REVIEW: Hapless, Series 1 Episode Three 'The Keycutter And The Vegan'

 REVIEW: Hapless, Series 1 Episode Three 'The Key Cutter And The Vegan'

A slow episode of My5's new comedy acquisition.

This show follows the humorous misadventures of Tim Downie, writer for the online newspaper The Jewish Herald, and God does this character seem to be miserable. He seems totally unhappy with every little inconvenience, be it having to give his address to the key cutter so that he can deliver a new pair of keys to his house, or having to attend a driver safety course because he was caught travelling at 33mph in a 30mph zone.

The jokes seemed a little paper thin in this first episode, although I did laugh at Tim's constant paranoia that the key cutter's were going to burgle his home, and the material concerning the vegan's deep upset at Tim killing a fly. The latter had a great pay-off later in the episode when Tim gets his comeuppance during a dramatic catfight which breaks out between the vegan and Tim's sister Naomi.

Tim's friend Simon gets a fun little character moment when he nervously photographs the instructor of the driver safety course eating whilst driving on the road, and the revelation that he's actually Naomi's husband is very satisfying to watch. For some reason, My5 have this listed as the first episode in the series, although one quick Google search tells me that the real first episode is 'Playing With Fire', so that probably explains why this one doesn't take much time to introduce the characters and the world of the protagonist.

It's still a sitcom though, which is hardly one of the most complicated genres to follow, and so it's still easy enough to understand, without having seen the actual first instalment.

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What are your thoughts on Hapless's third episode? Let me know in the comments.