4 pages of TV listings
FOLD-UP Brompton bikes are lined up harmoniously next to each other as the staff arrive at BBC Broadcasting House for another day at work.
This hilarious mockumentary is back, and we couldn’t be happier – from the long convoluted discussions that no one understands, to the blue-sky thinking and inexplicable lingo, it’s a joy to watch.
The endless absurd meetings are the best thing about this comedy, back for a third series.
Hugh Bonneville returns as Head of Values Ian Fletcher, hindered as always by various colleagues played by Sarah Parish, Nina Sosanya, Jessica Hynes, Jason Watkins, Ophelia Lovibond and Hugh Skinner.
It’s the year of Charter Renewal, a critical time for the BBC, and the Way Ahead group are discussing important issues.
Director of Better, Anna Rampton (Parish), explains: “The fact is, this is about us identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better.”
David Tennant’s deadpan voiceover asks if this is an “opportunity to question everything they do and ask the question whether there’s any point to any of it at all any more”.
Every time anyone says anything, there’s a cacophony of consensus: “Yes, exactly, yes. Brilliant.”
There’s also that guy who repeatedly fist bumps the air and says “Hurrah”. Everyone knows someone like that.
The first crisis of the day must be dealt with – a Premier League footballer has accused the BBC of rejecting him as a pundit on Match of the Day because he’s a cross-dresser. The fact is he was just useless.
Somewhere else in the building, the useless PRs of Perfect Curve have been taken over by external agency Fun Media, who like to hold spontaneous silent discos and want to use emojis to illustrate the news.
As “assistant of some kind” Will would say: “Yeah, cool.”