Customer Reviews

Big Train - comedy classic - By: S J Buck, 24 Nov 2007
Big Train only ran for two series but established itself as one of the funniest shows ever madein a very short space of time. A classic post Python sketch show, that was competing with serious heavyweight comedies like the The Fast Show & Little Britain, & the end,in my view, was better than both.

The surreal nature of some of the sketches is what makes the show so great. One sketch that always stuckin my mind was the wildlife film with the couple getting on to the roof of their Land Rover as a stampeding 'herd' of Jockey's swept past.. But there were many others just as good & some even more surreal. They were all beautifully acted by a stellar cast. Remember this is a series that had Simon Pegg & Catherine Tate to name but two.

Then of course there was the World Stare Out championships. A truly inspired idea, & to get Barry Daviesin to do the commentary with one of the cast was the icing on the cake. How the writers thought that two animated characters staring at each other,in a psuedo sports arena, could be funny is completely beyond me. The fact that they were right, & produced one of the most original pieces of modern comedy is even more to their credit. I wonder how many takes they had to do each time?

If you missed these shows the first or second time round then this double DVD set is worth getting (theres some nice extras), & if you did see the show the first time round you'll know you have to get it!

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Abstract, funny, Genius - By: DangermouseZilla, 02 Jul 2007


I remembered this series containing some of my favourite sketches of all time...

...Whilst watching the DVD, the main thing that struck me is how many of the sketches aren't actually that funny. *BUT* you still enjoy the genius behind them! The Flamenco Dancerin the Bomb Squad is one of the first sketches, I didn't laugh at it - but I couldn't help but appreciate what was being done.

The long French-cinema-style sketch about a man & a woman who fall out of love but find "something" else was too long to be laugh out loud hilarious - but it was still fab!

I find series 2 to contain more laugh out loud material, but overall, this 2 series set contains some of my favourite sketches of all time. The "Hot Cakes" sketch really creases me up, & the guysin the laboratory where Simon Pegg is looking through the Microscope at some sort of plague had me crying with laughter.

The amount of talentin this is mind-blowing. The creators of Father Ted writing, & some of the best (maybe THE best) comedians/comedy actors of the current time, performing.

For me, Simon Pegg & Kevin Eldon are perfect on screen. Eldon has such an expressive face. Between them, they can portray anyone doing anything - they aren't only great comedians, they are fantastic actors.

The rest of the cast are also top notch - & all of them are familiar having appearingin each others' work at some point before or since (Spaced, Black Books, etc).

If you want to see a sketch show which isn't just reliant on catchphrases, them stick thisin yer (DVD) slot.

I will without doubt watch this again, & again, & who knows? Maybe again!

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Some misses, but still a must own dvd! - By: A. Miller, 29 Mar 2007
First things first, a lot of people have dubbed the second series as somewhat inferior to the first. I think series is just as good as the firstin all honesty. A few sketchesin both series miss the mark, particularlyin the last two episodes of each series - but still this is sketch comedy at its best.

Highlights include: Chaka Khan vs The BeeGees, Hot Cakes, Not married & ,the deleted scene, weights.

Pegg & Heap are, unarguably, the funniest comedians on the show - but that is not to diminish the greatness of all the others on the show. In short, despite the odd unfunny sketch, this dvd is a must own especially considering the cheap price it is these days!

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hmm not sure - By: E. Nicol, 23 Jan 2007
First series didn't really have a lot of laugh out loud moments for me, second series however got better & the sketches became more witty. You can see a lot of jokesin Big Train that the comediansin the show then have developed on & use to this day.. Worth a purchase if your interested

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Hit and Miss Cult Comedy - But the Hits are Hilarious! - By: Karn9evil, 08 Jan 2007
Remember when you were young & watched the original Monty Python's Flying Circus every week. Not every sketch hit its target (in factin hindsight most didn't!), but when they did, they were sublime & next day at school you & your mates would recite them infinitum! I don't know of any comedy sketch show that ever came close to getting a 100% hit rate (some 'Fast Show' episodes came close, but even the tremendous 'League of Gentlemen' faltered at times - especially with the third series) & 'Big Train' is obviously no exception. However within these 2 DVDs are some sketches that are so side-splittingly funny that repeated viewing only seems to enhance them. It is these moments that make a purchase of this DVD set more than worthwhile for anyone who likes their surreal comedyin bursts & can spot the clever satirical film, TV & book references & cliches. Simon Pegg & the rest of the cast are very funny (even to look at!) & I think if you have only discovered them with their more recent work, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I agree that the first series is stronger than the second one, but both have so many great sketches that only the most pedantic would quibble about the overall quality. Personal favourites include: "Hot Cakes/Too Many Cooks", "Showjumping Firefighters", "Evil Hypnotist", "...Very Tart", "Ming", "Tin Man", "Distracting Boss", several of the Office-based sketches, most of the "Staring Competition" sketches, "Spooked Jockeys", "Monks", "Cat & Mouse", "...I'm Not Married", & I'll stop there as too many are jumping into my memory as I write! In fact, for once there is no reliance on catch-phrases or re-worked sketches that you findin the likes of 'Little Britain' & 'Catherine Tate'.

I recommend you give it a go if you liked any of the recent sketch-based surreal comedy shows - I'm sure you'll find enough comedy gems to fill a quiet nightin very successfully. They make such a refreshing change from those perfectly scripted but predictable US comedies - A true British classic that has already achieved cult status by thosein the know & closer to the innovative & surreal spirit of Monty Python than anything I can recallin recent years.