Gimme, Gimme, Gimme - Series 1

Starring: James Dreyfus, Kathy Burke Director: Liddy Oldroyd, Tristram Shapeero Original UK Premiere: 1999 Dvd Release: 1st October, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Gimme Gimme Gimme is a song by ABBA. Gimme Gimme Gimme was a BBC television comedy by Tiger Productions that ran for 3 series between 1999 & 2001. Gimme Gimme Gimme stars comedienne & director Kathy Burke as loudmouthed Londoner Linda LaHughes. Linda is characterised by her red perm, white glasses & lycra clad figure. While being boorish & unattractive Linda is convinced she is a stunner. Linda shares a flat with homosexual actor Tom, played by James Dreyfus. Tom is melodramatic yet fails in his desire to get acting roles. Although they appear to loathe each other Tom & Linda are beholden to each other due to the simple fact that nobody else can stand them. They are in many ways very alike, selfish, unsuccessful & unattractive whether physically or personally. The hapless duo live in a Kentish Town flat rented from elderly prostitute Beryl Merit. Jez, a man who both Tom & Linda lust after & his wife Suze, a corny couple. Another returning character is Sugar Walls, Lindas superstar sister. Guest appearances have been made by Simon Shepherd & Su Pollard.

DVD Extras: presented in standard 14:9 format with stereo soundtrack, this disk simply gives you the first series of Gimme Gimme Gimme exactly as it appeared on television. So the picture & sound quality are fine. Just select your favourite episode from the index & laugh away. The lack of extras is disappointing. There must be some great outtakes, which would have added a bit of value; so would biographies of the stars & writer Jonathan Harvey, who has become one of the UK's best young playwrights.

When Gimme Gimme Gimme first hit the television screen in 1998, it immediately divided the critics. Plenty loathed it, but it soon acquired cult comedy status in the BBC2 post-watershed tradition. Since then it has gone mainstream on BBC1 but as the first series shows, its appeal lies in a surreal anarchy. Linda & Tom live in a world of self-delusion. They are the ultimate misfits; a grotesque ladette who thinks she is gorgeous & worships Liam Gallagher & a neurotic gay actor who cant land a decent part for toffee but cherishes a secret passion for Simon Shephard, the smooth star of popular television dramas such as Peak Practice. They trade non-PC insults like most people make small talk , yet are totally reliant on each other. Its vulgar, coarse, often outrageous & certainly not for the faint-hearted. But in most parts it is extremely funny. And if the self-regarding cuteness of so many US comedy imports turns your stomach, youll love it. This is Will & Grace, on cocaine, in a parallel universe.

Kathy Burke is a British actress. Burke first became familiar to television audiences as a player of minor roles in sketches by better-known performers such as Harry Enfield, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders. Along with French & Saunders, she featured on a Comic Relief charity single as a member of a Bananarama lookalike band. She quickly became successful in her own right. Although mainly associated with comedy, she has played several serious roles, including that of Queen Mary I of England in Elizabeth. In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest people in British comedy.

Editors Choice: Gimme Gimme Gimme, The Martins, Nil By Mouth, Kevin And Perry Go Large, View DVDology

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