Jackson Booth-Millard I heard about this programme a little while it was broadcast, but I must have missed it, and I was keen to try it, so I was very happy when I noticed it was being repeated, so I watched with great expectations, directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, A Mighty Heart, Everyday). Basically comedian and actor (BAFTA winning) Steve Coogan has accepted a commission job as a restaurant critic for The Observer newspaper, touring the North of England to experience many places that offer good food and fine dining, he is doing it to try and impress his American girlfriend Mischa (Margo Stilley), who has asked to take a break from their relationship. Originally Misha was meant to come on the trip with him, but she has returned to America while they are on a break, so at the last minute the only person he can think of to invite is his fellow comedian and actor friend-of-sorts (British Comedy Award nominated) Rob Brydon, and the two of them set off on their road trip. While on the road, eating the well prepared and presented food, drinking the fine wines and exploring the various landscapes the series revolves around mostly improvised scenes between them, as they experience the meals, and try to outdo and undermine each other in conversation and doing celebrity impressions and movie line clichés. During their time together of course they have a good laugh and enjoy themselves in most ways as well, but also we see Rob missing home and talking to his partner in a pleasant and jovial manner, while Steve tries to get back in Mischa's good books, sort things with his agent, and has one night stands with various women. Coogan and Brydon play mock versions of themselves really well, and both do great celebrity impressions that work really well while they bicker and have some kind of imitation-off, they know how to make those watching laugh, whether it is funny or cringeworthy, or both. It also works really well as a fun road trip, seeing the many beautiful sights, seeing the preparations of the delicious meals at The Inn at Whitewell, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, Holbeck Ghyll in Windermere, Hipping Hall near Lancashire, Yorke Arms at Ramsgill in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire and Hetton in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, and they also meet and on the phone talk to a few interesting characters, one episode even guest stars Ben Stiller. If you are looking for a show with two great comedy stars, material mostly being made up along the way, a road trip with interesting places to go and things to see, and tasty looking food served to them, this all combined makes for a fantastically funny and interesting comedy sitcom. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and it was nominated the British Comedy Award for Best New TV Comedy. Very good!

Martin Teller What we've really got is two series. One is the comedy of "Steve Coogan" and "Rob Brydon" exchanging barbs and doing impressions and making witty observations. These parts generally occur over the six meals they share, and I really enjoyed them. Some of their banter is hilarious... I had already seen the Michael Caine routine several times on YouTube and yet I still laughed at it. The other film involves the contrast between these people/characters: Steve, trying to bolster his acting career and struggling with a relationship that's starting to crack, and Rob the less successful but content family man. And I really enjoyed this part as well. Rob's calls home to his wife are amusing but also quite touching. Steve's existential midlife crisis is engaging and insightful as well. The two halves of the film do bleed into each other a bit, but I genuinely appreciated the separation between them. Winterbottom knows that it's okay to just let these two guys play off each other with their natural comedic chemistry and not worry about whether or not it's pushing the "plot" forward. The photography is mostly functional, concentrating on the personalities, but quite lovely when capturing all that gorgeous English countryside. While the film isn't as post-modern as the previous collaborations (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and TRISTRAM SHANDY, both of which seem to get minor callbacks in the first episode, though it may be merely coincidence) it still maintains an unconventionality.

Good-Will Since my major interests are conversation, food and scenery (And it helps that I was brought up in Yorkshire) then this hit every nail on the head.I got hold of the DVD with all the extras, and after loving watching the series with its perfect execution of the relationship between the two main characters, then the extras provided a great insight into the amount of improvisation that was going on throughout.It won't appeal to everyone, particularly those who have some sort of grudge against Coogan and the BBC as a whole (although how you can lump the two together is a mystery to me), but I thought that the willingness of Coogan and Brydon to caricature themselves as perceived by the media and seriously take the mick out of each other was not only brave, but quite touching.The "To bed Gentleman, for we rise at daybreak!" scene was a highlight, as was the "Michael Caine-off" competition, for want of a better description.But there is also pathos, as the Coogan and Brydon characters are at very different points in their respective relationships, and that's what holds the whole thing together.Well, basically, it's brilliant.Cheers, Will

packoftwenty I thought I was a big Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon fan, until I saw this. I think the words 'self indulgent' spring to mind, and not just on the part of Coogan and Brydon, but the idiotic 'just out of university' camera man and director. My god - was it really necessary to show stupid, wavering close up shots, over the shoulder of Brydon, of his plate, as if to point out for the more intellectually challenged amongst us, what he was eating? The whole thing is just painful to watch, I haven't laughed once, nor even felt like laughing. Who actually enjoys this rubbish? When you compare this to Paul and Pauline Calf, or The Alan Partridge Show, you wonder if this is the same man. I kept waiting for things to improve. Maybe the strange bitterness that Coogan exudes throughout would drop off, but no. And yet more typical 'BBC' direction and camera work, it's simply unbearable. Stupid shots of the motorway, as if to point out "Yes, we know that you must know by now that they are driving on a motorway, but we're going to provide some more obscure shots of a random motorway just to drive that point home."And the sickening shots around 19" into the first episode, where Coogan speaks to his agent... how predictable - the shot from the side, from another office, from in front, cutting from Coogan to yet another random view of his agent. Is this supposed to be 'art' or 'clever'?I can't believe this pile of rubbish actually got made. I can't believe it was actually broadcast. Hang on. I CAN believe it got made, and that it got broadcast, because the BBC is run by a bunch of self congratulating left wing nutcases, who are so used to lying to the entire country, that lying to each other is second nature, so of course a load of old twaddle can get through with flying colours - after all, nobody wants to say that the emperor is naked.As far as I can tell, Coogan has lost it. His 'Alan Partridge Mid Morning Matters' are also completely unfunny - just him, 'being' Alan Partridge, but not being remotely amusing...