Drop The Dead Donkey - Series 5 DVD

Advantages: Sharply observed current affairs humour
Disadvantages: Stereotyped characters

...Drop the Dead Donkey was a Channel 4 production and regarded as cutting-edge humour in its time. It broke new ground in its current affairs satire and its office-based sitcom, and was a frequent allusion in newspaper columns and conversations round the coffee machine. I enjoyed it at the time, and having missed the re-runs, thought it was worth another look. It is set in the newsroom of an independent TV station. In the first episode the characters are established and delineated. George the editor, anxious and lacking in authority, Alex the thrusting professional deputy editor, Damian who would mug his grandmother for a good story, Dave, a bit of a lad, Gus the smooth corporate spy, Henry the lecherous old hack turned newsreader, Sally the posh airhead newsreader. The new ingredient in the standard sitcom mix is the current... Read review

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Advantages: based on a good idea, humorous at times
Disadvantages: not-so-humorous at times

...Elizabeth (Phoebe Cates) has just realised that her marriage is well and truly over. In the same day, she manages to get fired from her job. At this point, she decides to cut her losses and give into her mother's demands that she come and stay with her. As a result, she is in a bit of an odd place, both emotionally and physically - her marriage over, no job, at her family's home. Basically, she has come full circle and has in a way reverted back to her childhood. And it is at this point that she comes across the box her childhood friend Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall) was trapped in by her mother many years previously, and sets him free. Drop Dead Fred isn't a real friend, but an imaginary one. However, Elizabeth can see the physical manifestation of him, as can we. But no one else on screen can. Fred is delighted to be reunited... Read review

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Advantages: Hilariously funny, easy to watch, cheers you up
Disadvantages: Lack of extras on DVD

...----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BASICS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Only fools and horses has always been one of the best comedy series ever. Ever since I was young, I always remember staying up to watch the antics of Del boy and Rodney on the television. OFAH The complete series 5, see's the Del witness a miracle, and the Trotters nearly moving to Australia. Only Fools and Horses was the creation of John Sullivan, and every episode was masterful and never uneventful. I think that everybody on this planet could relate in some way or another to the laughter and drama and antics that the brothers and their friends would get up to. Every episode of Only Fools and Horses seems to get funnier and funnier, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be watching... Read review

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