Lead Balloon
Is anyone else a little cheesed off by the return to the screen of Lead Balloon? It’s not that this
Jack Dee vehicle is that bad (there are some laughs), it’s just that I know there’ll be loads of people watching it who haven’t seen Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I think it’s therefore a bit rich that in the round of publicity spots Dee has done for the show, I’ve never once heard him acknowledge its debt to the HBO show. It’s as though the BBC has a policy of ‘no comment’ in this respect.
For those who haven’t seen it, Jack Dee plays an affluent, grumpy, misanthropic comedian (Rick Spleen). The show focuses on his domestic life and the embarrassing social situations he engineers for himself through a curmudgeonly and conceited attitude towards others. His best friend is his manager (an American). His long suffering wife is attractive and has a more human touch with the subjects of Rick’s scorn. It’s filmed in a semi-documentary style with no laughter track. Sound familiar?
Maybe I’m taking this a bit personally, but why didn’t the BBC (for the brief time that they had it) give Curb a proper billing instead of burying it on BBC4? And why do we now have to endure this inferior remake of a classic?