Saxondale : Complete BBC Series 1 [2006] - DVD (Steve Coogan, James Bachman, Morwenna Banks, Ruth Jones - Dir: Ben Miller)

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Customer Reviews of Saxondale : Complete BBC Series 1 [2006]

Secret Squirrel
U.K
17th June 2008

Nicer than Alan Partridge
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.

JohnA
Greater London
14th June 2008

Brilliant parts, lots of filler...
The first episode is excellent, so is half of the second one

I goes downhill thereafter, with only a few peaks.

Shame.

mabwest
London, England
20th March 2008

Better than expected.
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!

Reader
U. S. A.
7th March 2008

Another stand-out from Steve Coogan
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.

DL Productions UK
Merseyside, UK
9th January 2008

Saxonstunning!
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.