"Lazarus & Dingwall" (1991)TV series

Director:

Bob Spiers

Writers:

Kim Fuller (writer)
Victoria Pile (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 February 1991 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Cast

Race Davies

...

Beverly Armitage (6 episodes, 1991)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Very Funny, Little-Seen English Sitcom

I remember this short-lived sitcom very well from when it was first screened in 1991, but I seem to be one of the very few people who saw it or remembers it. The stars of the show - Stephen Frost and Mark Arden - will be most remembered to people of my age group (30-ish) for their series of adverts for Carling Black Label in the mid-80s, though they also regularly appeared in 'The Young Ones' as well as popping up in various episodes of 'Black Adder' and other similar comedy shows of the period. I always found them to be brilliant comedy performers and it's a shame they will never be remembered in the same way as Rik Mayall, Ade Edmonson, Alexei Sayle and their ilk. 'Lazarus & Dingwall' was a silly but often very funny show following the adventures of two bumbling, incompetent police detectives, in a similar vein to the American series 'Police Squad' starring Leslie Nielsen, though it never tried to emulate that show's formula and the cast and script lent it a very English flavour. You probably need a slightly silly sense of humour like myself to fully appreciate the brand of comedy here, and I'm sure it wouldn't be to everyone's tastes, which may be why it sank without trace after one series and has never been seen since. However, anyone who appreciates the humour of 'Black Adder', 'The Young Ones', Alexei Sayle, Reeves & Mortimer, 'Big Train' etc. is sure to love this. Much of the material was very silly and corny, but the writers and cast seemed to acknowledge this, and as with most of the aforementioned shows, it was the performers' brilliantly dead-pan delivery of very silly material that made it work so well. I'm not sure how well it would have stood the test of time, 15 years later, but I'd love to see this show again. It's a shame that this little-seen gem will probably never see the light of day again - a DVD release seems very unlikely. Oh well, maybe I'll see it again one day; I can only live in hope...