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SunTrap – there’s a reason this is on at 10.45pm. Most people have gone to bed, so they’ll be able to easily avoid it.
I had to learn from the description online, that Kayvan Novak‘s character, Woody, is an undercover reporter on the run after uncovering a plot which goes right to the heart of the British establishment. And there was me thinking the whole show was just an exercise for him to frequently dress up (slightly) and put on a succession of dodgy accents that we experienced almost ten years ago in Fonejacker when, for on hearing them the first time, they were funny. Many times later, they’re not funny fat all.
He’s partnered opposite the outwardly racist Brutus (Bradley Walsh, normally asking ridiculous questions at 5pm daily on The Chase, where the contestants compete against smug know-it-alls), who thinks nothing of calling every barman he ever hires “Zorro” because he can’t be bothered to learn their real name.
He rarely manages to get a word in edgeways, however, because Woody is fast-talking, but while he thinks he’s as clever as Leslie Nielsen was in Police Squad and the Naked Gun films, his delivery is more flat than a steamrollered pancake. Novak also attempted to break the fourth wall on a plane with a knowing look to the camera where the stewardess fingered him for having a number of passports in his (or various) names, so how he actually got from the UK to the sun-kissed location of godknowswhere is anyone’s guess.
And as for Jack Dee, he just turned up to collect the cheque, as vet Mr Hewitt.
Then enter Donald Hammer, the equivalent of Bernie Madoff, living in exile after robbing everyone of their pensions, but his biggest issue is that his parrot has been stolen. I had to also learn from the billing that the parrot’s reason d’etre in this episode is that only it knows the location of Donald’s missing millions. Yes, you’re rushing to watch this on iPlayer already, aren’t you!
SunTrap has a plot that’s as perfunctory and flimsy as a number of Sticklebricks stuck together end-to-end.
Overall, this ‘comedy’ was as lame as an animal that’s been shot in all four legs. The only time I had a slight chuckle was when Woody signed off to a taxi driver, pretending to be a Russian doctor when he ended the long succession of words with “Goodbye in Russian!” Oh, and there was also Emma Pierson as Donald’s hot girlfriend Melody. I don’t know what it is about her – she’s hot, but aside from Dead Boss and Guest House Paradiso, everything she’s been in has been an absolute stinker.
SunTrap continues next Wednesday on BBC1 at 10.45pm, and click on the top image for the full-size version.
Score: 1/10
Director: Ben Palmer
Producer: Neil Webster
Writer: Neil Webster, Charlie Skelton
Cast:
Woody: Kayvan Novak
Brutus: Bradley Walsh
Melody: Emma Pierson
Zorro: Jamie Demetriou
Donald Hammer: Alan Williams
Taxi Driver: Danny Babington
Susie: Klariza Clayton
Mr Hewitt: Jack Dee
Ralph: Scott Hazell
Air Stewardess: Catriona Knox
Barbara: Marian McLoughlin
Lorenza: Diana Payan
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.