This could have been awful. Comedienne Miranda Hart plays Miranda, a tall, ungainly 30-something singleton with a nervous tendency to burst into song during moments of stress. Running a joke shop with her petite friend Stevie (Hadland), Miranda is plagued by her interfering mother Penny (Hodge) whose only aim in life seems to be to secure her daughter both a husband and a proper job. In fact, Mirandas perfect man soon appears right under her nose when chef Gary (Ellis) starts work in a local restaurant.
Miranda thus has all the ingredients for the most formulaic sitcom on Earth: a studio audience, a single woman with an interfering mother, a joke shop (?) and a will they/wont they potential romance. The closing title sequence even emulates the You Have Been Watching format of old classics like Dads Army with each actor smiling and waving to the camera.
But guess what? It works. Miranda Hart, previously best known for small roles trading on her height in comedies like Hyperdrive is a consistently winning and charming presence with a real gift for physical comedy, a gift somewhat wasted in the shows previous incarnation as a radio sitcom. She even pulls off the risky tactic of delivering occasional asides directly to the audience. Whether privately entertaining herself by deliberately setting off hand driers in the loo, botching up a job interview or trying and failing to cancel her gym membership, she is hard not to like. Although to be fair, if you dont like her, youre unlikely to enjoy the show.
The supporting cast too particularly veteran Patricia Hodge are excellent. The extras include Introducing The Cast essentially footage of Miranda warming up the crow d before filming (perhaps partly aimed at proving this was filmed before a real audience). Theres also a good natured set tour led by Miranda again, some pointless behind the scenes footage and some good outtakes.
Be warned: this does conform to the golden rule of sitcoms in having a weakish first episode. But overall this is that rare treat: a genuinely funny new British sitcom. Hopefully, Series 2 will live up to the same standard.
Overall Verdict: Ultra-conventional but also genuinely funny, truly a sitcom with Hart.
Special Features:
Introducing The Cast Featurette
Set Tour With Miranda
Behind The Scenes Featurette
Outtakes
Reviewer: Chris Hallam