Synopsis: When your life is a 70's sitcom and every episode ends happily, why on Earth would you want to change?

• A Review by Stuart Gutteridge
• A Review by Richard Radcliffe

A Review by Stuart Gutteridge 7/9/01

Aside from sounding like an episode of Terry And June; something that Punchline has the feel of, this offering from BBV starring Sylvester McCoy is a joy to listen to. The plot is basically about a group of actors keeping The Dominie (if that is who he is supposed to be;indeed he goes by the name of Dominic Perkins here) trapped within their own little world. The story falls short here,as repitition steps in and although this is crucial to the plot it does feel like padding. Instead it is up to the tale's conclusion which is shocking and interesting, in that it offers an insight into Sylvester`s Dominie .Add to this a catchy opening theme tune, and you have one of BBV`s best audios for some time.

A Review by Richard Radcliffe 25/8/02

When Sylvester McCoy says that something is the best thing he has ever done, within the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre, then it tends to make you sit up - and acquire the story he is taking about. To be honest, it was only the McCoy recommendation that drew me to this though - the idea seemed terrible. I hate naff sitcoms, and this seemed to be about that - until I read McCoy's comments.

Starting with some sufficiently appropriate cheesy music we are flung into the world of the 70s Sitcom. There's 4 characters - Dominic Perkins (played by McCoy), June (his wife), Kevin (his son) and Sir (his boss). For the first half an hour we are within this sitcom fantasy. All the cliches are there, and the Sitcom is riddled with repeated jokes and characters behaving exactly the same week in, week out. That's the idea of the whole thing - it thrives on the Naff Sitcom genre, and turns it into something very different.

The script is darn clever. The opening half an hour, with its repeated phrases is just about to tire, when Dominic starts to realize things aren't quite right. There then follows subtle observations about Sitcoms, and by the end we are completely in Fantasyland - and very close to Doctor Who - which of course inspired all these spin-off dramas.

The way Jeremy Leadbetter builds up the Sitcom world, then proceeds to pull it apart is terrific. His observations towards the end about what is real and what is not, what's important and what's not - is profound. These are the parts that McCoy so raves about, I expect - it's just very clever and poignant writing - from a very contrived initial premise.

It reminds me of 2 pretty recent Cinema films - Truman Show and Pleasantville, and it really is as good as those. This kind of Reality mixed with Fiction was popularized by such films, and it is so nice to see the DW spin on it - and to see it done so well. Punchline is as good as Truman Show and Pleasantville.

The small cast throw themselves into their limited roles marvelously. Sylvester McCoy is simply wonderful as Dominic Perkins, the star of the show. The rest of the cast support him superbly, especially the character June - who has some simply stunning lines near the end.

With more references to Doctor Who, this is a clever spin-off adventure. McCoy may very well be the Dominie in these productions, but a space/time traveller with a blue box is clearly leading back to his most famous role. Dominic Perkins is the Dominie, who is the Doctor.

A very impressive production all round. 8/10