as it is another example of a late night Channel 4 comedy in the days when Channel 4 dared to be different.

A comedy vehicle for Irish comic Sean Hughes, on paper, it was just a case of following Sean in his every day life - living in a small flat, going to the pub and local shop, meeting his best friend and trying to get the love of his life Susan to go out with him...but, just like Nightingales, it was far from that.

The main difference is Sean breaks the so-called '4th wall', in other words he talks directly to us his audience on many occasions. Then he goes one step further and literally steps outside the '4th wall' to show the entire thing is just a studio set. Throw a touch of surrealism into the mix (Samuel Beckett is God and his main script-writer, the occasional song and dance routine, a sock that never dries) and you have 6 episodes of silliness that any fan of Mr Hughes will adore.

For that is gets my thumbs up, but if you have sampled Sean Hughes' comedy before and weren't impressed then this TV series is not going to convert you. His supporting cast (including Victor Maguire from 'Bread' and Goodnight Sweetheart' Isn't that the second time I've mentioned Goodnight Sweetheart?) are very 2-dimensional and are only there to provide extra laughs for Sean. It really is a one man show.

I have one of those tangents coming up. Remember in the review of Nightingales I briefly mentioned a burglar who is the illegitimate son of all three security guards? What do you mean 'no'? Didn't you read the review properly?!? Anyway, the thief was played by Jake Wood (currently playing Max in Eastenders). Jake pops up in Sean's Show playing.....a burglar! Me thinks he was getting typecast in his early days.

So there you have it, another example of Channel 4 homemade comedy before they sold out and started appealing to the mainstream. Sean went on from here to be the original team captain on 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' Sean's Show hasn't dated and still stands up on it's own as a decent comedy....and keep your eye out for a bizarre cameo from Windsor Davies.