There hasn't been a huge fanfare to mark the return of Badults for a second series, which is maybe understandable. The first series had mixed reviews, so maybe BBC3 wants this run to grow via word-of-mouth. I’m not about to stick my neck out and say that the first episode is going to convert any doubters, but it most definitely should put to bed any erroneous suggestions previously bandied about on social media that Badults is down there with Mrs Brown’s Boys and The Wright Way.
Once again Matthew, Ben and Tom – aka extremely likeable sketch trio Pappy’s, Matthew Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry – are living together in barely controlled chaos and getting into scarcely believable scrapes. In a topical opening caper, they want to watch England playing in the World Cup, but for reasons too ludicrous to mention, they can’t watch it at home. What follows is a frantic race-against-the-whistle chase to catch the match in various locations, while following various sports-related superstitions.
The plot feels like a nod to the famous Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads? soccer episode No Hiding Place, but once again as wth the first series, the main influence here seems to be The Young Ones (though in a new interview with BTJ, they say that Mayall and Edmondson’s Bottom was more significant). Logic is flung out of the window at an early stage to the extent that the unpredictable almost becomes predictable. Flaxen-haired soccer pundit Robbie Savage has a nifty cameo and the fantasy sequences work well – fellow sketchers Max & Ivan crop up as human table footballers. And there is one very clever meta-comedy moment, when a joke that fails to fly is dissected. It’s a risky tactic though, because for a lot of viewers a lot of gags may fail to take off.
At the same time, other gags are a little beneath this smart, hip trio. It has become a trope of comedy that one cannot mention computers without referring to internet porn and, sure enough, before you can say "clear history" there’s a quip here on that subject.
I’ve seen Pappy’s gigging a number of times over the years in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, where they have built up an almost fanatical following for immaculately structured shows which have been a brilliant mix of the daft and post-modern. Somehow though, they seem to lose something in the translation to television (compare with Cardinal Burns, who seem to have gained something on the box, maybe because their style is so filmic, less stagey). I certainly still find Pappy's very funny, but whereas onstage the childishness is knowing, on television if you were unaware of their history you might think that you were watching a children’s programme that had been badly scheduled (that internet porn gag is virtually the only thing that justifies the post-bedtime slot).
As I was saying, The Young Ones casts a big shadow, but at times so does Crackerjack. I hope people stick with Badults. It may not be the best sitcom on television, but it is a very, very long way from being the worst. And the nice thing about it not being perfect is that there is plenty of scope for it to get better.
Badults, Mondays, BBC3, 10pm.
