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King Gary is one of those sitcoms where a TV channel has a star for which they want to find the perfect vehicle, and so they come up with any old tired cliche to see if they’re a matching fit. Hence, Tom Davis as King Gary, or most likely, ‘king Gary was the original intention, given how he gets on everyone’s nerves.
Oh, but really, his name is Gary King… yes, this just writes itself! In fact, that might’ve actually been better.
He’s a man who thinks he’s God’s Gift to the world, as noted with his chavvy ‘tramp stamp’ tattoo “Imortal” (including the typo)
We’re meant to be impressed that he’s made to look like he has a crown on his head as a barman walks past him at the pool with three pints of lager, stopping at the same point as the title appears (see above).
Clearly this is a pilot shoved in at Christmas time in a bid that they hope viewers are too drunk to realise how bad it is as he fusses about a pointless BBQ and the game of oneupmanship with neighbour Stuart (Romesh Ranganathan), who also plans to have one on the same day.
Yes, Romesh Ranganathan. For some reason, the BBC also have a hard-on about him, trying to push him to the fore, when he really should’ve been left at the three. It’s like the BBC were looking to fill a quota for someone both of Tamil descent and having a dodgy eye, regardless of any noticeable talent.
Clearly, Simon Day and Camille Coduri – as Gary’s parents, had a spare day in their diary to film this… or perhaps, a spare two hours.
Meanwhile, his wife, Terri (Laura Checkley) gets caught up in a discussion with the ‘Kelly Taylor’ of her group, Chloe Ferdinando (Miranda Hennessy), about micro-blading – a semi-permanent eyebrow tattoo, which seems to what old women and strange people are into. Given that she wants to impress Chloe, how well do you think it’ll go?
If King Gary had been made in the ’80s, and dropped the occasional f-words, it could’ve double-billed with Terry and June, and probably would’ve run for several series. Coming to our screens 30 years later, hopefully, this ‘comedy’ will die a quick and painful death.
In fact, it’s clearly so bad that they didn’t even see fit to release a trailer for it… but there is a clip, below.
King Gary will not be released on Blu-ray or DVD, and you can watch this (if you so desire) on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days after transmission.
Score: 0/10
Director: James De Frond
Producer: Rupert Majendie
Writers: Tom Davis, James De Frond
Cast:
Gary King: Tom Davis
Terri King: Laura Checkley
Teddy King: Riley Burgin
Chloe Ferdinando: Miranda Hennessy
Darren Ferdinando: Osi Okerafor
Denise King: Camille Coduri
Big Gary King: Simon Day
Stuart Williams: Romesh Ranganathan
Winkle: Neil Maskell
John the Butcher: Jay Simpson
Mr Bounce: Donovan Blackwood
Mrs Watson: Ninette Finch
Portaloo Man: Paul Pariser
Waltzer Man: Daniel Copeland
Police Officer: Shaq B Grant
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.