Mammoth

I love the Unexplainers on BBC radio and the podcast so was chuffed to see Mike Bubbins in this and he's a PE teacher again :) Hopefully it will a get a series and we can see more of his story and more of his Capri!

Arriving largely without fanfare, I caught this show on iPlayer. Interesting show which plays to a large extent as a drama with the 'back from the dead' storyline largely in the back ground. Indeed you see nothing of Mammoth's return from the dead but catch up with him a few months later. The 'fish out of water' plot has been done many times before and this show offers no real new twists. However, it does have heart and offers a few laughs along the way. Hopefully it will get a series.

Mammoth looks like a pilot. Creator Mike Bubbins is a former PE Teacher, rugby player and a superfan of the 1970s.

He plays Tony Mammoth, caught in an avalanche in 1979 and thawed out. He is adjusting to life in 2021 where everyone thought he is dead.

Tony is back teaching at his old school. His old friends such as Roger now live in an old people's home. Tony even has a therapist trying to help him adjust to the 21st century.

Tony is a dinosaur or a woolly mammoth. He his in a world of mobile phones and health & safety.

This is basically Life on Mars in reverse. A comedy and not a crime drama. Also Tony is no Neanderthal. He might use Hai Karate aftershave but he comes to the aid of a school kid who cannot afford a sports kit. He makes the rest of the class play topless.

It might work as a series but you do wonder how long can Tony hold off from the benefits of modern life. I mean has no one told him just how much porn he can download on his mobile phone!

The premise for this show is simple. PE teacher Tony Mammoth is frozen in ice during a school ski trip in the 70's and gets brought back to life in the modern day. Mammoth returns to his job as a PE teacher but it's full of fish out of water moments as he tries to get used to the new way of things. Bubbins (who also wrote the script) is wonderfully understated as the titular star and delivers the punch lines with little fanfare but lots of laughs. The supporting cast is brilliant, but this is very much Bubbins show and plays it to perfection. Currently there's only 3 episodes but I'm sure this'll go on to be a hit and get commissioned with a 2nd series.

His character is brilliantly done - very funny and retro and lovingly out of touch and relatable (and cheesy) Let's be honest - everybody of a certain age had a gym teacher just like him lol

music is great - perfect placement - can't wait for more.