Season 1 |
Season 2 |
Season 3 |
Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 2/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 2/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2/5
Diane Morgan returns as the title character in this third season of the surrealist comedy show but as talented as she is, this new run of episodes is lacking when compared to those from previous seasons.
This isn’t to say there aren’t any laughs to be had. But after the first couple of episodes, they peter out until they become almost non-existent by the season’s end.
So, what went wrong? Well, for one thing, it’s the overabundance of guest stars that spoil the show. It’s not that they turn in bad performances – though they are hardly awards-worthy – but rather that they have seemingly been shoehorned in to give the series greater credibility.
Sadly, these cameos seem to be at the expense of good comedy writing as the presence of Graham Norton, Alan Yentob, and Michaela Strachan, as just a few examples, is an unwelcome distraction from the real star of the show, Diane Morgan, as the lazy and clueless Mandy Carter. She still takes up most of the screen time but she’s not as funny as she once was, perhaps because the writing seems to be focussed on finding room for more guest stars rather than raising more laughs.
Things get off to a fairly good start, however, with the first episode. Mandy wants to get a job as an air stewardess but the only way she can get employment on a plane is to have her legs stretched so she fits the height requirements. According to her best friend Lola (Michelle Greenidge), this is because airlines don’t employ people under 5 foot 8 inches.
Of course, airlines probably employ people of all sizes but such is the silliness of the show, such plot logic is randomly thrown in to add to its surreal tone.
The second episode is also illogical but still fairly funny. Mandy gets a job protecting an ancient tree from youngsters who want to swing from its branches. To this end, she is given a blowpipe with which to fire poison darts at anybody who dares go near the tree. No employer in their right mind would agree to this – unless said employer was a secret service agency – but in Mandy Carter’s world, this kind of situation is normal!
The show doesn’t pertain to real life at all, which is why the series has proven popular with those who can buy into its strange sense of humour. This false reality is apparent in the later episodes when Mandy has a confrontation with the ghost of late snooker player Alex Higgins and when she comes into contact with a strange goblin-like creature that her nan accidentally purchased from the dark web.
Such episodes have a comical premise but unfortunately, laughs are increasingly few and far between as the season goes on. This is partly because of the distracting guest stars and partly because some of the gags have no proper punchlines, which renders them rather pointless.
Despite the weaknesses in the material, the show is still lifted by Diane Morgan as the titular character. She’s not quite as funny as she was in previous seasons but she’s still an able physical comedian who can raise a laugh via a comical facial expression and a funny walk. She is of far more value than the cameoing celebs and she ensures the less humorous episodes are still worth watching.
Ultimately, the third season of Mandy is something of a disappointment. It’s as weird as ever but this time around, only the early episodes are a reminder of the highs that dominated most episodes in the earlier seasons.
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Verdict - 6/10
6/10