Brand's Hatch.


I thought Jo Brand’s recent BBC4 sitcom Going Forward was pitch-perfect.

I have a penchant for comedy that’s naturalistic and bleak; there’s something strangely uplifting about finding humour where it shouldn’t naturally be. Life is frequently framed by awkwardness and mundanity (or mine is, at least) - even at its worst moments; if Eric Idle can be optimistic whilst being crucified then so can we.

I watched it with a tinge of jealously, as it’s something I would have loved to be in. It was full of understated, well-observed, laugh-out-loud moments; much like its predecessor Moving On, which is worth digging out if you haven’t seen it. That’s provided you don’t mind watching something that’s not afraid to be dark; this probably says a lot about my mindset.

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