Little Britain - The Complete Second Series
Little Britain: The Complete Second Seriesfurthers David Williams and Matt Lucas's often-inspired, wickedly funny explorations of life in the British Isles. The six episodes found in this two-disc set hammer mercilessly and usually hilariously on a handful of recurring sketch ideas, with the occasional one-off experiment thrown in for good measure. Among the best bits is a running "Fat Fighters" storyline, in which Lucas (who, along with Williams, plays women perhaps better than any other British comedian in television history) portrays the horribly demoralizing leader of a weight-loss franchise, ridiculing her clients, sabotaging their relationships, and broadly hinting that one woman who won a lottery should share her earnings. Williams is at the center of a pair of savagely satiric storylines (with chapters in each episode), one in which he plays a flamboyantly gay, very uncivil servant assisting Britain's prime minister (Anthony Head), and a more shocking narrative of an upper-class, groom-to-be whose poor fiancee watches him demand "bitty" from his mother--"bitty" being code for breastfeeding. Meanwhile, Lucas is wonderful as a young homosexual who insists he's the only gay in his small town in the English countryside, despite much evidence (including the presence of a gay vicar and his leather-clad lover) to the contrary. There's much more, and all snarkily narrated by actor Tom Baker, known to many as the fourth incarnation of Dr. Who. Williams and Lucas's commentary track for each episode is a kick, too.--Tom Keogh