well I never

[faceless]

I just switched on to bbc radio 4 and heard what seemed to be a spoof comedy about middle-class angst. Borne out of mind-melting daily routines of fete organising, Italian lessons and school-runs I thought it was really well observed. The one thing that stood out was the time though - it was being broadcast at 3pm when shows like this are usually in the comedy slot at about 6:30.

So I looked it up and found to my horror that it wasn't a spoof at all - but a real documentary!

I'll try and record it from the play-again feature later...

[luke]

doesn't sound like the bits of clapham i know

[major.tom]

If they reveal something special and/or unexpected about seemingly ordinary lives, that would be a successful documentary. If it only goes from task to task (then they took the garbage out / then the phone rang / then they used the loo), it's a painful decent into the mundane.

Which description fits better, Faceless? The gem in the rough, or the loo?

[faceless]

Well, I'm just listening to it in full now and it really is either an accidental gem, or a brilliantly deliberate pisstake by the producers... it's really well edited and produced, so I'm erring on the side of them having to be aware of how funny it comes across.

The mother talking about how hard her life is, while having to fit in piano lessons, walking the dog and making fairy cakes and driving a big car to church meetings where she meets 'people I'd never talk to in a month of Sundays normally' is about as satirical as I'd expect anything to be.

But this is real!