Other Doctor Lives: Bob Servant: Series 2, Episode 1 – “The Van” (2014)

I’d never heard of this sitcom before, and I’ll admit to being a little bewildered by it. The roots of it, a silly little working-class character piece, is nothing too surprising, but I certainly didn’t expect to see Brian Cox in the title role. I get that 2014 was quite a ways before Succession, but still.

(Note: IMDb lists this as episode 1 of series 2, but it doesn’t list a first season at all. Not sure if there’s some sort of error or if there just isn’t any info on series 1.)

Eager reverse his current “cash flow problem,” intrepid Scotsman Bob Servant gets his burger truck back up and running. At his side is his faithful but put-upon best friend Frank. Between customers complaining about dodgy meat and a woman from the council asking questions about his license, Bob’s back is against the wall, but he stays positive that he’s on top of everything—until Frank decides he’s had enough of Bob ordering him around.

Not a whole lot to write home about here. The humor is broad and takes cheap shots, painting Bob as a clueless king of his personal castle, a working-class hero in his own mind. He talks a big game and has all kinds of big ideas about how to get ahead, such as his and Frank’s alleged magnetism for female customers (“One whisper about girlfriends, and we’ll lose half our fanbase,” he warns Frank) and his refusal to budge on their exorbitant portion sizes.

There’s some goofy situational comedy and some outrageous over-the-top stuff, with Bob himself always being the biggest joke. Frank is clearly the friend with better sense, but Bob won’t hear it, dismissing Frank as the mere “Director of Sauces” apprentice while he handles everything else himself. Like I said, Bob is played by Brian Cox. It feels like a surprising series for him to have starred in, and even after I was pretty sure that it was him, I didn’t believe it until I looked it up on IMDb.

As for Ncuti Gatwa, there’s virtually nothing to say. He plays “Male Customer,” who’s little more than an extra. He has maybe two lines.

Accent Watch

Scottish, I think? His part is so insubstantial there’s hardly anything to go on, but I thought I heard a Scottish ‘R’ or two.

Recommend?

In General – Eh. If you enjoy this style of broad British/Scottish comedy, a soft maybe.

Ncuti Gatwa – No. Nothing worth seeing here.

Warnings

Sexual references, language, and drinking/smoking.