John Finnemore's Double Acts (New Radio 4 Comedy Series)

[Crabwalk]

Has anyone been listening to John Finnemore's new half hour comedy series on R4, which airs at 11.30 on Friday nights?

You can hear them here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gx5qm

Each week features a single story, played out as a two-hander in a single location, with Finnemore as narrator. The style is similar to Inside No 9, but without the horror element (so far). There's also always a subtle link between each story

Spoiler alert

involving a bath sales company, oddly

[close]

.

Three have aired so far, one featuring Celia Imrie and Charles Edwards on a train, another with Issy Suttie and Alison Steadman in an office, and the latest with John Bird and Lawry Lewin in a kitchen. Each has featured twists and turns aplenty, and lots of typically strong Finnemore characterisation, plotting and wry dialogue.

The Suttie/Steadman one has been my favourite so far, despite the strong whiff of Pauline from the League of Gentlemen about Steadman's performance. A brilliantly monstrous yet ridiculous middle-manager type.

Anyone else listening?

[Consignia]

Anyone else listening?

No, but I'll give it a shot. Finnermore is one of my favourite radio talents, and the story segments are the best part of Souvenir Programme, so it sounds right up my alley.

[studpuppet]

Haven't heard the third one yet. The first was a little 'involved' (and Imrie's accent grated towards the end), but the second was a good bit of writing/acting - shame the episode title kind of gave some of the game away. And I'd venture that Pemberton's Pauline borrows more from Steadman's roles over the years than the other way around. Looking forward to the rest.

[Crabwalk]

I'd venture that Pemberton's Pauline borrows more from Steadman's roles over the years than the other way around.

A fair and excellent point!

The third one is really good fun. John Bird's having a grand old time.

I've just looked at the synopsis for the fourth episode and it stars Simon Kane and Finnemore himself, so will presumably feel like an extended sketch from 'Souvenir Programme'. Fine by me if that turns out to be the case, but I'm relishing other performers coming in and giving life to his ideas and characters.

[idunnosomename]

The fourth was wonderful. Finnemore writes brilliant historical dialogue, with a certain modern dry wit sensitive to the period rather than outright spoof. I got more laughs out of this than any other R4 comedy in recent memory, but mainly because of the characterisation and delivery. I also get the feeling he does quite a bit of research into the settings, for this and his sketch show.

So glad Finnemore's been recognised and been given this opportunity, among the dreary sump of mediocre-to-worse comedians who plague Radio 4.

(Also this is on in the 11:30am slot on Fridays, not pm)

[Pranet]

Really enjoyed the last two of these. John Finnemore is great.

[Crabwalk]

(Also this is on in the 11:30am slot on Fridays, not pm)

Oops, thanks for correcting.

As with Finnemore's other R4 shows, this is light years ahead of the other comedy output on the station. There's not an underthought word in this series, let alone a lazy character, plot or joke. He is an absolute master of the medium.

[Consignia]

Looking forwards to these now. I've got them all downloaded so I can listen to them on my long car journeys this week.

[olliebean]

There's very little new stuff I can be bothered to keep copies of these days, but these are definitely keepers.

[Crabwalk]

Just realised that I must have missed the link this week. Will have to listen again.

[MojoJojo]

I listened to it yesterday and had the same thought; in bed I decided the family name which was mentioned must have been the same as the one in the first episode. Although now I think about it I don't think they were (not being able to remember either name makes this hard).

I'll listen to it again as well.

[Crabwalk]

I've listened to the last two again, enjoying them enormously, but I've still not spotted any link.

Somebody crack it please!

[MojoJojo]

Mumsnet didn't notice a link (the internet is surprisingly quiet about this) either. And someone there had said in an interview Finnemore said there wasn't a link between every episode - although I couldn't find that interview.

[studpuppet]

I don't think they're connected, other than the happy coincidence that the sacking of Joel led to him being perfect for the set-up in 'Red-Handed'. If you want a link between third and fourth, then a hand is quite prominent in 'The Goliath Window'. Struggling for a link to the next one though:

English for Pony-Lovers: In a small town in Germany, Lorna is about to give Elke an English lesson.

Perhaps it'll be like Will Self's Quantity Theory Of Insanity, where most of the characters pitch up in the final story.

[MojoJojo]

The first three are all linked by the bath shop - the bloke in the first one was in the bath business and had the same name as the shop.

[Consignia]

I've just listened to the first 3 and the first half of the forth. Absolutely love it. The third one is the best. John Bird is just brilliant. I loved how the 2nd and 3rd weren't just link by characters (

Spoiler alert

Joel being useless Noel and the person giving him a lift home being Kerry(probably)

[close]

) but also thematically. I think they are weakly linked thematically on the other two, but it's there.

Finnemore is just brilliant.

[MojoJojo]

Well, the first three all have manipulation as a major part.

But I think getting hung up on the connections is a bit pointless - they're not that important where they do exist, and it's great without them.

