It was in the 1990s when we had early casualties of the 1960s satirists/comedians/actors such as Peter Cook, Willie Rushton and John Wells. Roy Kinnear had died in 1988 in an on set accident.
So its no surprise that about 30 years after they burst on to the alternative comedy scene we are having some early casualties of the comedians/actors from the 1980s era. Mel Smith passed away in 2013 and Rik Mayall's death in 2014 came as a shock to many of his fans, he was only 56.
With bombastic commentary from Simon Callow this was a tribute to Rik from celebrity fans and collaborators. We saw clips from The New Statesman, The Young Ones, Blackadder, Man Down, The Comic Strip, Kevin Turvey. There was unseen footage but I was struck by a big omission. Although we had Lenny Henry and Ben Elton taking part. Absent was his good friend and comedy partner Adrian Edmondson, as well as Nigel Planer, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Christopher Ryan. Maybe they were still too upset to take part.
Still it was a decent enough tribute but I expected something more in depth and maybe a straightforward commentary.
