L'amour du Jour

I like nothing better in life than to settle in on a Friday night with a glass of wine, some snackables and something decent lined up for my viewing pleasure.  Not very rock n roll I know, but then I have never pretended to be any other way.  At least not since my early twenties.

As time has gone on I have grown to appreciate the art of the television series.  As I have discovered over the years, for someone with  a very short attention span, a good television series is perfect for holding the attention in palatable portions, avoiding the risk of investing 2 hours in a film that may slowly rot the mind.  

My time is too precious to fill with the average.  I have my favourite films which hold a special place in my heart and I tend not to risk new ones unless I am sure they will reward me (or unless it's a recommendation from someone who knows me very well)

One of my favourite television writers is David Renwick.  Best known for creating the characters of serial grouch Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave and magician's assistant unwittingly turned 'supersleuth' Jonathan Creek, one of my favourite shows of all time (think Midsomer Murders directed by David Lynch) 

 

Step forward Love Soup.  One of the less well known of Renwick's creations.  A comedy/drama which ran for 2 series between 2005 and 2007.

 Our protagonist is Alice played by the brilliant Tamsin Greig

Alice undertakes a soul destroying 2 hour commute every day from Brighton to London where she manages a small perfume concession in a large department store.  Outside of this rather mundane normality, she navigates her way through a myriad of whimsical and surreal encounters with TV producers, actors, writers, businessman, necrophiliac playwrights, political activists and generally some of society's most interesting and non conventional characters. 

In Series 1 we also meet Gil

He is an American comedy writer who's many hang ups often render him catatonic with anxiety and self doubt.

He is Alice's soulmate, but, will they ever meet?
 

Of course not!  This isn't Notting Hill!
 

The recurring themes in Renwick's work are social awkwardness, the insanity of the world around us, the darker recesses of the human mind, the vacuous nature of showbusiness and celebrity and the fantastical within the mundane.

  There are also clear literary and cinematic themes running through nearly every episode.   The story of the week will often unfold in parallel with a Samuel Becket play, a poem by Edgar Allan Poe or the plot of a Marx Brothers film.

 And, just when the landscapes of leafy Victorian terraces, trendy wine bars and theatres start seeming a little too cosy, Renwick will throw you a curveball in the form of a killer ventriloquist dummy, a random suicide or Ronnie Corbett in drag. 

 

A touch of traditional retro glamour is added by Alice's perfume counter colleagues Milly & Cleo (Montserrat Lombard & Sheridan Smith - always good value)

 

 The delicious soundtrack of crackly 1920's jazz and a stellar supporting cast of very familiar faces make this as close to perfection in TV land as is possible to get.

Yep, there is no denying that his work speaks volumes to me.  David Renwick strikes me as the kind of child who would have searched for the Faraway Tree.

Thank you David for sharing your reality with me