Rating: MMMMM

Review of British television show ‘Gavin and Stacey’ first published in a January 2009 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

“Oh?! What’s occurring?!?” asks Nessa, arguably the best conceived character of the plethora of offbeat personalities in BBC Three’s Gavin and Stacey. And what exactly is occurring with the show is something short of magical. Gavin is a boy from Billericay, Essex. Stacey is a girl from Barry, South Wales. Together they are the glue that holds together two very different social worlds that collide when Gavin and Stacey’s phone-call romance blossoms into relationship that “stretches across two nations”.

To make a comment on the plot of Gavin and Stacey would give away each series finale, and also it is unquestionably difficult for one reason: nothing much happens (although this is more true of the second series than the first). And surprisingly, this lack of major set-piece event is what makes the show truly inspired. To generate such witty and at times very poignant drama from admittedly day-to-day goings on, like Pam (Gavin’s mum) sending Mick (Gavin’s dad) to Tesco in search of vegetarian food.

Having said this, the sitcom certainly has its share of hilarious and comical situations, but the mileage from it really comes from the characters. Mathew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey are both excellent, giving convincing, sympathetic and wonderfully endearing performances. Despite them being the respective hero and heroine, it is other characters that steal the show – namely Bryn, Nessa and Smithy.

Rob Brydon is on top form as Stacey’s Uncle Bryn, an eccentric who gets very very excited about small things like his new sat-nav or digital camera, “It’s got sepia… although I think it’s faulty because it just makes everything look brown…” The aforementioned Nessa, Stacey’s best friend (played to perfection by the show’s co-writer Ruth Jones) is a wonderful creation, with such a colourful past that it is sometimes hard to keep up with her hilarious back-story. A few gems in Nessa’s past include: dating both Mohammed Al Fayed and Dodi Fayed, being one of the original members of All Saints, travelling the world on a cruise ship and working as a drug smuggler. Fellow co-writer James Corden plays Smithy (Gavin’s best mate) with aplomb, juxtaposing perfect comic timing with genuine pathos.

Gavin and Stacey is a genuinely heart-warming show which is both very sweet (but never overly sentimental) and utterly believable. The dialogue is uncompromisingly real, with none of the stagey sitcom writing seen in shows of lesser calibre, where everything is delivered with awful self-conscious smugness. Although not included in the series 1 and 2 set, the Christmas Special shown in December 2009 was an absolute joy, delivering yet more fresh, witty and wonderful Gavin and Stacey goodness. It’s enough to make you fancy a “tidy” omelette. Fabulous.

Rating: MMMMM