Slightly off-topic as it was on stage rather than the box (but downloadable on whatever Channel 4 call their streaming service this week), but I went to Milton Keynes yesterday to see the
Drop the Dead Donkey revival, starring the majority of the original cast.
All seemed to fit easily back into their roles, with audience cheers as each character entered and not too exposition-heavy. The interplay between Damian and Dave was sharp as ever, Gus is still the worst TV boss, Sally remains a fragile monster after all these years (yet surprisingly the least visibly aged), and Joy's sadism continued to steal the show.
I was relieved that it wasn't a lazy nostalgic cashgrab, with genuine care taken in moving the characters on and hitting some emotional beats. Like the cathode-ray original, the laughs were a bit uneven but it definitely had some big ones and those lines that failed didn't linger. Of course, topical lines were inserted throughout, some going for the obvious, some not.
It did run out of steam by the end and wrapped up quickly, but nobody was really invested in the plot. As with the Marx Brothers'
Night in Casablanca, seeing them all together again was enough.
An enjoyable night out if it's touring near you.