Benidorm - Series 10 Page 4

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 7th November 2018, 9:58 PM

Is the general consensus that as soon as the Harveys left, the show became a bit naff? Like Last of the Summer Wine does abroad kind of vibe?

Garveys. I certainly wouldn't have compared Benidorm with "Last of the Summer Wine".

Quote: Rood Eye @ 7th November 2018, 10:42 PM

like the cheapest of cheap pantomimes, rely for their laughs on outrageously camp characters, men dressed as women and references to sex, body parts and bodily functions.

Nothing wrong with pantomime, camp humour & innuendo. The basis of good old British humour from time immemorial.

Quote: Billy Bunter @ 7th November 2018, 11:03 PM

Nothing wrong with pantomime, camp humour & innuendo. The basis of good old British humour from time immemorial.

Absolutely correct, Billy!

I'm not objecting to those things per se. I'm objecting to writers and performers who rely on gruesome crudity rather than comedic quality when using the above ingredients to get laughs.

Quote: Aaron @ 7th November 2018, 9:04 PM

Do let us know what it's like!

Well, apart from Southern Railways cancelling my train home, it was an enjoyable afternoon.

It was exactly what it clearly set out to be - a bit of outlandish fun. No more, no less. A little more outlandish with its costumes and its innuendos than on tv of course (a Spanish taxi driver returning lost property, getting his metaphor confused "You'll lose your arse if it wasn't screwed"; Kenneth choosing a meal from the menu for Jacqueline "she likes a sausage in cider"). There were seven survivors from the TV series - Mateo, Jacqueline, Liam, Sam, Kenneth, Joyce Temple-Savage & the singer. The Kate & Martin characters, from the earlier series, were reprised as Sophie & Ben and played by different actors.

The plot, such as it was, was borrowed from a couple of tv episodes - the one where Kate & Martin (now re-named Sophie & Ben) first arrived and middle-class Kate hated everything about the hotel while Martin quietly enjoyed it and the other where hotel inspectors were known to be in the hotel but nobody knew exactly who they were (no I'm not getting it mixed up with Fawlty Towers). The first half was set in and around the hotel with the storyline interspersed with brief song and dance turns. The second half was set in the evening and spent entirely in Neptunes with the song & dance turns interspersed by brief bits of storyline. Sam (Shelley Longworth) was surprisingly good in the singing department but I thought Liam (Adam Gillen) was guilty of somewhat over-acting at times.

The sound system at Southampton wasn't great and it was difficult at times to make out what the actors were saying (it was loud enough but lacked clarity) but that presumably won't be the same in other venues.

Thanks for the review. I've got tickets for the final Birmingham show next month.

Quote: G180e @ 8th November 2018, 10:26 PM

Thanks for the review. I've got tickets for the final Birmingham show next month.

I'll be interested to know what you think of it.

Really interesting Billy, thanks. I didn't realise it was a TV rehash - a shame to hear.

Well he does have a sucessful show in the bank, it would be a shame not to use the lines/routines.

I wouldn't say it was a TV rehash. The plots had been used before but the way it progressed was different. Plus the fact that the two plots in question were intertwined throughout whereas, on the TV, they were years apart.