Rhys Thomas

Rhys Thomas reviews 2019 in his usual inimitable way

Spandau Ballet global superstars Gary and Martin Kemp, their lives, and their careers.

7/10

This film delves into the writing, rehearsing and recording of the seminal 1996 album Everything Must Go. Released at the height of Britpop, the album was a critical and commercial success however, it was also produced under intense emotional pressure in the wake of the disappearance of the band’s lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards.

To mark the 40th anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody, this documentary digs deep into archive to tell the story of Queen as it follows their journey from a struggling band gigging at pubs and colleges to the moment they captured the UK's hearts and minds with what was to become one of - if not the - greatest song of all time. Queen's formative years have never been explored in such detail. With a wealth of unseen interviews, recently unearthed rushes of Queen's first ever video and outtakes from the recording sessions of Bohemian Rhapsody itself, this is the unique story of early Queen, told by the band themselves. This documentary completes the final part of the trilogy alongside Days of Our Lives and Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender. It's simple. It's real. It's raw. It's what happened.

7/10

As part of the BBC2 50th anniversary celebrations comedians Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse were commissioned to produce this spoof history of the channel. It parodies the channel, its content and the history documentary.

8.2/10

A star studded special written and directed by Peter Davison. With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who about to film, the 'Classic' Doctors are keen to be involved. But do they manage it?

8.6/10

Archive footage of interviews, concerts and personal material bring to light the solo performance work of Mercury, the lead singer of Queen.

7.6/10

Sirens is a British comedy-drama about an ambulance service team

8.1/10

In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.

8.5/10

One-off comedy special. On the mean streets of Vange in Essex, naive police community support officer Len is the victim of a cruel hoax perpetrated by 'proper copper' PC Preston. Meanwhile, there have been a series of bizarre thefts at the station and PCSO Kelly thinks she knows who is responsible. Fellow 'plastic policeman' Perry doesn't know who to help - Len, Kelly or retiring colleague Chester.

7.8/10

A documentary film crew follows the first carbon neutral, organic, vegetarian expedition ever to attempt the North Pole. Simultaneously Saving the Planet and getting into the Guinness Book of Records Brian and Mark hope to kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, they have never done anything like this before.

5.8/10
6.2%

The Wall was a British comedy television programme presented by Alexa Chung and Rhys Thomas. The programme was produced by Zeppotron for BBC Three and premiered on the channel on 8 April 2008. The programme featured a regular cast of Lucy Montgomery, We Are Klang, Simon Brodkin and Jamie Glassman who performed comedy sketches, interviews and music and were joined each week by celebrity guests. At the heart of the programme was a large video wall on which viewers could rate sketches and make suggestions. The show was named the "Worst British TV Panel Show/Satire of 2008" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards.

Blunder was a Channel 4 comedy sketch series shown in the UK on E4 and repeated on Channel 4. No announcement of a second series has been made.

4.7/10

Popetown is a controversial animated sitcom, billed by its producers as "Father Ted meets South Park", following the doodles and scribblings of a student at school during a lesson. His drawings depict the life of Father Nicholas, who lives in a Vatican City parody referred to as "Popetown". He is charged with being the handler for the Pope who is a complete nincompoop with the emotional and mental maturity of a four-year-old. Father Nicholas must keep the Pope out of trouble, and make sure the general public does not find out that the Holy Father is a drooling idiot. Other characters include a priest who is a sexual deviant, and a trio of corrupt cardinals who secretly run Popetown and attempt to get rich behind the Pope's back. These and other elements caused the show to be extremely controversial.

5/10

Tittybangbang is a female-led television sketch comedy, performed by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, which ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their company Pett Productions.

4.7/10

Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Charlie Condou and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4. Described by his creator as a "meaningless strutting cadaver-in-waiting", the character originated on Brooker's TVGoHome – a website parodying television listings – as the focus of a fly-on-the-wall documentary called Cunt.

8/10

Fun at the Funeral Parlour was a comedy series broadcast on BBC Choice for two series in 2001 and 2002. It was set in a Welsh funeral directors called "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas and Thomas". The series was written by Rhys Thomas, who also starred alongside William Thomas, Alex Lowe and Tony Way. Thomas created the show at the age of 20, after contributing to The Fast Show.

7.7/10

Bang Bang - It's Reeves and Mortimer continues the anarchic and surreal blend of offbeat comedy that has made the duo so popular. The series is arguably a continuation of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, although a number of new characters were added. There's also a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary about Baron's Night Club – a clear precursor to Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights . The high-voiced Stott brothers--who appeared in Vic Reeves Big Night Out --return to terrorise celebrities. The show capitalised on the duo's success with the spoof game show Shooting Stars and brought in a darker edge to their humour.

7.8/10

Fast Show Live 1998

8.5/10

The Fast Show is a multi BAFTA award winning sketch comedy show written and produced by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.

8.2/10

One of the world's biggest bands return to the scene of their Live Aid (1985) triumph a year earlier to play all their greatest hits in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.

9.1/10