It's the nature of the beast that with the best sitcoms, from Steptoe & Son to The Office, that as hard as the characters try things never change. And so it is with the second series of This Country, the inspired mockumentary following the antics of Cotswold cousins Kurtan and Kerry Mucklowe, played by Charlie and Daisy May Cooper, who also write the series.
The first episode picks up very much where series one left off. Nothing much ever happens in their village. Kerry says we've missed a lot though, such as the duck race, so I guess you'll have to imagine the thrill of that. Meanwhile the last series ended with Kurtan failing to make the big leap and take up his place at college, so he is now back to drifting aimlessly and hanging around the village playground. At least he has a new girlfriend, Sophie, to hang around with, although that doesn't seem destined to last very long.
Kerry meanwhile, is trying to turn her life around by doing random acts of kindness, but is not having much success. Giving her Playstation to her mate Slugs rebounds on her and when she tells the vicar "I'm not getting great feedback from it," he has to explain that that's not the point and that there is a difference between "selfishly" and "selflessly".
The highlight in the village social calender is the Secret Cinema night although it doesn't seem that secret seeing as it is advertised in advance as Grease. Don't expect a cameo from John Travolta though. It's a pretty grim affair all round and in the middle of it Kurtan and Sophie have a bust-up. As with all events in This Country it's not played out as a major drama though, just something that happens in a corridor by the stairs.
The comedy here is very much in the margins. In a look or an aside. It's interesting to compare Kerry and Kurtan to the young couple in Mum, Kelly and Jason. None of them are ever going to be knocking on MENSA's door but while Kelly and Jason boil my piss there is something distinctly lovable about Kerry and Kurtan. They might be idiots but they are totally relatable idiots.
Available here, Mondays at 10am, BBC Three.
