Camping

For those like me who remember the much underrated Mike Leigh classic Nuts In May. Then Julia Davis Camping brings it back to life kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The plot is simple three middle age couples meet up to celebrate a 50th birthday by going on a camping trip. Whilst they may be friends each couple has in one way or another reached mid life crisis. One recently divorced brings along a younger sex mad girlfriend. The other two miserably unhappy with there dull lives, one a recovering alcoholic the other a neurotic mother who is convinced by listening to the right music and eating the right food will prevent her son from being gay! Add to the mix a randy pubescent teenager a creepy landowner who looks after his dieng mother while serving sausages and you have the mad black comedic genius that is Julia Davis. A classic

Fully enjoyed this series, albeit a couple of saggy middle episodes, the transformation from first to last episode is amazing, so dark at times and so funny, David Bamber's character especially stood out, painfully awkward to a degree not seen before, taking cringe-com to a whole new level. Big fan of Julia Davis, best woman in comedy, always pushing it forward. If you enjoyed her previous work please stick with this. I have read some other reviews citing how bad this is, this is simply not true, at first the viewer is unsure if Julia has lost her touch but I assure you she hasn't! you cannot take your eyes off the screen in the last couple of episodes, very strong finish.

Davis has been at the forefront of barely watchable comedy for over a decade.

When I say "barely watchable", I mean it in the most complimentary way possible. Camping, like Nighty Night and Davis' other work takes you through an emotional experience similar to a horror movie. You bite your lip, brace yourself for scares, and peek from under a blanket... all with a big childish grin in expectation for the slap in the face of comedy the monsters.

Vicky Pepperdine deserves a standing ovation, she's so perfectly painful to watch - each line delivered is like fingernails scraping across a blackboard. Similarly Rufus Jones somehow envelops the body of a new-age-hipster-loser-wannabe with bizarre excellence, his intonation and physical movements a constant source of belly laughs.

Not to say the rest of the ensemble isn't wonderful, in fact they all embody their cringey characters with effortless grace - the casting director deserves a medal.

Davis has brought a slightly more mature subtlety to this one than some of her previous more in your face brutal works, and if you are a sucker for punishment and love dry, pitch black humour, this is the show for you.

I decided to watch this as I love Julia Davies (Nighty Night and Gavin and Stacey) I originally watched part of Episode one and like others thought what a load of rubbish. I then read some reviews in The Times and decided to give it another try. Downloaded via Sky catchup. One of the rudest and most cringe worthy Series I have watched in many years. I am an older retired man with plenty of time to watch TV. I thought it was absolutely brilliant.I can understand why some were put off but give it a proper go (I binged it) Once you get into it you will find it Sad, unsettling ,shocking but ultimately bloody funny. Vicky Pepperdine is the ultimate horror in this and Elizabeth Berrington although underused here gives a gem of a performance Well done Julia Davies Looking forward to another series.

This series is a little gem and I'm so glad I stumbled upon it on NowTV. If you judge the series by Episode 1 alone, you're probably missing one of the best comedy series of 2016. The first episode simply introduces the characters and places them into context in the story-line. Keep watching past the first episode and the characters and story-line develop into something deliciously funny and very watchable. Yes, some of the characters and antics are cringe-worthy, but remember this is all part of the comedy. I ended up watching all six episodes back to back, culminating in an absolutely brilliant final episode.

If you get the chance to watch it - then do. It's very good.