Human Remains

"Human Remains" (2000) was a BBC television comedy series consisting of six episodes written by and starring Rob Brydon (from Marion and Geoff) and Julia Davis (who later found fame in "Nighty Night"). Each edition documented the relationship of a different couple, all of whom were played by Brydon and Davis and all but two of whom were monumentally unhappy, in the style of a fly on the wall documentary. The series ran to critical acclaim, and was perhaps one of the first British television shows to employ the mockumentary approach as far as comedy was concerned.

A black comedy, much of the show’s humour derived from considerably bleak ideas and situations. Domestic violence, death, depression and several forms of disability all feature prominently throughout the six episodes, with similar ideas later on arising in Julia Davis’ solo project Nighty Night.

Episodes

*"An English Squeak":The apparently bucolic aristo-existence of Peter and Flick is shadowed by an ailment on her part that makes physical intimacy impossible. Still reeling from the death of her true love Geoffrey, Flick has little time for the downtrodden, childish and possibly mentally handicapped Peter. However, he waits on his reluctant wife hand and foot, nursing her through her struggle with an imaginary illness which, in Flick's own words, means "penile accommodation is impossible". Flick rarely acknowledges this compassion and is more than happy to bury him in the pet cemetery when his time to leave this world comes.

*"Slither In":"Ignorance is bliss, that to me is the beauty of a coma". B&B owners Gordon and Sheila fit their swinging lifestyle alongside looking after Sheila's bedridden sister. Despite a relatively happy marriage Sheila isn't attracted to Gordon, describing the first time she saw him naked as "like a road accident. Shocking, but you can't help looking!"Uneasy at the thought of eventually losing her sister Val, Sheila doesn't know how to handle it. But as Gordon reminds her, Val's death will be blessing, as they can expand their swinging room into the bedroom currently occupied by coma patient Val.

*"All Over My Glasses":Michelle and Stephen are planning their wedding day. The first dance is R-Kelly's "Bump and Grind" and there's five boxes of Doritos for the reception. The more than a little "simple" Michelle seems oblivious to abusive yob Stephen's latent homosexual tendencies, perhaps more preoccupied with her unhealthy obsession with the late Princess Diana. In fact, Michelle is so obsessed that on the night of Diana's death she drove down to the local underpass to "feel how she must have felt". Stephen was in the driver's seat "rightly or wrongly, speeding like a maniac" and her Uncle Roy was Mr. Dodi, "Laughing and swearing and that".

*"Straight As A Flute":When not making curly sausage casseroles for the vicar, Beverly and Tony survey their neighbour's Satan-inspired garden and tell of life under the full gaze of the lord. They do have other ways of keeping busy though, to the detriment of Tony's heart. Whilst he isn't conducting bizarre demonstrations at his workplace and Beverly isn't dabbling in a bit of hair and beauty, they can be found attending to their dogs or indulging in Scottish country dancing. The pair also run "top up" meetings for their fellow church goers. As Beverly puts it "If Church is your vaccination against Satan, these meetings are your boosters".

*"Hairless":"My songs are like my children", says singer Fonte. "Yet they're also like my parents, or a special uncle who is particularly friendly at Christmas time". Fonte Bund seems to have no reservation at all about passing off the work of Alanis Morrisette as her own, and is often casting aside her more creative musical partner Barne when it comes to singing - now opting to double up with her crippled lesbian pal Susan on stage. After the events of this episode, Fonte is left devastated after Susan's death. But, as Barne puts it; "If you've got an electric wheelchair and a cliffside bungalow, you're asking for trouble, and that's what she got!"

*"More Than Happy":Coastal shopkeeper Les's optimism has carried him and wife Ray through eight traumatic married years, which includes the loss of their children and subsequent suspicion that they were somehow involved. Whilst the two of them try and eke out a living by diversifying their trade, Ray seems to be getting ever more depressed by the loneliness, financial worries and the devastating events of the past. Her fleeting solace comes from an interest in arts and crafts (although she's clearly no Picasso) and a rather painful form of sexual relief. Les comments, "You hear of people who have all sorts of sexual hang-ups...and I'm one of them".

*"The Fonte Bund Band Live": Follow Fonte and Barne as they try and make a good impression as a support act at a real life music event. Will Fonte's flirting and sugarey compliments help their chances of securing a place on the tour bus? Or will creative differences as well as Fonte's total hatred of Barne put a spanner in the works?(Although in many respects a seventh episode, this special that was released as an extra on the DVD was never classed as part of the series as a whole, and differs slightly in terms of writing and visual style to the televised episodes)

Writing and Production

The series was written by Julia Davis and Rob Brydon, who were so sure of a commission they wrote all six episodes before finalising the deal). They wrote it in a flat in the same building complex which once housed the late Kenneth Williams. It was directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Alison Mcphail. Executive producers were Henry Normal and Steve Coogan.

After creating the concept for the series, Julia Davis and Rob Brydon set about developing the material for the six episodes. Avoiding more conventional methods of writing the scripts, the pair instead opted to record themselves on camera and in character, to develop their various characters and written material. These recordings were then later on used as the basis for the written scripts.

Some of this recorded material is included on the DVD release of the series.

DVD

The DVD contains the following extras:

*Commentary with Rob Brydon and Julia Davis
*Fonte Bund Band Live - following Fonte and Barne on tour
*Multi-Angle option to view original character improvisations
*Deleted Scenes
*Outtakes
*Make Up and Wardrobe Tests
*Three BBC Trailers
*Photo Gallery
*Les's Songs