Episodes series 2 episode 9 review

James waves a fond goodbye to Episodes, which wraps up a somewhat patchy series with a great finale. Here's his review...

Episodes, series finale, BBC Two

Second series of behind-the-scenes television comedy comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Episodes - review

Episodes has been brilliant light relief from the surnames down.

Episodes: Season 2 - Final Review

So to wrap up, it's another pleasant season, if you want something non-challenging and intermittently funny to just flop in front of, you could do a lot worse than Episodes.

This sitcom about a sitcom, starring Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, has never quite lived up to its sizzling potential. However, series two does end on a high: the marriage of big cheese Merc comes under fire from all corners as he gears up for the Man Of The Year event. Plus Nigel Planer pops up as LeBlanc's lawyer - a union that promises a rich seam of comedy if he stays for series three.

The dark and shameless whirligig of Episodes spins to an end tonight, complete with fighting, kissing, swearing and Sean (Stephen Mangan) doing "his Wallace and Gromit smile".

Strangely, given its title, Episodes is really about a plot arc that spans the series. In the first, it all built to Beverly's betrayal with Matt LeBlanc; this time round the focus is on brilliantly amoral Merc (half exec, half fuming troll) and his web of infidelities. He's overcome cancer, bereavement and losing the talking dog show. Now his job and marriage are under siege. Look out for a note-perfect cameo from Nigel Planer. Bring him back for series three!

Whenever there are secrets in sitcoms, they never stay secret for long. With Jamie having an affair with Matt, Merc having an affair with Carol and Carol being offered the job Merc doesn't know he's lost yet, there's plenty of dirt to come out in this final episode of season two. Against the backdrop of Merc's 'Man of the Year' award ceremony, and with everyone present, there's also the perfect opportunity for the revelations to emerge. While there are no major surprises in the season's denouement, there are still laughs to be had, especially in one of the later scenes between Sean and Matt. Very watchable even when it's not hilarious, Episodes ends in a manner which leaves the door open for another season without suggesting there'll definitely be one.

Tonight's finale of this soft satire about the making of a US TV series scurries to tie up loose ends and deliver an emotional punch. As with previous episodes, it's a qualified success that doesn't quite manage to seize its comic chances. There's schmaltz: even Matt LeBlanc's character, hitherto the show's most reliably unsentimental, gives a soppy speech. Having said that, the longueurs of plot are regularly buoyed by great zingers: Episodes' strength is in causing sharp intakes of breath when characters say the unsayable. For example, slimy studio boss Merc believes his sightless wife can actually see the odd shape: "And she calls herself blind?" retorts Merc's lover. "What a b---h!" An amusing climactic scene sees fisticuffs at an awards show, and Nigel Planer delivers a wonderful cameo as LeBlanc's lawyer. At the centre of the maelstrom are Beverly and Sean (played faultlessly by Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) as the Brits trying to make sense of the amoral milieu and deciding whether to reunite. Episodes hasn't hit the heights of other shows-within-a-show such as The Larry Sanders Show and Extras, but its swipes at Tinseltown score often enough to please.

Episodes delivers a finale that is nearly all sit and hardly any com. It's Merc's big night at the Man Of The Year Awards, which gives a great opportunity for all the characters to be in the same place. Trouble is the show takes an age to set all this up, forgetting to include any actual jokes as it clumsily moves the pieces into place and reminds us what they've all got at stake. We're left with some desperate, lumbering slapstick and shouting in the final few minutes, the sort of thing a bad soap opera does when it tries to be funny.

Episodes series 2 episode 8 review

Another floundering instalment arrives from series 2 of Episodes.