A lakeside reunion of three friends from university days, plus an unexpected guest, leads to an examination of lives perhaps unlived…

We’re used to this show kicking off most seasons with one of their clever marquee episodes; think season 4’s superlative Zanzibar, all in iambic pentameter, or last year’s Wuthering Heist, commedia dell’arte meets Tarantino. This time though we’re opening with something a little gentler, a thoughtful and rather bittersweet four-hander about three old friends who have barely kept in touch since their youth.

Joining writer/stars Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are Mark Gatiss and Diane Morgan (Philomena Clunk from various Charlie Brooker projects and much else). Gatiss of course was the third performer in The League of Gentlemen, this being their first onscreen reunion since the League’s 2017 revival. Being real-life university friends the various reminiscences have some grounding in fact, and indeed are pleasingly somewhat senseless to the viewer, just as overhearing such a conversation would be. Diane Morgan’s Donna is there as an unexpected plus one, and gets the lion’s share of the comic one-liners among the men’s affectionate bickering.

There are some terrific comic lines here (the “When life gives you melons…” gag is one I can hardly believe has taken this long for someone to come up with) but as is often the case with this series it’s not a comedy at heart, and is possibly one of their more serious-minded pieces. It’s directed simply but effectively by Al Campbell, another Charlie Brooker alumnus, in a flooded quarry which previously appeared, sans water, in the Doctor Who story Frontier in Space (no surprises which of the Gentlemen reveals that fact in the Inside Inside No.9 podcast, but it’s Mark).

It’s impossible to talk more about this story in any depth without spoilers. I will say that later events were totally unexpected and the resolution, while perhaps a little unclear (as noted in the podcast) gave us a moment of profundity and closure. My suspicion is that had this not been a mini-reunion it may have been better placed later in the run as it’s really quite atypical, even for a show as varied as this.

Verdict: Perhaps not a heavy hitter and more of a character piece than usual, but as always Pemberton and Shearsmith give us something interesting that lingers in the mind for the rest of the evening at least. 7/10

Andy Smith