Ghosts Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

I Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts

BBC’s latest supernatural comedy Ghosts is exactly what you’d expect it to be. Led by a group of charismatic ghosts and opening with an episode that establishes the key issues surrounding them and the main characters, Ghosts gets off to a pretty good start.

A brief prologue sets the scene for the series to follow. In the tranquility of a dark bedroom, a group of people gather around a bed playing host to a 99 year old woman. As she passes away, her spirit form rises out of her body to be greeted by the men and women around the bed. It turns out they’re actually ghosts, excited to welcome one of their own into their ranks. After a brief introduction and a humorous slip from a headless man, the spirit vanishes, leaving the ghosts to lament over their lack of company at the house.

Thankfully, they don’t have to wait too long. A young couple receive a call after a fruitless flat search, having inherited Button House. Learning the house has been in her family for generations, Alison decide to keep the property rather than sell it on, unbeknownst to them that ghosts occupy the grounds.

At this point we then meet the ghosts themselves, introducing us to their quirky and unique tropes. Although a little one dimensional, the diversity and various play on cultural and societal differences between them all certainly works well for comedic fodder.

The stand out comedy moment comes next, seeing Alison and Mike hopefully looking on at their new property, only to realize they’re at the wrong house. When they finally make it to Button House, they immediately start making plans to turn the house into a hotel, much to the horror of the ghosts. After some discussion, they decide to band together and haunt the occupants.

After several failed attempts at doing so, one of the ghosts, Julian, decides to take matters into his own hands, pushing the woman out the window whilst she’s inspecting the grounds. After enduring an induced coma for 2 weeks and grappling severe neck injuries, Alison wakes up and learns Mike has inspected the property and the damage is extensive. However, hes taken out some loans to help with the work. As builders show up to start work, Alison realizes to her horror that she can now see the ghosts residing in the house.

Created by the same team responsible for Horrible Histories, Ghosts is a silly, humorous sitcom, playing on clever historical quips around culture and society. The ending certainly leaves the door wide open for where this season may go but for now, there’s enough here to make for a surprisingly absorbing and funny comedy. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here to confidently say Ghosts does have some good jokes included. While it’s not quite as the same level as What We Do In The Shadows, the established stakes for the characters and conventional British comedy should be enough to keep you wanting more at the end.