Miranda (2009–2015)

As this show has collected so few reviews on IMDb, I would like to add my two penn'orth, for what it's worth. I caught this by accident, not being an avid TV watcher - and became hooked. I'd heard a version of it on the radio - I'm not sure which came first in the order of things - but that was mildly amusing, although a lot of Miranda's comedy is visual, and when I heard a repeat of the radio version after seeing the TV show, I could see the problems they were up against.

Any flaws I found in the TV series - we armchair critics have to look for flaws in new things - were cancelled out by the fact that I felt better after each episode I watched. Not just amused, and in some cases, very tickled indeed, but uplifted.

All of the characters are attractive and likable - and despite Miranda's self-deprecating gags about being often mistaken for a man, she's a very feminine, and extremely good-looking lady. Her device of engaging directly with her home-viewing audience, via the camera, works well, and adds to her personal appeal.

The comedy chemistry in the scenes with her diminutive friend, Stevie, played by the also extremely good-looking and funny Sarah Hadland, creates some of the best laughs in the show.

Here's a thought: The last series I watched starring Patricia Hodge, who brilliantly plays Miranda's scatty mum in this, was called The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, from about 1985 (not to be confused with the later Hollywood version). In She-Devil, she played the rival of a character portrayed by another very statuesque brunette, Julie T. Wallace. I wonder if this had any influence on the decision to cast her in Miranda?

Perhaps a lot of this show's appeal is in it's almost childlike presentation. The cast, one by one, wave goodbye to us at the end of the episodes, like human Telly Tubbies. Maybe I'm wrong to feel good about that, but, like Miranda's confidences to us, it tickles me to death.

More, please. The world needs Miranda.