Lead Balloon: Series 4 (2011)

basics...
The final series of Lead Balloon, following hapless, failed comic Rick Spleen (Jack Dee) as he tries his hand on a television shopping channel, before being taken hostage by a prisoner (Robbie Coltrane) and possibly turning over a new leaf...

brilliant...
The undoubted highlight of this series was the Dee-Coltrane two-hander in the prison in episode 5, where Coltrane's angry yet articulate drug dealer tries to find out why exactly Rick lies all the time. Rick admits it's because he likes the life he lives in the stories more than real life. It's quite a touching moment and you hope that Rick will take something from the experience... and then he's back to his usual self, lying about how he overpowered his captor to escape when he actually bored him to sleep and crept out quietly. Anna Crilly as Magda is the best thing in every other episode of Lead Balloon, just one look from her and I'm creased up, and her East European delivery is utterly hilarious. I've enjoyed how cafe-owner Michael (Tony Gardner) has turned from fan to critic of Rick's 'comedy career' this series, it's made him a more interesting, and funnier, character.

but...
In some ways I'm glad that this is the final series, as the first few episodes became a bit predictable and formulaic, and you could see what lies Rick would tell and how he'd be caught out a mile off. Sometimes Rick has a tendancy to come off as just an arse, rather than a pompous buffoon in the vein of Basil Fawlty or Blackadder. And as much as I like Raquel Cassidy, it continues to baffle me as to what her Mel sees in Rick. While Dee is a funny guy, with his dour schtick, he can occasionally turn Rick into an unlikable character both for the viewer and for the other characters.

briefly...
Without the Coltrane cameo this would have been a pretty average send off for Lead Balloon, with it the series picked up pace and offered Rick motivation for his lies, and then offered redemption. Before snatching it away in the final seconds of the series, as Rick punches an 85 year old woman in the face.