TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Saxondale : Complete BBC Series 1 [2006]


RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £12.98 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.com

Steve Coogan stars as Tommy Saxondale, the world-travelled ex-roadie with anger-management issues and a pest control business in Stevenage in this funny BBC 2 series. Over the seven episodes of Saxondale Series 1, Tommy gets his eyesight improved by a prostitute, almost befriends a celebrity, kneecaps an annoying hippy... and experiments with women's makeup.

You see, Tom Saxondale has been through the rock and roll mill and lived to tell the tale. He plays fast and loose, shoots from the hip, and tells no lies - he's a true maverick. Tom never took the corporate dollar. He doesn't work for 'the man'; he's his own man. These and other moth-eaten cliches are how Tommy would describe himself. But when Tommy removes his rose-tinted Aviator shades, he can't deny a few basic facts; he was a middle-ranking roadie for 20 years, but for the past ten years he has been at the cutting edge of the pest control industry... in Hertfordshire. After a hostile divorce, Tommy has found his soulmate in Magz, proprietress of an anarchic T-shirt shop.

Starring: Steve Coogan (Tommy Saxondale), Ruth Jones (Magz), Rasmus Hardiker (Raymond), Morwenna Banks (Vicky), James Bachman (Therapist).

Saxondale is written by Steve Coogan and Neil Maclennan; script edited and episode one directed by Ben Miller; directed by Matt Lipsey (Supernova,Catterick, Little Britain).

Editorial
Synopsis

Tom Saxondale is someone that has been to hell and back and lived to tell the tale. He lives life fast and tells is as it is. Having lived the life of a roadie for 20 years, he's now a pest-control expert in Hertfordshire. With a failed marriage behind him, Tom has found romance with Magz; the quirky proprietor of a T-shirt shop. Comic icon Steve Coogan is Tom Saxondale in this sly and irreverent comedy series.
Editorial
The Sunday Times

'A creation of comic brilliance'
Editorial
The Guardian

'Very, very funny'


Nicer than Alan Partridge
Review date: 2008-06-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

To some people, Alan Partridge may be just too odious to watch. Tommy Saxondale is a nicer guy, just a bit of a plonker at times. So, this may be a comedy for some to appreciate the talent of Steve Coogan.

I think Tommy Saxondale is his best character since Partridge. Maybe there is some of Partridge in him, or is that Steve Coogan !

I am a big fan of Alan Partridge so was pleased when this new character came along. I thought the first series very good, and the second, even better. Just wish it would come out on DVD.

Similar Products

Reviews


Brilliant parts, lots of filler...
Review date: 2008-06-14 Rating: 6 out of 10

The first episode is excellent, so is half of the second one

I goes downhill thereafter, with only a few peaks.

Shame.

Better than expected.
Review date: 2008-03-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

Who is Steve Coogan? Oh you mean Alan Partridge, he has a new character. That'll never work.
I was wrong, its kind of like the mindset of Partridge but in a different body with a different attitude. Just non-stop laughter all the way through. A believable character and well acted. Good supporting cast too. A must have for any Coogan fans!

Another stand-out from Steve Coogan
Review date: 2008-03-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

Crass, yes---very often. But it's crassness in the service of character, if you will. I disagree with another viewer's remark that Saxondale is 'always inappropriate'; sometimes he is grossly inappropriate--falling down drunk at an otherwise decorous get-together in a restaurant, for instance---and other times his behaviour is merely debatable. Some people will be rooting for him at the same time as others are finding him deplorable. That's life.

Laughs aside (and there are plenty of those), the slice of life that *Saxondale* represents is a little-explored one, and has a very original, fresh feel. I recall thinking at the end of one episode that Tommy and his girlfriend, Magz, had a 'real' relationship. I don't just mean that the characters seem real, though they do. I mean that real-seeming characters can still have a relationship that you think is not quite solid, as you do sometimes with people you know. But the Magz-Tommy relationship works in terms of creating humorous situations, and also in making you believe in the characters.

The only thing that I find slightly off-key in the Saxondale persona is that he is too young---about a decade too young. To have the past that he has, he really ought to be 60 rather than 50. He shows flashes of learning that don't quite gel with a career that began with being a high-school dropout. On the other hand, there are such things as autodidacts and anyway, if *Saxondale* is about anything, it's about not thinking you have people pegged when you haven't.



Saxonstunning!
Review date: 2008-01-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

Tommy Saxondale (Steve Coogan) is a pest controller in Stevenage, who used to be a roadie in the 70s, has a slight temper problem but altogether he's quite an amiable guy. He's got a girlfriend, Magz (Ruth Jones), who's as liberal as him.

The show follows his ups and downs, well mainly downs, as he tries to do a job, prophesies on life, and how he met Raymond, his pest control colleague. All 7 episodes are here, and all are gems in their own way. I like the way we get to see Tommy at his anger management meetings and how he likes to have the attention. Then we usually see his professional side.

This is a good show, and the comedy might not be to the standard we expected from Coogan, but it's still very good. It does have elements of "I'm Alan Partridge" as they both think a lot of themselves and they do make comedic use of the fact. The characters work excellently together, and there's only a few duff moments.

There are also guest appearances from Top Gear's James May, and Bonkers actress Liza Tarbuck as the sultry Janet.

The DVD transfer is good, with the full bitrate used, which is great. The fact that they've put 5 episodes on one disk and 2 on another is also very good, as it means the picture can be as clear as can be. Shame they didn't include the audio description channel that was in the original aired versions on digital TV. The picture is good, mainly as it was on TV and the audio commentaries are interesting - the better ones being Steve Coogan's.

The extras are OK, an interview with Coogan is about your lot, but the main reason most people buy the DVD is for the actual episodes, and the menu is helpful and easy to use: you can just go directly to an episode or scene.

Definitely worth getting if you're a Steve Coogan fan.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
James Bachman
Steve Coogan
Ruth Jones
Morwenna Banks

Creators:
Steve Coogan (Primary Contributor)
James Bachman (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503211127
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-09-24
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 202 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional