TV Recap: Episodes – Season One (2011)

The nature of Americanising both films and television shows is a well-known concept. Sometimes it’s a successful transition, but more often than not it seems to be a waste of time.

Written by Friends co-creator David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You), Episodes follows Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig), a married British couple who move to LA in order to adapt their BAFTA-winning sitcom ‘Lyman’s Boys’ into an American counterpart. A show about a ‘verbally dexterous’ headmaster at an all boys boarding school quickly changes shape to a series called ‘Pucks’, starring Matt LeBlanc (not your typical verbally dexterous headmaster) as a hockey coach. The Lincoln’s aren’t happy about the bastardisation of their show, but soon learn they have to shut up and smile.

Here Matt LeBlanc is essentially a fictional character, subverting a lot of perceptions that the audience have about the man he really is. He’s a lot more clever than you might think and, as a mad Friends fan, it’s great to see him in a role that isn’t bound by sitcom restrictions. In Episodes, LeBlanc is the anti-Joey. We see him drink, swear, yell, simulate blow jobs and lose custody of his children after he sleeps with their nanny. It seems as though Friends was the teenage LeBlanc and he’s now matured to his role in Episodes. Perfectly aware of how funny self-mockery is, LeBlanc plays it to his advantage, especially with the running joke about his enormous penis (“grow some balls to go with that ridiculous cock!”).

The relationship between Beverly and Sean is also very convincing, with the former struggling to adapt to a completely phony environment where the majority of people will say one thing to your face and another behind your back, and the latter being swept up in the bright lights of Hollywood.

You would think the whole American vs. English rivalry had been done to death, but it is still fresh and funny here. With only seven episodes in season one, there is no room for anything to drag on, and the final scene in the series finale definitely leaves you wanting more.

Episodes isn’t ground breaking television, but it’s funny and entertaining nonetheless.

★★★☆