Welcher & Welcher - The Complete Series

There's the germ of a great idea in Shaun Micallef's notoriously little-loved sitcom. After three seasons of hilarious, genuinely original sketch comedy with The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) the former solicitor had perfected his "Shaun Micallef" persona – which could best be summed up as "pompous jackass begging to be taken down a peg" – and so the idea of him as an arrogant, grasping and not-terribly-competent lawyer has obvious potential. Furthermore, the show co-stars Micallef's long time comedic foil Francis Greenslade as a bumbling colleague/terrible client, the role of wife/partner Kate Welcher is played by the always reliable Robyn Butler (later to shine as co-star/creator of The Librarians), and D-Generation founder Santo Cilauro features as bumbling IT guy Griffin. How could it fail?

Well, first up, there's one significant name missing: Micallef's career-long writing partner Gary McCaffrie. Micallef writes (mainly) solo here, and it's possible that he just needed a disciplined editor – if only to ask "is this going to be a sharp comedy of language or rollicking slapstick filled with sight gags?" They're not necessarily exclusive – Fawlty Towers, Black Adder and 30 Rock all brilliantly combine tight dialogue with physical comedy and pratfalls, for example – but too often the wry back-and-forth between the Welchers is undercut by Griffin explosively tripping over a computer monitor, or Greenslade donning a Frankenstein mask and chasing Micallef during an important phone call.

Although Cilauro's character is bafflingly unnecessary, the biggest problem is the supporting performers. Aside from Anita Cerdic as efficacious PA Jan, most of the cast seem to have little grasp of comedy – particularly the jaw-droppingly awful Nina Lau as eye-candy receptionist Tia. And the whole thing seems weirdly under-rehearsed, with unnatural line reads and amateurish pauses evoking community theatre more than quality TV comedy. Butler and Greenslade give their best, and a longer rehearsal period and competent director may have made all the difference, but Welcher & Welcher is four hours of your life you're not getting back.

Extras: None. But oh, for a commentary track...

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