Review of That Peter Kay Thing

Introduction

Garlic Bread?

Cheese Cake?

A predictable and perhaps tedious way to start a review of a Peter Kay DVD, but there you go. Lines from his stand up routines, as well as those from his beer adverts have penetrated the national consciousness.

Peter Kay has been on the stand up comedy circuit for several years now and is one of a rare breed of comedians who don`t have to resort to excessive swearing and jokes about genitalia just to get a laugh. Instead he recounts genuinely funny stories mixed in with a few good old fashioned gags. His stand up work led him to be offered the chance to do a show for Channel 4`s Comedy Lab season. That show was The Services (included here on disc 2), and the 6 episodes of That Peter Kay Thing (not Peter Kaye as the review discs would have you believe!) came after the success of the Comedy Lab show.

Each episode is basically a real life documentary TV spoof, following some local residents or workplaces, with varying degrees of autobiographical content from Kay. The episodes are as follows:-

In the Club - the pilot for Phoenix Nights, as we meet most of the characters who would appear in that show, as well as one who appears in a later episode of this show.

Eyes Down follows the staff of a bingo hall - probably the most autobiographical as Kay himself once worked in one.

The Iceman Cometh tells the tale of the dog-eat-dog world of the ice cream van driver, who has to diversify into renting out porn videos in order to stay afloat.

The Arena is another autobiographical episode, telling the story of a concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena (where Kay once worked).

Leonard is also based on real life, telling the story of Leonard and his many friends. Leonard`s work for the community means that he`s up for an award. Will he have time to collect it, what with his paper round and other work.

Lonely at the Top follows Marc Park as he embarks on a successful solo career after Park Avenue`s winning performance in "In the Club". We also find out what has happened to Cheryl Avenue.

Video

A full frame transfer, which is as the series was filmed and first broadcast. Everything looks fine and is perfectly watchable. There`s not really a lot else to say about it.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which sounds absolutely fine. The sound is clear and crisp and you can hear everything that`s going on. Once again, there`s not much more to say about it - it`s good and it does the job.

The casting of Andrew Sachs as the narrator of the episodes was a master stroke - as he has already worked on real life documentary shows it gives this programme that little edge.

Features

On disc one there is a commentary on each episode by Peter Kay, Patrick McGuinness and Craig Cash. The commentary is a bit hit and miss, and what is Craig Cash doing there, particularly as he hardly says anything. Apparently Kay used to sleep at his house in London when working on the show... Kay himself has plenty to say about the episodes, the characters and the more autobiographical moments, but the commentary feels like a little bit of a wasted opportunity to tell us more about the show.

On disc two there is also a commentary track for the next 2 features:-

The Services is the episode filmed for Channel 4`s Comedy Lab season, and its inclusion here is very welcome. This episode follows the staff and customers at a Bolton motorway service station. Very funny, and the only thing missing is Andrew Sachs (Kay narrated this one himself).

Next up are nearly an hour of alternative/extended/deleted scenes. Listening to the commentary will tell you a little about some of these scenes and why they were excised.

There are also trailers for the show.

Conclusion

An absolute must for Peter Kay fans. The series is hilarious, and with so many different characters on show there`s a hell of a lot of observation that`s gone into creating these characters and writing the show. If you`ve enjoyed his stand up shows or Phoenix Nights then you will love this. Even if you`re not a massive Peter Kay fan, then there`s something here that`s bound to make you laugh.

This 2 disc set is well put together with good picture and sound and a well thought out selection of extras. The commentary track is a little disappointing, but it`s still worth a listen. A very good DVD and one that might make it into a few Xmas stockings this year (sorry to mention it, but it is nearly November!)

Highly recommended.