Henpocalypse!

I did wonder if I was done with the women against the elements trope (Yellowjackets, Class of '07 etc) but I liked previous sitcoms written by Caroline Moran and read the glowing Guardian review so decided to give it a go.

Its no Raised by Wolves (written by Caroline and her sister Caitlin) but it continues to focus on a cast of working class female characters from the Midlands with plenty of dark humour.

The plot switches between pre and post apocalypse as it usually does in this kind of programme but it's interesting enough to keep interests afloat episode to episode.

There's also a fab mid noughties pop soundtrack for anyone wishing to revisit the solo career of Rachel Stephens.

Its a fun concept but unfortunately the title 'Henpocalypse!' was the funniest thing in it. Yes there were a few decent one-liners here and there and some visual gags with sex toys which worked, but overall it was too short of laughs for a pure comedy and consequently a miss.

Production values really were cheap and cheerful - I wouldn't be surprised if the cast and crew stayed in the Welsh cottage and shot it over a weekend. I think viewers would have happily overlooked this if the story and characters had been better developed and it was funnier.

The acting wasn't brill, Callie Cooke was the only one that shone, she has natural comic sense and timing. Generally there was just a bit too much pointless running around and shrieking to no effect.

I have no problems with female led comedies - really enjoyed Bridget Christie's recent comedy drama 'The Change' on C4 which was LOL funny as is 'We are lady parts also on C4 catch-up. Check them out if you haven't seen them, they're both much better than this one.

Henpocalypse contains some fairly stereotypical characters in a storyline that veers between post and pre-apocalypse. Sadly it's not that amusing and the plot is not especially unusual, witty or suspenseful in any way. The plot is quite conventional even if the scenario isn't with a number of off the peg characters. Probably the only person who comes out with any credit is Danny Dyer who plays himself with...utter conviction. Could have been a whole lot better and the icing on the cake was the last unsatisfying episode where the writer had the gall for setting it up for another series. It's becoming quite tiresome with series trying to string out thin storylines over multiple seasons.

A hen party from Birmingham sets off to a party in Wales, at the same time that a crabs epidemic wipes out most of the men in the world.

I was a little unsure after the first episode, but after that I found myself binge watching it. I'll be honest, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked the format, and the sheer bizarre, quirkiness of it.

There are a couple of laughs, but it's not exactly belly laugh humour, but it has its moments.

There's a bit about Inception, and that made me wonder if this is all perhaps Jen or Zara's dream sequences, maybe if there's a second series we will find out.

The flashbacks help you to put the pieces together, and work out exactly what the dynamic is all about.

They're a really crazy bunch, of the hens, it's Mama Bernadette who delivers most of the laughs, Elizabeth Berrington has always had a great sense of timing. It gets even more zany when DD appears.

7/10.

I would've given Henpocalypse! A middle of the road 5 rating, because it's just Meh. But then I got to the end of episode 6 and...it just stops! This isn't a season (or series), it's just 6 episodes of something that is obviously longer. They decided to show us 6 episodes and then just stop there, pretending that it's some kind of finale. It's not; it's just more of the same. And I don't even care about what happens next. So my 5 rating drops to a 3. Heck, two months from now I'll probably forget that I ever watched this. Since I'm being told that my review is too short, I'll add that I DID enjoy the Jen character, once she was on her own.