Saxondale - Complete Series 1 & 2 Box Set [DVD]

Where the hell were any clips from this on the BBC-2 50 Years of Comedy programme? Tommy Saxondale's adventures deserved to be seen again. Ben Miller (so fantastic as Rebenor in Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible) directed the pilot episode on series 1. Tommy, as with Paul Calf, wanted to remain a rebel even though the chaos of regular living got in the way. Ruth Jones as Magz, proprietor of the Smash The System posters shop, was a calming influence and Raymond, Tommy's assistant (Rasmus Hardiker) became almost a surrogate son to them.I hadn't known before that Tim Key was in it as the rep for the bank whose squirrel mascot gets clobbered - I only knew of him from Charlie Brooker's Newswipe. A lot of what I'll call the Baby Cow reparatory company are in it - Simon Greenall portrays an ex-roadie who's become a businessman and he's so different from Michael in I'm Alan Partridge. Morwenna Banks as the receptionist is almost a younger sister of Alison Steadman's Pam in Gavin & Stacey, flirting with and criticizing Tommy. James Bachman as the facilitator of Tommy's anger management classes has the patience of a saint - and who would have thought Matt Berry (also composer of the original incidental music) would have been a fellow client after we'd seen him as the bluff Douglas Reynholm in the IT Crowd?I'm having trouble finding the 'On The Road' bonus on disc one. The slight changes to the incidental music (contractual reasons?) don't jar as much as the absence of Steely Dan's Reelin' In The Years from Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive does. I feel at home with the use of Focus's 'House Of The King' (the old Don't Ask Me theme)on the opening titles and 'Hocus Pocus' on the end titles. Though Tommy is gobsmacked that the late husband of Lisa Tarbuck's character had Genesis's 'Trespass', we get a tinny approximation of 'Invisible Touch' later on in that episode where we would have got the original. And does anyone else cringe when Tommy misidentifies the lyrics from Rush's The Spirit Of Radio as being from their Hemispheres album and not from Permanent Waves (yes, I'm a fellow resident of Pedantry)! Tommy's wig is a lot different on disc one - this sold iron grey fringe, whereas in series two I can see that Coogan's own wavy hair had blonde and grey streaks...and was this hairstyle the inspiration for Don's similar hairstyle in series two of Nighty Night?On series 2, Tommy is having trouble dealing with his next door neighbour (Darren Boyd). The neighbour seems very clingy and Tommy seems to want to get away from him. The lengthy rumination on Genesis's Seconds Out was so true for people of my age! Rosie Caviliero as the new age woman seems to have a hold on Magz here. But she wriggles out of it after being paired with another man (Tommy makes her leave due to being drunk as a skunk with friends), saying she wanted to listen to Rush's Caress Of Steel again! I also liked Mark Williams as another ex-roadie, who refused to grow old gracefully and had to have a leg amputated (shades of John Martyn - co-star on Fonte Bund and Barne Willers' tour doc on the Human Remains DVD). It is such a pity that Williams is currently hosting a daytime quiz show on the Beeb when he's so talented.The final episode of series two makes me sad. Just as Tommy gets back with Magz, we hear Raymond say 'It's cancer' when the surgery rings. I wanted so much to know if he would pull through and that the doctors would find the problems in time. And Keanu, the gay rent boy (also portrayed by Steve Coogan)...is he Tommy's son from his first marriage? We never see the first Mrs. Saxondale and I so wanted the loose ends to be tied up.I also liked the reference to the children's song 'Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes' as the anger management class after Tommy had had a gutful of one sob story from another client....he would have been brilliant as a judge on Britain's Got Talent!

Tommy Saxondale, ex-road crew member, who toured with some of the greats of the 70s rock scene, and can't (doesn't want to) forget it. Now a self employed pest control opperative living a comfortable suburban existence, he still feels the nostalgic pull of the rock'n'roll lifestyle. With his life partner Magz, who makes and sells T-shirts and artwork in her local shop, and his lodger/trainee (slightly bemused) assistant Raymond. Tommy rules his kingdom with the sagacious wisdom of an urban guru. Unfortunately the rest of the world usually fails to see that wisdom, leaving him frustrated, and angry. Though he is getting counseling. A beautifully well written, and observed comic creation, with an incisive dry wit throughout.Each series in it's own case, with an outer cardboard sleeve. Extras include deleted scenes, documentary on the making, and interviews. All in all well worth the entrance fee.

As a big fan of "Alan Partridge" I sat down to watch this two series set with some interest. The inclusion of the pilot episode in series one gives a good opener the series and by the end of episode two the characters and basis for them is well set. This is more of a drama than a comedy, dont expect the partridge to come out here! Some reviews say the second series was tame but i found the too frequent swearing and agressiveness of parts of series one unneccessary, they did not need to be there. Its a shame that there wasn't a third series as i feel there was more room to explore in the character but i dont think alot of people got it, they were expecting another Alan Partridge. This is certainly worthy of adding to your Coogan collection.

Steve coogan is mainly known for being Allan Partridge- a character he and his brilliant team Armando Ianucci, Patrick Marber, Rebbecca Front and Doon McKickan developped over a period of ten years to perfection. This growth of the character plus the genius of mainly Marber as an actor were one key to the Partridge success. Saxondale is his first stand alone character to go through two complete series. Saxondale works surprisingly well. The ex roadie turned pest controller with an anger management problem is unlike Allan not a character you laugh at but you laugh with- in other words he is "funny but with dignity". A lot of the ideas are very original and Coogan is a master in creating expectations of what will happen next and then not doing it not unlike the late John Hughes. The first series is entertaining but not great. Hardly ever do you laugh out loudly but some of the gags stay with you and make you chuckle for quite a while. One of the reasons why series 1 doesn't quite deliver is that Coogan over acts Saxondale. The second series however is very, very funny. The timing of the gags and jokes is perfect, again the standard of writing is very high and Coogan is more restrained than in the first series which makes it much funnier, like the conversations with his nighbour when Saxondale deadpans every attempt at humour. Each show begins with a very funny anger management therapy session and also has an exchange between Saxondale and dimwit secretary Vicky played very well by Morwena Banks.

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This is better than Alan Partridge, which is saying a lot.I think you can see quite a bit of Steve Coogan (whom I sense to be fairly anti-establishment) in the idealism of the main character, Tommy Saxondale. Tommy's a complex guy trying hard to retain some macho ruggedness - but also thoughtfulness - in a world he sees as increasingly sterile and conformist. The result is very funny, but it also challenges you to think. This is a rare and very pleasurable combination.Steve Coogan really extends himself in this role, and shows off his brilliance as a comic actor. You get a strong sense that he particularly enjoyed playing Tommy, perhaps as it seems close to his own heart.