Extras: Outtakes (with commentary), Comic Relief special, Photo Gallery,
Option to view all programmes as originally transmitted, Audio Commentary
Director:
Hugo Blick
Producers:
Hugo Blick
Screenplay:
Rob Brydon and Hugo Blick
Cast:
Keith Barrett: Rob Brydon
"Good morning, good morning!" is what seemed to begin most episodes of
Marion & Geoff,
a series which I never got into first time round - and wondered what could be
so interesting about a cab driver called Geoff...
Then when I watched A Small Summer Party, the 50-minute 'prequel'
to this series so we could find out how it all began, I realised that the only
character that was on view was Keith, whose wife Marion and run off to live with
her boss Geoff (played in that one-off by friend of Brydon's and co-star of
last Xmas' special, "Cruise of the Gods"', Steve Coogan).
After that, I started to watch the individual near-10-minute episodes on UK Play
(before that was shut down due to lack of interest, or too much input from
channel controller and life-long friend of DVDfever Stuart Murphy),
but these were often shown in not the correct order and I only really caught
up before the channel's closure when they had a 'Marion & Geoff night'.
Watching the programme from start to finish, you realise just how bloody good
Rob Brydon is as the crest-fallen cabbie who tells us piece by piece
how his life fell apart, pointing out in detail the events that were to follow
in the aforementioned one-off. One of the primary moments that stands out for
me comes when he comes back from a trip to see his sons - or his "two little
smashers" as he calls them - and doesn't get to give them their presents
(something that seems to happen with disturbing regularity) of toys of Tigger
and Eeyore.
Why this stands out is because is shows off exactly how Keith's optimism is
astonishing in that he never lets things get him down until... the point where
he cracks up and breaks down entirely. When he imagines he's talking to his
sons, Alun and Rhys, as he's talking to the two Disney characters, if there
isn't a dry eye in the house when he's finished then you're not human.
There's also brilliant comic moments such as having to see the doctor about
a wind problem and was made to first eat a barium meal ("I didn't ask for
seconds.", he comments in a wry piece-to-camera), and when he wins £70 on a radio
station quiz, yet forgets to leave his name and address. This is revealed as
the series' single camera/microphone is left switched on in the car listening
to the radio as Keith goes into the petrol station to pay - it's amazing the
way this was used in series two as Keith's car was towed away to the strains
of The Humming Chorus.
In fact, music plays a great role in the programme throughout the series
- and I haven't gone through all of this DVD yet because I've seen it before,
but the box doesn't state if any music's been changed for the home release,
as can sometimes happen. As a result of Marion and Geoff, that is what
I'm reminded of when I hear Slade's Coz I Love You, Bruce
Springsteen's I'm On Fire and the final episode's Nothing Hurts
by Catatonia and The Bee Gees' atmospheric Run to Me.
There's no problems whatsoever with either the picture or the sound, but they
won't tax any DVD player. There's only one camera, fixed inside Keith's cab
and pointing at Keith the whole time - apart from when he just nips out as
mentioned earlier. At first I didn't think the DVD cover was much cop, but
then I realised - well, what else can they show? It's always Keith. There's
no single still shot that could encapsulate the whole of his character - you
have to watch the programme.
The sound is in Dolby Stereo which is used for dialogue from Keith and the
background music. It won't push your speakers to any extremes but comes across
as pleasing enough.
The extras are as follows:
Photo Gallery:
A mere seven pictures, but it's interesting how technical things were when it
came to the in-car camera, as director Hugo Blick affixes it with blutack and
a Fleetwood Mac cassette case.
Outtakes (19 mins):
This doesn't contain fluffed lines, but clips not used in the finished product, all from
most of the episodes, including his feelings about Pingu - complete with sound
effects - and how the show really took things on from Attenborough's more
factual offerings. The audio commentary points out how a number of things were
cut for timing reasons. Great to see them included here though.
Comic Relief Special (6 mins):
Does exactly as it says on the tin. I love it when extras like this make it
onto the DVD, such as this one-off made for 2001's charity show. It's a shame
"A Small Summer Party" wasn't included as that certainly should've been.
Option to view all programmes as originally transmitted:
Just listed in the extras menu as 'additional feature', this shows all the
programmes as originally transmitted complete with intro music and end credits
music. Once you've watched them this way, this is how you'll always go back
to them because everything fits together much more effectively.
Audio Commentary: From 'Keith' (Rob Brydon) and director
Hugo Blick.
There's just one chapter per episode, making 10 in total, with English
subtitles for the hard of hearing and the menus include footage from the
programme, the best being the mobile phone one from the extras menu. Sadly,
my phone doesn't do that one so I had to program in "Popcorn".
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
