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Henpocalypse Henpocalypse sees a hen do going from bad to worse, as Bernadette (Elizabeth Berrington – The Responder)’s daughter, Zara (Lucie Shorthouse – We Are Lady Parts) is getting married, but first needs to jump out of the car and do a wee in public.
Unfortunately, amongst a slew of bad Brummy impressions, this ridiculous situation leads to the driver (I didn’t care to learn all their names) crashing into a parked car, then taking off, even though it’s illegal to leave the scene of an accident without giving your details. Even worse, there’s a crab virus which is being passed to humans, and about to cause the end of the world. But first, there’s an obvious joke about a police stripogram turning up, just as they’re expecting the law to kick in the door regarding the vehicular issue.
The government are doing nothing as usual, telling them: “Avoid crabs. Stay home. Stay safe.”, mocking the Tory government’s ridiculous podium message during the COVID19 pandemic. – Wow, is that the level of comedy they could manage? Then again, I see Holly Walsh (The Other One) is involved…
Fast-forward to a few days later, and the women are in their house together, needing to head out for supplies. Stripper Drew (Ben McGregor – Steeltown Murders) might by the last man alive – since it kills only men – so they keep him prisoner, causing him to bemoan: “All the great men are dead: Jermey Clarkson, Jordan Peterson, Russell Brand – all the great thinkers.”
Okay, so a slight chuckle there. However, upon considering the rest of the opening two episodes which I watched, when it comes to the budget, more money is spent on school plays than this dross.
And they must’ve wasted some on having TWO directors, which is completely unnecessary for something so unsubstantial.
Still, for all the quips thrown in during Henpocalypse (and only, really, early on), I’m still waiting to laugh beyond that initial chuckle. Everyone just behaves like they’re reading from cue cards, not engaging with the content at all. Sky’s You, Me and the Apocalypse brought us the end of the world so much better.
With Henpocalypse, the only end you want to see is the end credits.
Henpocalypse begins tomorrow night on BBC2 at 10pm, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. On day one, the whole series will be on the BBC iPlayer.
Directors: Jack Clough, Holly Walsh
Writer: Caroline Moran
Cast:
Bernadette: Elizabeth Berrington
Shelly: Callie Cooke
Jen: Kate O’Flynn
Veena: Lauren O’Rourke
Zara: Lucie Shorthouse
Nesbit: Mariam Haque
Drew: Ben McGregor
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.