Gavin and Stacey Return to BBC3
Award-winning Comedy is Back for a Second Series
A look back at the first series of comedy, Gavin and Stacey, and a look ahead as the new series hits our screens on Sunday 16th March.
Gavin and Stacey is back on British screens on Sunday 16th March 2008. At a time when the strongest British comedy seems to be in the form of sketch shows, it is refreshing that such a genuinely funny sitcom is home grown.
Gavin and Stacey Start Married Life
The central characters are a couple who met through speaking on the telephone through their work. Gavin is a Billericay boy from Essex, and Stacey is from Barry, South Wales.
In the first series, the couple arranged to meet, and fell in love. By the end of the final episode they had married, and so the new season will journey with them as they start their married life.
Despite the programme title, Gavin and Stacey is very much an ensemble piece. At times, despite the haste of their decision to marry, it seems as though the happy couple are the only ones with their feet on the ground.
Gavin’s best mate, Smithy and Stacey’s closest friend, Nessa, are played by the writers of the show, James Corden and Ruth Jones. Both are familiar faces on UK screens, from shows such as Fat Friends and Little Britain, and deservedly won “Best Comedy Male and Female Newcomers” at the British Comedy Awards, where the series won “Best New TV Comedy”.
Oustanding Support Acts in Gavin and Stacey
Nessa is a tattooed woman who lives a supposedly simple life working at an amusement arcade, but obviously has her fair share of men. She occasionally lets slip little details of her past which imply exotic travel and dalliances with the rich and famous. Smithy is a commitment-phobe with a liking for lager, and a girlfriend we never see, but are led to understand that this is because she is too young to be allowed out on a school night. By the end of the first series, Nessa has revealed that she’s pregnant with Smithy’s child, and so the comedic possibilities are wide.
Other outstanding performances come from Rob Brydon as Stacey’s Uncle Bryn, a good-hearted but hapless character; the sort of man that everyone likes, but nobody wants to be stuck in a lift with. Alison Steadman is also a delight as Gavin’s mother, Pam. Almost but not quite revisiting her role in Abigail’s Party, Steadman plays an Essex wife with a comfortable life and an admiration for Camilla Parker Bowles.
The series has sexual references, but is suitable for all but the most easily offended adults. The characters are strong, and the jokes come regularly from this high quality script.
It has recently been reported that a US version is to be made and so this gentle, funny sitcom may become as well know as The Office.
Its creators certainly deserve the success.
The series begins at 9pm on BBC 3
