I wonder why Renwick then decided to go for half hour episodes (12 of them)? Maybe because of this - and also as it now lacks the contrast between the two different characters' stories (Alice and Gil) - it doesn't seem to work quite as well, though there are still many, many examples of misdirection and comedy highlights including Sheridan Smith helping to put a plastic wrapper on a carpet, a dinner party where Alice thinks her blind date is the husband, a friend who is going out with two men who all know and approve, a scene where we think Alice and her flatmate Amelia Curtis are having an argument (in fact just rehearsing script lines). Certain adult / dark tones too - study on pornographic films, man who is selling gallows, woman who falls to her death at Alice's feet.
Has a nice line in guest stars, particularly Mark Heap, though also Ronnie Corbett (sending himself up marvellously), Lucy Speed, Rebecca Front, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Olivia Colman, Joanna Page, Abigail Thaw, Helen Lederer, Bill Bailey (man who gets comedian to write dinner party quips), Mackenzie Crook (a crazy actor), Lynda Bellingham, Charlie Brooks and Kevin Bishop (an intelligent car thief).
In the end the original story comes back into play through Gil's agent Owen Brenman and leads to the the ultimately rather sad and lonely finale - here I would have liked to have at least heard one of the conversations between Gil and Alice because in series one they never meet.
Still wonderfully offbeat and quirky. "It's not rocket salad."
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