“When life hands you melons, make melonade!”
Jack
Introduction
BBC Scotland has a long tradition of producing excellent comedy. From Scotch and Wry, Naked Video, Rab C Nesbitt, Chewin’ The Fat to Scotch Squad, Limmy’s Show, Burnistoun, Gary: Tank Commander and Two Doors Down. One show that sticks out and shines by a country mile is Still Game. Named the number-one comedy in The Scotsman, the comedy follows the antics of Jack and Victor, who live in Craiglang, drink in the Clansman and shop in Navid’s convenience store. Together are Isa, Tam, Winston, Navid and Boaby, the barman. It was a show that ran between 2002 and 2019, with a stage show subsequently and a rumoured film in the pipeline.
Produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland, it was the brainchild of Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan, who play Victor and Jack. Two pensioners are played by actors who make the cast look old with the magic of the makeup and costume department. When you think such pensioners would be taking it easy, these two do far more than buy a paper loaf of bread and go for a quiet pint. Running for 61 episodes, these pensioners spent more time in The Clansman than in their flats. It is a constant battle against what modern life throws at them. A community that gets up to no good but seems to escape retribution because of their age.
Pure Gold
Who can forget Navid’s wife, Meena Harrid, who slags her husband and customers off from the back room in their language and isn’t seen fully until the last episode? Or Winston, with his prosthetic leg, beats the bookies with an accumulator, where all the bets win, and the owner has to run away in his car when Tam comes to collect his winnings. Boaby, with his shocking mullet hairstyle, serves rock-hard pies out of the microwave and bars every customer at the earliest opportunity. Isa pretends to go out with Tam to get rid of her ex-husband, and Jack and Victor look after a battery-operated dog that ends up melting because of the gas fire.
The script and acting in Still Game are priceless. It appeals to a global audience and is packed with comedy. I could spend an afternoon binge-watching it and always watch the repeats when they are on. It’s just half an hour of Scottish fun at a time when a laugh is much needed. With a catchy theme tune and opening credits that take Jack and Victor through the ageing process, the show often has a little gem at the end of the programme when you think it has finished. The show ended because the cast felt burnt out, but this comedy will work whenever it chooses to come back because of the masterful writing and brilliant cast. If you have never seen it, where have you been? Pour yourself a drink, relax and be prepared for your laughing bones to be tickled.
