Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Frances de la Tour, Iwan Rheon, Marcia Warren, Philip Voss.

The new I.T.V. comedy Vicious has two very big surprises attached to it. The first is that it must have been a hell of meeting when they announced that two of the biggest names of British theatre were to be cast in the lead roles and secondly that it was actually enjoyable. I.T.V. may be on top when it comes to excellent drama, the channel really having pulled out all the stops in its determination to be considered to be the natural home of the thriller and dramatic story line but its comedy has not been that well received.

By casting Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi in the roles of Freddie Thornhill and Stuart Bixby, two loving people in a committed relationship but which is full of digs and barbed references, I.T.V. and the programme makers have now raised the bar on their comedy output. The third surprise perhaps is that it has taken so long for a comedy which features two gay men to be made in the U.K. It worked in conservative America in the excellent programme Will and Grace but until now it has seemed like a no-no. Perhaps it took the grace and power of the two theatre legends to make it happen.

Old friends in real life as well as on the screen makes the cutting remarks in their flat, in private in which Derek Jacobi amused greatly with his slightly over the top rendition of Stuart and in front of their friends which included the brilliant vamp and man eater Frances de la Tour, all the more entertaining.

There always seems to be a golden era for British comedy, something that is defined by each generation. For every Hancock’s Half Hour or Steptoe and Son episode that thrilled audiences in the 60s, current younger viewers would perhaps not get the subtly of the Birmingham comedian’s performances and prefer programmes that would leave the elder generation baffled and claiming it to be unfunny and a waste of money. Horses for courses it may be but maybe Vicious could bridge a gap that has become a yawning chasm.

Ian D. Hall