Come Fly with Me: Season One

Matt Lucas and David Walliams—who scored a major success with Little Britain (VL Online-10/05)—created this series about the conspicuously maladroit workers at a British airport, most of whom the comic duo play themselves (in heavy costume). The characters are crude stereotypes: a couple of crass ticket-takers who vie for a promotion; two scuzzy paparazzi; an officious but unctuous customer service rep; a husband-and-wife pilot crew; a dim-bulb steward; an inept baggage handler; a doofus fast-food waiter who thinks he's in training for a pilot's license. And some, like the sleazy Arab owner of an ultra-cheap airline and a motor-mouthed Jamaican coffee-shop attendant who spends all her time avoiding work, intentionally violate all semblance of political correctness (a counterpoint is found in an unremittingly bigoted security guard whose blundering makes him appear a total fool). Funny moments abound, but some of the bits—such as one about two Japanese women waiting for their favorite star, Martin Clunes, to disembark from a flight—are positively painful, and the overall premise quickly grows tired and formulaic, even with an impressive guest star list that includes Rupert Grint, Anna Friel, and David Schwimmer. Compiling all six 2010 debut season episodes, DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, five BBC Christmas ads in which the show's characters interact with celebrity travelers, and a photo gallery. Optional. (F. Swietek)