From the writers of the hit BBC3 comedy, Miranda, comes a new British comedy about the war in Afghanistan, titled Bluestone 42. If appearing superior in TV-related conversations is your thing, it’s actually pronounced ‘Bluestone four two’, and the show focuses on a bomb disposal unit in contemporary Afghanistan. The head of the unit is one captain, Green Wing’s Oliver Chris (one of those annoying people with two first names), while the rest of the unit is made up of four males and one female corporal – another Green Wing graduate, Katie Lyons.
While the morality of such a show, prompting such questions as ‘too soon?’, has come into much debate, in this first episode the comedy provided is far too nice, far too overtly British to raise any real issues. It is this very side to the show that makes it what it is; a fun, simultaneously slapstick and sarcastic British comedy bundled into an easy-to-handle 30 minute televisual event.
Inevitably, there are moments where the jokes don’t really cut it. Take for example, a long-winded scene where the squad discuss the naming of certain male appendages while the joke aspect just dwindles to a disappointing stop. Moreover, the niceness of the show does mean that it never really has you wincing or feeling guilty for laughing like you do with shows like The Thick Of It. This aspect is perhaps missing from a comedy about a still ongoing war. Overall, however, the characters are enjoyable and the humour is delightfully British.
Catch up with the series on iPlayer – and Tuesdays at 10pm, on BBC3.
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