The
character Rab C. Nesbitt apparently originated as a recurring character in a
sketch comedy show and was eventually given his own sitcom. The titular Rab is the belligerent patriarch
of a low-income Glaswegian family. The
show actually bears a strong resemblance to Shameless: drunken rants, attempted benefit fraud,
regional accents. Just replace the
explicit content with a laugh track and, it seems, you have Rab C. Nesbitt.
In
the pilot Christmas special “Seasonal Greet,” Rab, finding himself short of
cash, decides to denounce Christmas. You
know, on principle. He refuses to buy
gifts, tears down decorations, and rails against all manner of holiday cheer.
As
part of said railing, Rab staggers down the high street and goes head-to-head
with everyone he meets: charity
collectors, buskers, sidewalk vendors, and a street preacher played by PC. Rab repeatedly heckles every attempt the
preacher makes to spread the good news.
Not
much to say here. PC’s in one scene, and
he doesn’t have much to do. Preach, be
on receiving end of rude remark, valiantly try to continuing preaching, repeat.
Also,
a head’s up: the accents in this show
are intense. Thick, broad, Glaswegian comedy accents, with
regional slang to book. I really had to listen to understand what
was being said, and I still missed the occasional sentence entirely.
Accent
Scottish
(in case you couldn’t figure that out from the above paragraph!)
Recommend?
In
General
– Not in my opinion – I didn’t really care for it. Super-broad sitcom acting, and the characters
didn’t particularly interest me. But the
show ran for nearly ten seasons in Britain, so it was obviously popular. Make of that what you will.
PC-wise – For
completists only. Just one scene,
without a lot to do.
Warnings
Despite
the Shameless similarities, it’s
fairly tame: some light swearing, drinking,
and general law-disregarding behavior.
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