[Consignia]

Of course, just listening to them in quick succession feels good when you link it all up. They all stand alone, and I'll be listening to "Red Handed" again very soon.

[mook]

does anyone know if this will be available to buy any time soon?

[Crabwalk]

does anyone know if this will be available to buy any time soon?

Dunno.

Of course, just listening to them in quick succession feels good when you link it all up. They all stand alone, and I'll be listening to "Red Handed" again very soon.

I enjoyed them all even more on second listen, as you can absorb the language a bit more and revel in the foreshadowing and subtext.

I think getting hung up on the connections is a bit pointless - they're not that important where they do exist, and it's great without them.

I'll be a bit disappointed and surprised if there turns out to be no link between 3 and 4, even if that makes me a churlish tosspot. It just seems a bit of a shame to set up the subtle connections and then drop them altogether half way through. I'll wager that Finnemore has something up his sleeve, though.

Episode 5 is called

Spoiler alert

English for Pony-Lovers

[close]

and stars

Spoiler alert

Rebecca Front YAY

[close]

and

Spoiler alert

Beth Mullen (who, intriguingly, seems to be fresh out of drama school with almost no credits to her name

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.

[MojoJojo]

Tracked down the quote http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/000001842/the_john_finnemore_project_announced/

"The creator says: "If there's one thing they all have in common... I'll be very surprised. And a bit annoyed."

Although it's actually talking about how they all have very different settings.

[Consignia]

Listened to the 4th one today. Obviously the most Souvenir Programme like because of Finnermore and Simon Kane. Bits of it indeed felt like an extended sketch. But I really liked it, and beyond the comedy I found the conclusion quite sweet. Particularly because

Spoiler alert

all the other stories invovled a betrayal, but this one was a touching reconciliation.

[close]

The gag at end just underlines it.

[Crabwalk]

I didn't think episode 5 was up to the standard of the previous 4.

Some nice playing about with grammar and tenses, but pretty light on laughs overall. A bit stilted too, despite Rebecca Front's best efforts. It might've paid off to cast an actual native German speaker, I think. The English girl I just found irritating and didn't care about. No ingenious twists to the narrative either, which we've come to expect from Finnemore's storytelling.

Hopefully the series will go out on a high with next week's episode.

[olliebean]

Agreed, it's been the worst of the 5 so far, but only comparatively disappointing and Finnemore at his worst still makes for an enjoyable half hour.

[mothman]

Apropos of nothing, I recently saw a Tweet of his that revealed that the spooky tales he often concludes his Souvenir Programmes with (that I've always called Rubbish Victorian Ghost Stories, even though they're not ghost stories, Victorian or indeed rubbish) he colectively calls the Since You Ask Me's.

[idunnosomename]

I really liked it, partly because it got My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic slash fiction on Radio 4, but also we did have the character development from unpleasant idiot conwoman to genuinely troubled youth (but still a bit of an idiot) in half an hour.  And the other character as well, also in a grey area between likeable and unlikeable. Prefer this to it having a big reveal like ahh she was her daughter all along, or something.

(But disappointed by third voice near the beginning)

[MojoJojo]

Agreed, it's been the worst of the 5 so far, but only comparatively disappointing and Finnemore at his worst still makes for an enjoyable half hour.

Yes, it's a bit like complaining your dog shat out a gold egg this week instead of the faberge ones he normally does.

I've been idly thinking about the difficulties in filming "The Goliath Window" with Finnemore's use of the pull back and reveal. You could conceal

Spoiler alert

them being identical twins by having the sailor wearing a large fake beard in his role as goliath[/quote]. But

the only way I can see to hide the missing arm is by careful camera work which would probably be distracting

.

[close]

[Consignia]

To be fair, I think Finnemore's stuff works best on radio. It frequently conjures imagery that wouldn't work well on TV. Beyond The Goliath Window's reveal, the imagination parts of A Flock Of Tigers invites you to see the mad ideas as well, which would either be just two people on a train carriage or a ham fisted attempt to show it. The time travel parts of the last episode of Souvenir Programme have a nice "Oh yes" bit which would be ruined if filmed. Even Cabin Pressure would have never been half as interesting as a TV show.

That said, I would love to see a TV adaptation of Red Handed. Easily my favourite of the lot.

[MojoJojo]

Bugger, just see that I completely screwed up the spoiler tags. Outside the edit window now, sorry lads.

- yeah, I know Finnemore is very good at taking advantage of radio, and he's mentioned before how he likes to do the "reveal" joke - and he uses it a lot in Souvenir programme and a bit in Cabin Pressure.

Really it was just a thought experiment in how you could film it.

[idunnosomename]

Surely his stuff only works best on radio because he only really works on radio?

And Cabin Pressure I think is a very traditional sitcom indeed, and didn't use the meta "well, these coconuts aren't going to get us very far" kind of jokes very often.