The Character that Steve Coogan has created, or rather perfected, of Tommy Saxondale is deeply, profoundly demented. But it's Coogan's mastery of the nuances of bitter, disillusioned, middle aged neurosis that makes his character so appealing, so universal. It's impossible not to identify with the short tempered, self centered, frustratingly inflexible, outrageously arrogant pest exterminator. And he's joined in his excellent performance by a rich constellation of equally quirky and brilliant supporting characters, such as the chatty, oddly attractive pest control company dispatcher so wonderfully played by Morwenna Banks. It's hilarious, the casual ease with which she presses his excruciatingly sensitive buttons - perhaps lovingly teasing him - and thus with a few sharp, well placed jabs utterly undermines his ruggedly assembled self-image. It's like watching a Medieval fortress collapse under the weight of a playful butterfly.
Saxondale's life is all behind him. He lives in the past where all his great heroes and great ideals were born and died along with his philosophy & references & hair style & car. Actually, the yellow fastback Mustang is quite fashionable and very cool, but that's about all he's got left to show for his former career as a professional rock band roadie where everything, understandably, was so much more exciting, outrageous, wonderful, vivid and meaningful. Tommy now finds himself nearly alone in an absurdly shallow & tedious world of crass, corny, crappy materialism overly populated by semi-intelligent optimists; his once noble passions increasingly doused by the conspiring encroaching forces of suburban mediocrity, or so he likes to believe.
His adoring and sweet but occasionally flustered wife, Magz, owns an alternative lifestyle shop in the mall where she conceives tee shirt slogans to shock and disgust the straight world which she does this with the casual innocence of a florist. Magz may sometimes test Tommy's brittle patience but somehow she avoids his fiery wrath because, well, he loves her. His rage unleashes at the most absurd inappropriate moments, usually after someone has failed to grasp the obviously stunning genius of one of his savagely witty if awkwardly esoteric quips.
Saxondale is a hostile hybrid of Ricky Gervais' "The Office" and any other show in the history of broadcast TV that features a misunderstood dreamer. It's an undervalued, criminally ignored treasure of a programme that has saved me from many a laugh-less evening. Series 2 actually surpasses the first. One of my all time favorites that grows more wonderful each time I climb aboard for another action packed adventure in the fast paced, wild & wacky world of commercial pest control.
