Wednesday 3 June 2015

Car Share

I surely can't have been the only person thinking 'Turn the car around John, go and tell Kayleigh how you feel about her!' while the strains of Pure And Simple by Hear'Say played in the background, track two of Now 48.

Apologies if you don't know what I'm talking about - I am, of course, assuming that everybody watched the fabulous Car Share by Peter Kay.

Another brilliant sitcom by the comic genius who brought us Phoenix Nights, it had everything from roll-on-the-floor, pop-out-a-hernia-laughing moments (this nearly happened to me in the episode where John fell over posting his Nana's birthday card), to more poignant and thoughtful scenes.

In truth, it was a very simple concept - two people sharing a commute to work - but it was perfectly executed, and we watched their relationship develop as they discussed their lives, loves and disappointments on the daily drive to the supermarket in which John worked as a manager and Kayleigh was on promotions.

It was accompanied by some fabulous background music, supplied courtesy of fictional radio station Forever FM - it turns out that this has proved so popular there's even been a BBC playlister created with all the tunes on it - http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/playlists/zzzzg5

There were also a lot of subtle visual jokes, which are well worth taking a second or even third look at on iPlayer because, like me, you probably missed them the first time.  My favourites include one about a missing husband, and a shop named after Bob Carolgees.

In addition each episode featured semi-animated surreal dream sequences, perhaps best described as a mix of Salvador Dali meets Mary Poppins - trust me, it will all make sense when you watch them if you haven't already!

All in all, it was a great show and I'm hoping that a second series will be commissioned.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next with John and Kayleigh, and what music Forever FM will play in the background.

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