Big In Samoa. Cal (Tom Goodman-Hill)
Big In Samoa

Big In Samoa

  • Radio comedy drama
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2010
  • 1 episode

Dog walker Caleb's life is about to change: an album he cut in his twenties and forgot about now has a huge online following. Stars Tom Goodman-Hill, Hugh Bonneville, Barbara Barnes, Jack Crutch, Gbemisola Ikumelo and more.

Key details

Genre
Comedy Drama
Broadcast
2010
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Episodes
1
Stars
Tom Goodman-Hill, Hugh Bonneville, Barbara Barnes, Jack Crutch, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Janice Acquah and Sani Muliaumaseali'i
Director
Sally Avens
Producer
Sally Avens

Technology - you can run from it but you can't always hide. Big In Samoa is Marcy Kahan's comedy starring Tom Goodman-Hill and Hugh Bonneville about how the internet found one man and hunted him down.

In the Seventies, Cal had dreams of a life in music and made a record. It had a small cult following and was then consigned to oblivion. Cal went on to make an erratic living and have an erratic love life. His family, siblings and old friends regard him as the loser in their midst.

Cal has now taken refuge in a retro-life - long-playing records, no mobile phone, no computer - resisting the internet, the zeitgeist. Even his nephew, Theo, whom he adores, can't persuade his Luddite uncle into signing up to the 21st century.

When Rafe searches for Caleb's name on the internet, he discovers 32,000 hits - Cal's long-deleted recording has become a cult; he is big in Western Samoa! Determined that Cal will take advantage of his new-found fame, Rafe becomes his agent and books him into a gig in Samoa, through Dina, the head of Cal's fan club.

In Samoa, Cal begins a relationship with Dina who introduces him to the delights of instant texts, surfing and social networking. Cal thinks the net is wonderful. But things can't go smoothly for Cal and, in the middle of his concert, he is attacked by Rafe on stage!

Will technology help Cal sort out his life or end up breaking his heart?

Additional details

Production
Studio

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Friday 1st January 2010 at 9pm on BBC Radio 4
Episode length
1 hour

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