What's one to do when a favorite comedian presents a lame, unfunny show? Remember better days. In my case, the favorite comedian is Steve Coogan, the unfunny show is Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (which by the way, I went to great lengths to obtain) and the better days are called Coogan's Run.
I admit, not every bit in this series of long form character sketches is a winner. A Handyman for All Seasons, for example, is curiously unfunny. The best bits, which include The Curator, where Coogan plays the ginger bearded Tim Fleck, shy curator of a boring museum that is threatened to by the take over of a highwayman-themed steak restaurant chain; and Natural Born Quizzers, where Coogan and Patrick Marber play deranged brothers out for one last shot at television quiz show stardom, are also curious. Not exactly laugh out loud, it's a more subtle and odd brand of comedy.
Coogan also plays some of him most beloved characters here, Paul Calf and his sister, the stars of the impeccable Paul and Pauline Calf's Video Diaries are the main attraction of this series. And while it's true that both that series and other Coogan showcases (The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge) are superior to this one, Coogan's Run is an interesting forerunner to today's new wince inducing comedy, particulalry The Office.
But what do you think?