Chelmsford 123: The Complete Series 1 And 2 [DVD]

Like several other well-remembered TV series of bygone years, this was one that I occasionally searched for in the hope of a DVD re-release. And here it finally is.Seen again after so long, '123' is still very funny --- well, maybe it's clever rather than burst-out-loud-laugh-your-socks-off funny --- but still well worth seeing again.Being set in historical times it hasn't dated and both production and acting stand up well by today's standards. Set's aren't skimped and there are just enough outside scenes to make it all seem less stagey or studio-bound.The first episode is, for me, by far the best and could well have served as a model for other episodes. The badly subtitled Latin speech of the Romans is an idea that could have been repeated more often, even in short 'private' conversations between Roman characters.Rory McGrath as Badvoc, leader of the local tribe is consistent if not outlandishly funny. Jimmy Mulville as the Roman governor Aulus Paulinus seems more successful as he has less need to be over the top and can concentrate on being more consistently funny at a fairly gentle level. By virtue of his character, he is allowed more room to play with language. The plum parts almost always go to the underlings on both sides of the power-struggle. They are given much freer rein to do and say silly things and to be generally ludicrous. For me, that's where most of the humour usually lies in the series. Howard Lew Lewis is excellent as Blag the Brainless whilst Neil Pearson as Mungo the Quick is consistently snivelling, devious and excellent. Erika Hoffman as Gargamadua strikes a useful subversive blow for early feminism and although not outrageously funny, nevertheless adds a lot to several storylines. Playing smaller parts, Geofrrey Whitehead and Andy Hamilton also add a lot in the way of offbeat humour.All-in-all, '123' is well worth re-visiting if you remember it, and is well worth watching if you've only ever seen clips on Youtube. You won't be disappointed as long as you don't expect to be faced with an ancient countryside populated by tribal Baldricks getting one over on Roman equivalents of Basil Fawlty. The depiction of an England invaded by Romans and faced with antagonistic but conniving natives is one that offered rich possibilities for humour and to a large extent these were mined very well.Not a contender for the Top 10 comic series of all time - but definitely not far behind.Now let's start a campaign for the DVD re-release of 'Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden'. They've recently done it for 'Turtle's Progress' so who knows ....

Wahey! At last, after many years of waiting this little gem has finally been released on DVD!Written by and starring Jimmy Mulville and Rory McGrath, the series is set in Roman occupied Britain in the year 123. Sent to be the governor of Britain as a punishment by the Emperor Hadrian, Aulus Paulinus (Mulville) finds himself struggling to adapt to life in the uncivilised and rather muddy province. Badvoc (McGrath) is the uncivilised leader of the local tribe, who has no time for the trappings of civilisation and just wants to be left alone to get on with his uncomplicated life of loot and pillage. He is a schemer, and along with his lieutenants Mungo and Blag enjoys making a few denarii out of the Romans while sticking two fingers at them.A decent mixture of the erudite and stupid (the first episode is conducted largely in Latin, with some hilarious subtitles) and with quite a lot of attention paid to historical detail, these are well constructed with lots of clever one liners and situations. The characters are a little one dimensional, but it works so well you don't really notice.Added to which is the roster of actors appearing here, many of them would go on to greater things, and it is packed with faces still familiar today. Neil Pearson (Drop the Dead Donkey, Between the Lines), Andy Hamilton (Drop the Dead Donkey, Old Harry's Game), Philip Pope (Old Harry's Game), Geoffrey Whitehead (Z Cars), Geoffrrey McGivern (Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lab Rats) Mark Wing-Davey (Hitch Hiker's Guide To the Galaxy) and Chris Langham (The Thick of It) all make appearances. The wealth of good actors here ensures that this is a superior comedy, easily up there with, if not better then, Blackadder, it's main rival at the time.This set contains all 13 episodes, 6 from series 1, 7 from series 2. In all a highly recommended buy! 5 stars.

I have been waiting for the DVD release of Chelmsford 123 for years now and finally it is here. This truly is one of the most underated british comedy shows of all time, each of the characters have great lines, some are a little bit obvious but they are delivered brilliantly all the same.If you only ever get to watch one episode, make it "One For The Road" which is about my neck of the woods, Romford, the very last line is a classic and has me in fits each time I watch it. But in all honesty every episode is excellent, well written and performed with the odd surprise, like the Tardis from Doctor Who making a brief appearence and then there are Blags' flash forwards of future events, Mungos' name changes as well as slimy Grasientus (played by Philip Pope, better know for his performance in Only Fools And Horses as Tony Angellino, the one who sang with Rachel but cannot pronounce his R's correctly). Rory McGrath plays one of the lead roles as Badvoc, the local tribal leader and he is surprisingly good (and slim) and Jimmy Mulville as Aulus the Roman governor is brilliant.YOU MUST BUY AND WATCH!!!

I've waited for nearly 20 years for "Chelmsford 123" to become available for me to watch at home. I'd remembered it as an absolutely hilarious programme, with Rory McGrath and Jimmy Mulville on top form. And, watching it for the first time in two decades, I wasn't disappointed. Having said that, it's not perfect (hence the meagre 4 stars). The first series is somewhat patchy in quality, as the regular characters find their feet. The laughs are there, but the quality of the jokes is variable. Of course, the series is almost worth watching purely for Neil Pearson's "They call me Mungo..." lines. The second series, however, is fantastic. The 2-year gap between series allowed time for changes in cast and style, and the improvement is very noticeable. The timing is superb, and I had to pause the DVD on more than one occasion as I was laughing hysterically. It's a shame that no more episodes were produced, as the second series was fabulous entertainment. Marvellous stuff!

Just as good as we remembered. Great to be able to finally see it again.

For anyone who loves off-beat British comedy. Astrex brought to TV.