Perfect World (Sitcom)

infobox television
show_name = Perfect World


caption =
format = Office sitcom
runtime = 30 minutes
creator = Mark Chapman
executive_producer= Danielle Lux
Charles Brand

starring= Paul Kaye
Nina Wadia
Michael Cochrane
Derran Litten

country=UK
location=
network = BBC
first_aired = February 25th, 2000
last_aired = June 25th, 2001
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes = 13
list_episodes = List of Perfect World episodes
imdb_id = 0238796
tv_com_id = 10255

Perfect World is a television show that ran from February 25th, 2000 to June 25th, 2001. It is set around the life of Bob Slay, a marketing executive for a leading toiletries, Bob has a swish office, a bikini-on-a-stick supermodel girlfriend and is well regarded by his manager. All of which is massively surprising, as he is the most obnoxious, lazy, amoral phony to ever put his highly-polished shoes to rest on the office table!

The television show was written by Mark Grant (who would later go on to write Star) and Mark Chapman who was a co-writer for the second series and provided additional material for the first series. Mark Chapman also directed the first series and produced both series a with Nick Wood directing the second. The shows other producer was Lucy Robinson (who produced the first Dennis Pennis installment and played the mayoress in The Thin Blue Line) and had executive producers Danielle Lux (All About Me) and Charles Brand (The Comic Strip Presents...).

Cast

This was Paul Kaye's final appearance as a recurring cast member in a television series as of 30th August 2006 and was Derran Litten's (Vaughn) second recurring television appearance. The television show has been referred to many times as a sitcom that was only made off the success of the Dennis Pennis episodes made for BBC. There is also many connections between Perfect World and The New Statesman.

Quotes/Reviews

Paul Kaye said in an interview regarding the series- "I've never really worked in an office but it was the way I imagined you'd keep sane - I mean an office is sort of like an extended playground, isn't it? So the guy does absolutely no work and the only way he can relieve the tedium is by behaving despicably and I think the whole office would actually be sad if he left because it would suddenly be all very mundane. I mean I'm sure that's the case in a lot of real offices - it's like on reality-TV shows, everyone quite likes the bad guy in the Big Brother house, really."

Tasche de Vasconcelos who plays Lauren in the first series said- "It's a great show, I'm just so proud to have been able to do it. It's brilliantly written". She later went on to describe Paul as "a wonderful actor and co-partner he was so professional".

This is a review of the first episode of series one- "The stylish opening to this new office-centered, six-part situation comedy introduces Bob Slay, the ultimate marketing man. Paul Kaye (well known as spoof interviewer Dennis Pennis), stars as a slick and selfish operator with a saccharine tongue who occasionally justifies his behaviour in asides to the camera. His only real area of vulnerability is his parentage - he was abandoned as a baby. That makes him particularly nervous when he has to meet his gorgeous girlfriend Lauren's parents for the first time. The plotting is quite convoluted in this distinctly adults-only opener, but it has its moments. The best of them involve the marketing director, played by Michael Cochrane as a sex-mad monster who steals all the best lines. Even he confesses to being a little over-eager with Lauren's mother, played by Jan Harvey."

Criticism of Series Two

Series Two didn’t have too many differences to the first series but the small changes it did have caused certain criticisms by reports of the show. One of the changes criticised was that the Marketing Director's character had become much more of a central character and with this came many more sexual innuendos and references, to which some people believed was simply too rude for the style of the show. Another criticism was made due to Paul Kaye’s new haircut, which was long, black and in many episodes rather scruffy, this gave the feel that Bob Slay wasn’t as organised as he was in the first series and that he wasn’t too sensitive to what people thought of his image, which couldn’t be more opposite to his true ambitions.

Releases

Perfect World Series One was released on VHS in 2000, it lasted approximately 174 minutes and was rated 18, presumably for the Marketing Directors sexual implications and Bob Slays use of the F word in Love. The video has been discontinued but a Region 2 DVD Box Set containing both Series One and Two is due for release in March 2009.

Series Three

Has not been comissioned by the BBC and will not be made due to the poor response of Series Two.

External links

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/p/perfectworld_66602780.shtml
* http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238796/