A Comedy On This Day: Marion & Geoff - The Wife (12 February 2003)

 A programme that I'd never seen before. There's an interesting essay by Steven Peacock in which he describes Marion & Geoff as being a comedy of gaps and spaces - between hopeful Keith's understanding of the world and the way the world treats him, between his recollection and anticipation of events and the unseen events themselves. The writing seems artless and spontaneous, but is really very finely crafted, registering several different tenses and timescales. 

 Looking at this episode visually, I'm struck by its perpetual in-between locations - parked outside the buildings where the family the chauffer works for are doing tangible things in, or driving through London roads and streets (some of which I recognise as Dulwich - the landscape has that leafy feel of the more prosperous districts of South London). And the character of Keith fills in the gaps with his generous readings of his employers, and misplaced optimism and makes the story affecting.

 Only one thing mars the comedy - the recurrent use of some godawful indie-schmindie mopey-wopey singer-songwriter dirge. This type of musical editorialising is usually distracting even when it uses really good songs, but with music of this low a calibre it breaks a spell and kills a mood.