Carrie’s last stand
CARRIE Fisher steals every scene in one of her last ever acting performances, in this poignant series finale dedicated to her memory.
Star Wars actress Carrie died aged 60 of a cardiac arrest in December, just days after finishing filming this comedy in London.
And it’s a bitter irony that her scenes here involve attending the funeral of Sharon’s dad, who has died of a stroke.
Naturally, Carrie’s character, Rob’s utterly irrepressible and brash American mum Mia, has her own version of paying her respects.
This involves reassuring Sharon’s mum Carol that she’s “still got it”, and planning some serious jumper shopping. She’s heard the jumpers are good in Ireland.
It’s a fantastic comedy turn by the inimitable Carrie, and you should lap it up as her final role (barring only the posthumous release later this year of Star Wars: The Last Jedi).
When she died, Catastrophe writers Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan (who play couple Rob and Sharon) spoke about the part Carrie played in their show.
“She was the only cast member Sharon and I would let improvise,” says Rob.
“We’re a bit despotic and inflexible with our dialogue because we’re insane, but Carrie was more insane and would always, always make it funnier and better.” Later in this episode, the Oprahwatching and Amazon-ordering junkie Mia decides to stay with Rob and Sharon for a while – much to Sharon’s horror. There are high levels of emotion – and alcohol consumption – for Fran (Ashley Jensen), who is traumatised that Doug has dumped her. And Rob is still trying to find the right moment to tell Sharon that he has fallen off the wagon. All roads lead to a dramatic conclusion. Thank goodness there’s another series in the works, that’s all I’m saying.