wed 24/04/2024

The Great Outdoors, BBC Four | reviews, news & interviews

The Great Outdoors, BBC Four

The Great Outdoors, BBC Four

Charming and well-observed comedy about ramblers starring Ruth Jones

Mark Heap and Ruth Jones in 'The Great Outdoors': 'Irresistible force and immovable object'.
Now that Last of the Summer Wine has been strapped aboard the great Stairmaster to the Sky, there’s a gap in the market for a comedy in which the landscape has a starring role. Written by Kevin Cecil, whose credits include Black Books, and Andy Riley, The Great Outdoors is a bucolic al fresco sitcom following the members of a rambling club in the Chilterns as they trudge through their drab, rather lonely lives and negotiate their petty rivalries. Like the countryside it depicts, it's diverting and nicely put together without ever quite taking the breath away.

Now that Last of the Summer Wine has been strapped aboard the great Stairmaster to the Sky, there’s a gap in the market for a comedy in which the landscape has a starring role. Written by Kevin Cecil, whose credits include Black Books, and Andy Riley, The Great Outdoors is a bucolic al fresco sitcom following the members of a rambling club in the Chilterns as they trudge through their drab, rather lonely lives and negotiate their petty rivalries. Like the countryside it depicts, it's diverting and nicely put together without ever quite taking the breath away.

Tom is a zero-watt bulb who hangs out at the Crack Drop-In Centre for the free biscuits and whose idea of a suitable venue for a first date is Greggs

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As an outdoor \education teacher I have come across all of the characters and worked with some of them everyday. Brilliant and very funny especially for those of us who work outdoors. Lovely little touches that show good research. Badges, characters and situations. can't stop laughing had to text all my colleagues.

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