Dick and Gina awake in a cabin with no memory of how they got there…

Jonathan Morris’ glorious spoof of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and all of those glam-rock influenced shows that a lot of us grew up with (and remain a guilty pleasure) continues with two new episodes after a successful pilot earlier in the year. If the title Carry On Dick hadn’t already been nabbed by Sid James and co, it would be a perfect subtitle for this second episode which leans into (hell with it, dives in fully naked and unabashed) very broad comedy and innuendo that brings back memories of Round the Horne and its ilk.

One of the keys to this sort of comedy of this sort is that it has to be played absolutely straight by all involved and director Toby Hadoke ensures that all the jokes get a chance to land because the vast majority of the lines don’t read as jokes to the characters. The various verbal tics have to be delivered as if they’re perfectly standard dialogue (“you can write this shit, George but you sure can’t say it” comes to mind periodically) with all the tautology, repetition of the bleeding obvious etc. every so often getting pulled up but generally being accepted as normal.

It sounds as if all involved are having a great time and while it’s not going to appeal to everyone, long may Dick extend his range.

Verdict: Another enjoyable slice of sci-fi spoof. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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