Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
Cast: Sarah Parish, Mark Heap, Rebecca Humphries, Ukweli Roach, Ricky Champ, Jamie Bisping, Callie Cooke, Halema Hussain, Sukh Ojla, Sam Pote, Abdul Sessay, Colin McFarlane, Kiruna Stamell, Dar Dash, Rachel Lin, Nicholas A. Newman, Kashif Ghole, Dillion Scott-Lewis, Phillipa Peak, Nick Bartlett, Paul Thornley, Stevee Davies, Ray Strasser King, Tom Andrews, Dillon Scott-Lewis.
Comedy is subjective, it is more complex to write than a tragedy, more involved than an action film, and barely in the same room as that which can classify as a romance; and yet there are those who think that every scenario can be unfurled and given the tag of being funny, of bringing the family together and having a laugh at a group of people to whom we secretly identify with, feel their pain and suffering, and share that which binds us all, seeing the ridiculousness in humanity and the pricking of pomposity as we kick upwards in society.
Piglets is surely, arguably, undeniably one of the worst comedies to have had its prime time showing on I.T.V. None of those redeemable features of the genre are on display, and despite having some excellent acting quality from the fraternity, namely Mark Heap and Sarah Parish, and wonderful newcomers such as Ukweli Roach, Callie Cooke, and Sam Pote within its ranks, the sheer mass of characters does the much vaunted venture a disservice from the start as the audience does not have a central figure to place their trust in; and from there everything falls to pieces in a way that should not visible, should not be entertained.
The best of comedies grow with the cast as they become comfortable with the parts they come to inhabit, there is a sense of camaraderie between the viewer and the actor, their mistakes, their victories become celebrated as a simple phrase once uttered takes on the national mood; Piglets has nothing, it has a rare moment of ingenuity but it comes across once perhaps every other episode and then suddenly dropped as if the script suddenly cannot handle the possibility of someone daring to laugh honestly.
In a period of time when we need groundbreaking comedy, or even gentle certainty, Piglets brings nothing to table of note, it is an undesirable mess that shows no signs of improvement should it get a second series. Unfunny, predictable, beyond dull; an afront to the great British comedies of the past.
Ian D. Hall