Unparalleled

In the Autumn of 2002 I worked in a number of places and didn't enjoy any of them. First there was a day of backbreaking toil, loading crates of relief aid to the Phillipines (memorable moment - the sub 5' hunchback that looked and talked like an East Anglian Kurt Russell). Then there was the month working at a grain mill, where I was stuck between the rival factions of truck drivers (who were really cool and great to chat to) and one of my colleagues who was openly loathed for being a complete twat (memorable moment - Malcolm "Andre" Flatman, the rosy-cheeked farmer who always spoke like the singing policeman and looks like a monkey's arse, and was the Twat's nemesis). Then came the boiler company, which lasted for a very painful 2 months (memorable moment - when the empty-headed girlygirls that sat around me got into a tearful scrap over their dresses for the Christmas Party).

Despite my being a mixture of miserable and utterly frustrated at this time, it so happened that there was a bit of a comedy renaissance going on. I'm Alan Partrige series 2 began, The League of Gentlemen series 3 began, Phoenix Nights series 2 began and The Office series 2 began. All sequels of a sort, and incredibly, all were great. Even more incredible was the fact that these four superb series were on in a 2-3 month period. To my knowledge such a thing hasn't happened before - all the great comedies of the past were separated by years. A past equivalent would have been something along the lines of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, Porridge and Morcambe and Wise all on at the same time, which of course was impossible.

Will it ever happen again? Maybe, but not for a generation at least...