vicious is viciously funny

I have been enjoying the heck out of Vicious, the Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi sitcom airing on public television. We are already halfway through its six episode first season.

McKellen and Jacobi are Freddie and Stuart, an elderly gay couple who have been together for 48 years. The pair bicker constantly and caustically and share a dog, Balthasar, who the audience never sees, but the pair occasionally checks on to see if he is still breathing. Freddie is an actor who has never had much success, but is constantly reminiscing about his career. Stuart is his long-suffering partner, who still hasn't told his aged mother about Freddie being more than just his "roommate." In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly McKellen pointed out the essence of the comedy, "Probably the most remarkable thing about them is not that they’re gay, but that they’ve been together for 50 years."

Freddie (Ian McKellen) and Stuart (Derek Jacobi) share a cuppa

Like all classic apartment sitcoms, Freddie and Stuart's apartment is a way-station for their friends and neighbors, most frequently in the form of Violet (Frances de la Tour), who flirts relentlessly and fruitlessly with their other regular visitor, their young upstairs neighbor Ash (Iwan Rheon). The series has an old-school feel. Jacobi's character at times calls to mind John Inman's Mr. Humphries of Are You Being Served fame. It is interesting to watch Jacobi trading barbs here on PBS on one night while the station is also running the latest season of the more dramatic Last Tango in Halifax.

In the first episode of Vicious we are introduced to the couple, who are remembering an old friend who has recently passed away. They hold a wake in his memory, but spend most of the evening trying to impress their young and handsome new neighbor Ash — and determine whether he is gay or straight. By the second episode Ash is on good enough terms with the older pair to confide his troubles with in on-again, off-again girlfriend. The couple may trade vicious barbs, but also make sacrifices for one another, Ash discovers, as he becomes impressed with Stuart, who has taken a part-time job in a shop to earn enough money to buy Freddie a new overcoat.  The most recent episode was a blast, as it gave McKellen an opportunity to teach Ash about acting — in a horrible, hammy way — as he was preparing for an audition as Cook Staff #4 on “Downton Abbey.” Jacobi also missed no chance to steal every scene he was in, with some great physical and verbal comedy.

Freddie goes over his script with Ash (Iwan Rheon)

Jacobi and McKellen are working in a typical sitcom format, but their characters' fearless attacks, whether trained on themselves or anyone who happens to be in their general vicinity, take their campy insults to another level. Frances de la Tour makes the audience cringe with her single entendres as much as poor Ash, while still making Violet likable. It is especially nice to see Iwan Rheon in a part where he can be not only funny and cute but a nice guy — quite a change from his creeptastic performance as Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones.

A second series has been confirmed, which is good news for viewers both here and abroad.

sir ian and derek — a match made in heaven

Two of my all-time favorite actors, Sir Ian McKellan and Sir Derek Jacobi, are starring together in a Brit-com called Vicious, about an older gay couple. It also stars Frances De la Tour. I could only find a few clips, but hope ITV will get it on hulu or BBC America soon. Jacobi with light-colored hair is sort of reminding me of Mr. Humphreys from Are You Being Served ...

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• Vicious was a learning curve, admits ITV

shakespeare uncovered

PBS has a new show that fans of acting and actors, and most especially, William Shakespeare, are bound to enjoy. Each episode of Shakespeare Uncovered features a well-known actor tracing the steps of the Bard's famous plays.

The first episode, which featured actor Ethan Hawke examining Macbeth was a real treat. Hawke, known for his own interpretation of Hamlet, examined the possibilities of exploring the character of Macbeth, a part he yearns to play. He visited Scotland and spoke to other actors who had assayed the role. The episode also featured scenes from interpretations by actors Patrick Stewart and Antony Sher. Noted Shakespeare scholars also weigh in to give the play and its characters context. One of the more interesting observations that came up during the episode was that the Macbeths, for all of their murderous impulses, are one of Shakespeare's happier married couples. It is this sort of fresh look at an old play that most viewers may not have glanced at or thought about since high school English class that makes Shakespeare Uncovered so interesting to watch.

Ethan Hawke consults fellow actor Richard Easton on how to play the dagger scene in Macbeth

The next episode will feature actress Joely Richardson discussing Shakespeare's comedies Twelfth Night and As You Like It (it hasn't aired yet here, but has already aired on some PBS stations). That will be followed by Derek Jacobi on Richard II, Jeremy Irons on Henry IV and Henry V, and David Tennant examining Hamlet and The Tempest. I have to admit that I'm very eager to see Jacobi, one of my favorite actors, and his take. I remember seeing him do both Richard II and Hamlet as part of The BBC Television Shakespeare, an ambitious project to film all of the Bard's plays for television, when I was still in middle school. I have since come to learn that he is one of those who doubt that William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays. I disagree with this point of view, but still love him. It will be interesting to see if he butts heads with scholars on his episode.

Derek Jacobi as Richard II, John Gielgud as John of Gaunt

David Tennant as Hamlet, Patrick Stewart as Claudius

PBS also includes links to three filmed Shakespeare plays:

Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood
Hamlet, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart
King Lear, starring Ian McKellen

This is a real treat for fans of Shakespeare and is making me want to hunt down some of those older late '70s - early '80s versions of the plays, too.