The third series of Comedy Showcase, the collection of one-off pilots which previously brought us Campus, PhoneShop and Pete v Life returns this autumn. Channel Four have just announced what the seven shows will be…
The Angelos Neil Epithemiou Show
Renton Skinner’s character Angelos Epithemiou was a bit of a slow-burner on Shooting Stars, not particularly great in his first few appearances but became one of the highlights of the show when he took on the George Dawes scorer role. He now gets his own comedy entertainment special, where he’ll be interacting with the audience and celebrities as well as introducing some new characters.
Chickens
This one looks particularly interesting. Starring and written by the Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird and Joe Thomas along with their House of Windsor writing partner Johnny Sweet, it tells the story of three young men left behind in a sleepy English village while all other men their age are fighting the good fight for king and country in the First World War. George is a conscientious objector, Ivor would love to go to war but his flat feet mean the army won’t have him and Herb is an out-and-out scardicat on the run. With all the other young men far away, they try to get themselves back in the good books of the village’s ladies, who think all three of them are chickens.
Felix and Murdo
A good, old-fashioned studio sitcom written by Simon Nye and starring Armstrong and Miller as two Edwardian friends taking part in the very first London Olympics of 1908 in between sprees of drink and drugs. It promises to be quite fun, with plenty of full of gags.
House Of Rooms
Written by Mock the Week regular Milton Jones and fellow stand-up Dan Evans, this sitcom sees Milton living with his mother in a big house, renting out their spare rooms to a variety of characters. The focus of this pilot episode is Alice, a shy girl who Milton is equally tongue-tied around. When another tenant hits it off with her, they compete for her attention.
The Function Room
This studio sitcom by TV Burp writer Dan Maier is set in a function room above a pub. If it gets made into a full series, each week would see it being booked for a different event. In this pilot, it’s being used for a local community ‘Meet The Police’ event, with residents quizzing local police officers about crime in the area. This one looks good.
Fun Police
Written by Russel Brand’s partner in crime Matt Morgan, this sitcom about an incompetent local council health and safety department has a very good cast (Rhys Darby, Jack Doolan, Katy Wix, Vic Reeves) and aims to emulate the larger than life style of US comedies such as Anchorman.
Coma Girl
Katy Wix also appears here alongside The IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson in this single camera comedy about three friends who meet up once a month in an intensive care unit to get together with their friend Lucy. Juxtaposing the unusual girl’s night in with Lucy’s coma-induced subconscious which is slowly becoming more aware of what is going on around her, this should be an interesting one.
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