REVIEW: Hapless, Series 1 Episode Two 'The Juicer'

 REVIEW: Hapless, Series 1 Episode Two 'The Juicer'

Undoubtedly the most frustrating thing about Channel 5's handling of this series is the incorrect episode order that they have oddly decided to implement within their catch-up service. I thought, with The Juicer, that I had found the first episode of this show - but one quick Google, and it seems not. Because no, apparently this was the second episode of the series, and the first episode was called 'Playing With Fire'.

Which seems odd, as this feels like an introductory episode of the show. It does a solid job at establishing the characters and their quirks, and by the end of the episode it feels like we have a much firmer grasp on the status quo than the instalment My5 have listed as their first episode - 'The Keycutter And The Vegan'.

We start with our highly opinionated Jewish Enquirer newspaper reporter Paul (Tim Downie) performing a taste test with his Dad Ronnie (Geoffrey McGivern). This is a really fun scene between the two characters that demonstrates Geoffrey McGivern's comedic talents. He is brilliant in the role of Paul's Dad, and provides a few memorable moments throughout the episode. We also get a hilarious call-back at the end of this instalment to the opening scene, with Paul secretly feeding his blindfolded Dad a condom, and the way his Dad spits it straight out is comedic gold.

Paul's sister Naomi (Lucy Montgomery) introduces one of the main plots of this episode, as she informs our characters of her meeting with the juicer spiritualist (played by Freya Parker), who told her that her late Granddad said Ronnie will die on his cruise holiday. This forms a really funny narrative threaded throughout the episode, that ends with the reveal that the so-called 'spiritualist' is in fact a fraudster, and her 'special juice' is simply shop-bought Tropicana.

What is really clever is how this is threaded throughout the episode's runtime, as the B plot regarding a fancy dress party comes into play. Paul's friend Simon (Josh Howe) invites Paul along to the party, where another guest Matilda (Sophie Colquhoun) - who, in a very neat nod to Harry Potter, is dressed as Hermione - has met with the same juicer spiritualist, who told her she would meet a man in a white collar, who Paul earlier met and borrowed the vicar robes from for the fancy dress, a vicar (played by Hugo Nicholson) who then ends up with Matilda, meaning the prediction comes true - or does it? Because it could also refer to Paul, who was, after all, wearing his clothes as a form of cosplay. It all just feels so natural and seamless.

Overall this was a stronger episode than My5's first episode, providing an instalment that naturally brings together its strands into a smooth conclusion. It's just annoying that My5 presents these episodes out of order, making it very hard to watch this series in the sequence originally intended.

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