It’s one of those rare, winning, wholesome comedies in a sea of dark satires that’s pretty hard not to love.
What it's about
Follows the misadventures of highwayman Dick Turpin (Noel Fielding) and his gang of fellow robbers as they loot the rich and escape from the ruthless thief-taker Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville).
The take
In a TV age where dark comedies and slick satires are all the rage, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is refreshingly light, good-hearted fun. Its humor leans on the surreal, silly, and slapstick, but it doesn’t necessarily sacrifice smarts for a laugh. Here, the legendary robber is reimagined as a reluctant criminal who is more interested in knitting and doing his friends good, a rather sweet fool who unwittingly stands at the opposite end of toxic masculinity. There are jokes about equal pay and light commentaries on class inequality (Turpin and his so-called Essex Gang want to only rob the inordinately wealthy), and you’d think it was all too much, but the show achieves a confident, balanced tone that’s hard to question.
What stands out
The absurd humor, which is reminiscent of Monty Python and (for a more recent reference) Our Flag Means Death.
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