Don't you just love the tension, hype, flashing lights, loud music and screaming audience of X Factor? No, me neither. It's ok though, because the repeat of Michael Winterbottom's The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon provides a quiet, quirky antidote to this after a busy Sunday night schedule.
The Trip follows the semi-autobiographic characters of Coogan, recently dumped food writer and critic, and Brydon, who has been invited along as a replacement companion on the restaurant tour.
Comedy lovers, foodies and appreciators of the beautiful north alike will appreciate this little gem. It's not big budget, its not deep and meaningful, it just is. And that's what I like about it. It's a keen observation of human nature and the first episode promises a series full of intelligent humour and comic oneupmanship from the pair.
Decorated and prolific director Winterbottom brings a fantastic documentary feel to it, and some inspired improvisation from Coogan & Brydon provide genuine heartfelt moments as the pair bicker and banter. Despite a lack of plot and forward momentum, there is a lot to enjoy about the first episode.
There's no frills in this programme, and barely any changes of setting either. For 2/3rds of the pilot we watched the pair try to outdo one another at the dinner table. Some viewers might find this dull, others a bit bland, I find it quaint and extremely watchable.
At only 30 minutes you don't have to invest that much time, energy or emotion into this, you can just sit back let it wash over you. It's like sitting on a park bench and watching an old couple squabble; it's genuine, which isn't a word that describes many programmes on TV these days.
Give it a go, what do you stand to lose.
The Trip airs Monday evenings @ 10.00PM and is repeated Sundays at the same time.
I really enjoyed this too, and like you say, it's a nice alternative to all that rubbish I talk about ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm hooked on a lot of crap too, I just like to pretend that I'm better than it :P
ReplyDelete