Being a pessimist can have its benefits. It means that you’re rarely disappointed when things aren’t great, because you sort of suspected that they might not be great. However, it also means that you’re pleasantly surprised (not in a sexy way) when things don’t turn out to be the shocker you suspected them to be. Luckily, Peter Kay’s Car Share falls into the latter of the two, delivering a good comedy style in the very unique sitcom surroundings of the front seat of a car.
In yet more anomolous antics, the show also premiered on iPlayer between the 24th and the 28th of April 2015, ahead of its BBC 1 debut on the 29th at 9:30pm. As a result, it managed to break the BBC’s record for the most successful series to premier on iPlayer as a box-set with the first episode in the six part series picking up more than a million requests. It also means that the remaining five episodes are scheduled to arrive on iPlayer before their Wednesday night slot on BBC One. The first two episodes are already available to catch up on through iPlayer and they’re well worth a watch.
The storyline does pretty much what the title implies, looking in on the conversations that happen between two supermarket employees, John and Kayleigh, on their way into work following the introduction of car share scheme. They’re both single and a little bit mental in their own way and while they’re clearly very different they end up finding common ground in the random stories they tell each other, which are funny, along with some of their musical preferences, despite a few stark divergences on Take That and S Club 7.
Despite the fact that on the face of things Car Share is a family comedy with a cute setup and a warm whit, it also manages to push the envelope a little with the kind of sweet edge that you wouldn’t usually expect from BBC 1 prime time. Dogging and water games feature highly in the first couple of episodes and they make for good material for Peter Kay and his long-standing comedy partner, Sian Gibson, who plays his front seat buddy, promotions rep Kayleigh Kitson.
Kay is as funny as ever in the role of the supermarket’s assistant manager John Redmond, doing a very impressive job of coming across more as his character than simply being Peter Kay in a sitcom. As good as he is though, it only works as well as it does because of the natural charm, naivety and fun-loving spirit that Gibson injects into Kayleigh. The fact that the two have worked together before on Pheonix Nights and That Peter Kay Thing means that they have an instant rapour, which comes through well in the dialogue.
The show was created by Goodnight Vienna Productions with Gill Isles producing, and Peter Kay directing the series. Kay was also one of the four four writers of the series along with Paul Coleman, Sian Gibson and Tim Reid and they’ve all done a pretty decent job of creating a brand new comedy vehicle. Cough.
Car Share has clearly learned a lot from the genius of Marion & Geoff and Alan Partridge, both BBC 2 comedy bastions, but it’s also got it’s own style, with more emphasis on reality and a little more emotional connection, making it closer to another great BBC 2 comedy, Extras. It’s also very everyday, making the mundane entertaining in the same way that Roger And Val Have Just Got In did, but the difference is that this has got a wider appeal, with more emphasis on comedy than pathos, which is why it works as a BBC 1 comedy.
Car Share review: 4/5
