COMEDY AND COMEDIANS, TRYING TO MAKE LIFE LIGHTER. THREESOME + ME & MRS JONES

I've been watching comedy. Something definitely unusual for me. Fact is that my wish for escapism is growing fast and furious. I'm getting rather anxious lately. The passing of time can be fairly depressing by itself (remember Mrs Dalloway?), add people around you aging and being unwell and the situation can become quite distressing; add three men at home = no help, no sympathy;  friends? taken by thousands of big litlle problems just like yours,  they may seem really distant though near. Hence,  what can one do? Trying to escape. Where to?  Into a lighter world made up of  surreal situations and hilarious events, absurd characters and funny anecdotes. Laughing can be the cure. Sometimes.



Not that the lives of the characters in these series are that easy peasy. Let's start with Threesome (Comedy Central) . It is the story of three  inseparable mates on the verge of 30: Mitch (Stephen Wight) his girlfriend Alice (Amy Huberman) and their gay friend Richie (Emun Elliott) . After one particularly big night out, they end up having an unplanned threesome which results in an even more unplanned pregnancy. They decide  to ditch the party lifestyle and have the baby. As a threesome. 
They have just broadcast series 2, 7 new episodes,  every Monday night at Comedy Central. Series 1  is now available on DVD. You can download series 2 on iTunes. 

Emun Elliott as Richie, Amy Huberman as Alice and Stephen Wight as Mitch

Have you recognized Sam and Mr Moray from The Paradise? Well, honestly watching them in their whacky, over the top roles in Threesome as Mitch  and Richie  was so weird! But at the same time enlightening on the great acting talent of the  two young men  behind those roles , that is Stephen Wight and Emun Elliott. They are simply brilliant..  

Especially Emun Elliott who plays such a totally different role from  his successful Victorian business man, , fascinating John Moray.  Richard Valentine, Richie, is maybe the most grounded in the threesome but he is such a bizarre  young man. Loyal friend, sensitive and always available, though he has a very active (homo)sexual life,  he is unable to commit. He is actually the father of Alice's baby, Lily,  who was born at the end of series 1.  Mitch, Alice's boyfriend,  can't have children. Richie is the one who takes care of the other three,   mates and   daughter. Richie is very unlucky in love  but very, very lucky in bed. His heart was broken years before by a man he thought he'd spend the rest of his life with. Since then,  he has never fallen in love again. ( Discover more about Mitch, Alice and Richie. )  You'll  either love the surreal situations in this sitcom,  laughing out loud as I did at the silliness and absurdity of some or you'll hate it. I found the three crazy friends quite irresistible. Especially in series 1. 

Threesome series 1 - Interview with the protagonists

Threesome Series 1 in 60 seconds    Threesome Series 2 Trailer   Threesome Richie teaser

- Me & Mrs Jones - BBC1 -   Gemma (Sarah Alexander) & Billy lovely eyes (Robert Sheehan)  

I giggled a lot watching the latest Friday night BBC comedy series too, Me & Mrs Jones. "Silly me" was totally caught in the story and now longs for a series 2. Series 1 ended last Friday rather abruptedly with the beautiful protagonist, Gemma Jones at an impasse, torn between head and heart: Do I go for Tom (head) or Billy (heart)?

Gemma Jones is a divorced mother of three whose life has become a juggling act. She lives with her two daughters, Charlotte and Jess aged ten from her marriage to ex-husband Jason. She also has an older son, Alfie who has just returned from travelling around the world. After being single for years, Gemma suddenly has the attention of two gorgeous men with a 20-year age difference, whom she struggles to choose between: Tom and Billy.

Me & Mrs Jones - Alfie, Billy, Gemma, Jason, Tom

Tom is the reason why I started watching this series, that is Nathaniel Parker. But I can honestly understand how irresistible sweet, ironic, handsome YOUNG Billy can be for Gemma. If only he wasn't her son's best friend! She hides her feelings, tries to avoid him, to convince herself Tom is the right man for her. He is divorced and middle-aged, he likes her very much and is the kindest man on earth. Why can't she fall for him, instead? However,  Billy goes on chasing her and he is also the most grounded of all the characters in the story who are pretty much older than him: all the others are quite over the top, bizzarre, surreal. Gemma included. Will  she be able to resist him? She's done quite well so far. Will we see the rest of the story, BBC?

You know I tend to be a bit of a romantic dreamer, at times, so you can imagine how much I liked the Gemma/Billy moments, but more than the romantic turns in Me & Mrs Jones,  I liked the funny characters in it. They are Gemma's ex husband, Jason (Neil Morrissey)  and his  young beautiful Swedish girlfriend,  Inca (Vera Filatova). She studies to become a beautician and they live together. They definitely are the most hilarious characters in the series . I also liked  Alfie, Gemma's twenty-something son, very much. His scenes made me laugh a lot!  LOL  :D 

Me & Mrs Jones is available on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or at BBC shop

Watch some funny moments on YouTube 

Sarah Alexander - Interview Me & Mrs Jones

Robert Sheehan - Interview Me & Mrs Jones