Human Remains

If you like the mockumentary style (such as Best In Show or This Is Spinal Tap) then you'll love this six part British TV series each of which is a self-contained story.

The writers, Julia Davis and Rob Brydon, star in the show and portray a couple with a completely dysfunctional relationship.

From seemingly ordinary circumstances, the two actors manage to turn their relationship into a complete disaster as they engage in interviews about the short-comings of the other, as well as life in general.

If it comes to a TV station near you then do yourself a favour and sit down for half an hour of adult-humour entertainment.

Rating: 7/10

This series of "days-in-the-life" (6) is without a doubt one of the funniest and best-acted pieces I've ever seen. The two principles, Julia Davis and Rob Brydon, have a very well-defined sense of comedic timing, and their characters are at once hilarious and pitiful.

The makeup deserves credit as well; I was half-way through the second episode before I realized that I was watching the same acters. (that's "acters" as opposed to actors, as opposed to actresses)

This is good stuff, and I can hardly wait until this is available on DVD. I just hope we can get (at least) another six out of Davis and Brydon...

It's such a shame that this comic gem has passed under the radar slightly but it's probably for the better as Human Remains holds itself better as a "cult" show.

The writing of Human Remains, all done by Julia Davis and Rob Brydon, is superb and the accuracy of the observation is spot on. Chances are, you will have met at least one of the characters they play sometime in your life. They also manage to hit the mark with their performances which variate so much with each character it is a true showcase of their acting and comic talents.

The comedy is very dark in places and sometimes quite sick, but if that's the kind of humour you like then you will love this. But you would also love this if you appreciate great comedy.

There was a lot more I didn't like about it than I did. For the most part it's filled with meandering nonsense, it has the "beating a dead horse" style of British comedy that I never really liked, it's basically the same gag done over and over in different scenarios or circumstances. There are some good bits in there but you really have to have patience to get there. Looking back at this series, I think they should have just picked one or two of these characters and did a fully fleshed out series and made sense of those particular characters and told a well crafted story with them. I even noticed there was a short scene in one of these where it fades in offering nothing to the story and fades out and just looks like it was added to fill time. There are plenty of dud scenes that could have been left out. And also what stands out is just how much better some episodes are than the rest. If your a fan of these actors you'll probably just want to watch for the sake of seeing more of them and that's pretty much the reason I bothered watching.

Wonderfully understated black humour, as only the Brits can do it.

There are a few misses along the way, but for the most this is top notch stuff and highly recommended. The second (?) episode about the couple that run the Bed and Breakfast is pure comic heaven.