lowculture.co.uk

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Gavin it large

FUNNY! Gavin and Stacey, BBC2, 10.00pm

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Sorry, we just had to get that out of the way nice and early, otherwise we'd end up saying it repeatedly throughout this preview for Gavin and Stacey. Awwww. Sorry, we'll stop in a minute, honest. It's just that we saw most of this when it aired on BBC3 earlier in the year, and if it doesn't cause you to go "awwww" at least once every five minutes, you have a cold hard heart of tin, you unfeeling bastard.

The eponymous Gav 'n' Stace have never met, but are clearly OTP nonetheless. He's a Billericay lad and she's a Barry Island girl, and during a conversation over the phone at work, their obvious chemistry compels them to meet. Awwww. (Dammit!) Cue lovely romantic meeting and subsequent swift proposal and plans for a wedding. At this stage it doesn't sound massively funny, we grant you, but you need to factor in the culture clash humour that comes from the meeting of the family and friends, including show scribes James Corden as Gavin's best pal Smithy and Ruth Jones as Stacey's opposite number Nessa. Add Alison Steadman as Gavin's socially uptight mother and Rob Brydon as Stacey's well-meaning but slightly odd Uncle Bryn (his conversations with his Sat Nav in a later episode are an absolute treat) and you have that rarity of a comedy that's both funny and heartwarming. Awwww.

So, obviously, this is the first episode and groundwork needs to be laid, so it's time for Gavin and Stacey's first meeting in London. Obviously we know that it's going to be love at first sight or this would be a very short series indeed, but the fun's in seeing where it all goes from there. Awww. (Whoops.)