Stars: Rob Brydon, Julia Davis

Director: Matt Lipsey

Summary: A series about six very different, unconventional, couples who unwittingly expose the ups and downs of their unusual relationships.

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Written by and starring Rob Brydon and Julia Davis, Human Remainsfeatures six different "mockumentaries" with the pair playing couples caught in bizarre, dysfunctional or hopelessly imbalanced relationships. These include an upper-class couple, in which wife openly pines for her first, lost love, whom she has buried on the grounds; a thoroughly homely hubby and wife who run a guest house in the Midlands that features an S&M parlour; and a ghastly pair of God-botherers who live in a state of curtain-twitching loathing of their neighbours.

While the sheer range of characters depicted in Human Remainsrepresents a prodigious feat on the part of both actors, the show has much in common with Brydon's other hit Marion and Geoff. The strangeness or awfulness of each couple's situation generally takes a while to come into focus, the deeper truths conveyed through low-level bickering, cumulatively revealed in deceptively banal interviews to camera. Brydon and Davis are sometimes merciless in their satirical savagery, as with the Alanis Morissette wannabe Fonte Bund; at other times, Human Remainsis too bleak to watch. However, the sheer acuity and detail with which these characters are unwittingly realised, coupled with the brilliance of the (semi-improvised) monologues/dialogue means that our encounters with them, although mercifully brief, are both hilarious and touching. This is an exceptional series.

On the DVD:Human Remainsfeatures a generous package of extras, including deleted scenes and outtakes, among them an extension of the "healing" scene featured in the episode with the S&M couple, footage of the early rehearsals and improvisations from which the characters took shape, a commentary in which Davis and Brydon recap on the circumstances of the filming, an excerpt of the pair in S&M gear singing "American Pie" in rich Brummie accents and, best of all, the Fonte Bund Band in which the folk-rock duo featured in the series have an added, Spinal Tap-type documentary also starring John Martyn (who supplies the series' theme). --David Stubbs

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary - 1. Rob Brydon, Original character improvisations track (seamless branching), Bonus Episode - FONTE BUND BAND LIVE, WRITING HUMAN REMAINS original character improvisations, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, MAKEUP & WARDROBE TEST, LES'S SONGS compilation fro
Year:	2000
Release Date:	September 29, 2003
Runtime:	360 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B B C D V D 1230
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Series, Human, Tv, Remains
Genre:	Comedy