Changing Ends Season 2 Review – Another comical insight into the life of the junior Alan Carr

Episode Guide

Episode 1 | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 2 | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 3 | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 4 | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 5 | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 6 | Review Score – 2.5/5

This second season of Changing Ends is pretty much the same as the first. If it wasn’t my responsibility to write something original, I could have copied my review of Season 1 and pasted it here, as everything I said in that post, bar a handful of episode-centric references, applies to Season 2. 

More of the same isn’t a bad thing, however, especially for those who enjoyed the previous season. Once again, we get an insight into the junior years of British comedian Alan Carr and what life was like for him at home and school while growing up in the 1980s.

If you are somebody who was a child of the 80s, you’ll have fun spotting the various callbacks to that period, from Alan and his mum watching Saturday afternoon wrestling on TV (when Big Daddy was a massive star) to the Carr family’s diet of fish fingers and Findus Crispy Pancakes, which were a common teatime meal for many people living in that decade. 

Also relatable are the situations Alan gets into. In the first episode, for example, he is keen to impress his classmates so joins them on a trip to the cinema to watch the movie Platoon, despite being below the age limit (which is visibly apparent). How many of us did the same when we were teenagers? 

In another episode, Alan joins his family on a caravan holiday, which is something else we might be able to relate to. Being trapped in one space with the oldies isn’t too awful a prospect for him – you may have a different take on the matter – though relations between the family invariably get strained. Luckily, Alan meets his soulmate – a boy named Neville – who shares his love of mystery novels and has a similar set of quirks. Sadly, there is no chance of a holiday fling between them, as Alan hasn’t quite come to terms with his sexuality yet. 

Elsewhere in the series, Alan develops a crush on his optician, fends off a girl that he clearly doesn’t fancy, and turns sleuth at his birthday party when trying to uncover the neighbourhood peeping tom. These stories play out pleasantly enough but as was the case in the first season, they don’t provide many laugh-out-loud moments.

Oliver Savell is undoubtedly the star of the show, pulling off Alan’s mannerisms with aplomb. The character of Alan Jr. does come across as a little irritating at times but beneath the bad imitations of Cilla Black and funny face-pulling is somebody trying hard to be himself, which isn’t easy when surrounded by people who don’t accept him for who he is.

Again, this is something that might be relatable to you, especially if you were somebody at school who cared more about drama than sport, enjoyed watching Murder She Wrote more than football, and had more gay bones in your body than straight (not a medical condition). Even if you don’t relate to Alan, you probably knew people like him at school. Hopefully, you were far more friendly and tolerant than the bullies Alan has to face up to in the programme.

As good as Savell is as Alan, he doesn’t carry the show alone. Shaun Dooley and Nancy Sullivan return as his parents and they have their own journies to go on during the season. For Dad, it’s managing a football team and (in the final episode) coming to terms with the fact that his son might be gay. And for Mum, it’s a return to the workforce where she discovers she has been employed as a glorified tea lady with little else on her job description. Needless to say, she has something to say on the matter!

Also in the cast is young Taylor Fay as Gary, Alan’s little brother. He didn’t have a lot to do in the first season but he makes his mark in this new run of episodes. Admittedly, he doesn’t have many speaking lines but he doesn’t really have to, as his comically deadpan face tells us all we need to know in any given situation. 

Sadly, the series co-creator, Simon Carlyle passed away last year. As such, I’m not sure what this means for a third season. It would be a shame if the series didn’t continue, as while Changing Ends isn’t the funniest show on television, it’s still an amusing and occasionally poignant watch.

I’m interested to know what happens next in the life of junior Alan Carr, and while I could pick up a copy of his autobiography, more fun may be had seeing his journey through the rectangular-framed lenses of the very talented Oliver Savell who has a very bright career ahead of him.

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