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Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Stewart Lee
Directed by	Tim Kirkby
Starring	Stewart Lee Other performers Stephen K. Amos Job Angus Cathryn Bradshaw Gail Brand Arnold Brown Eugene Cheese Justin Edwards Kevin Eldon Tara Flynn Armando Iannucci Paul Jerricho Miles Jupp Tony Law Paul Merton Simon Munnery Paul Putner Michael Redmond Jerry Sadowitz Will Smith Sarah Thom Tim Vine Chris Morris
Voices of	Peter Serafinowicz
Opening theme	Tom Hark by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes (series 1)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	24
Production
Executive producers	Armando Iannucci (series 1 only) Mark Freeland (series 2 and 3 only)
Producer	Richard Webb
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	BBC Productions
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	16 March 2009 (2009-03-16) – 7 April 2016 (2016-04-07)

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was initially executive-produced by Armando Iannucci, marking a rare reformation of a creative team formed for On the Hour in 1991. Lee had said that this is exactly the sort of show he wanted to do, saying "I don't want to do any television that I don't have complete control of."

The first series aired in 2009, with subsequent series in 2011, 2014 and 2016. Stewart Lee announced in May 2016 that the BBC had declined to make any further series. This was due primarily to cuts to BBC 2's comedy budget which would now focus instead solely on scripted comedy.

Format

The bulk of the show is a Stewart Lee stand-up comedy performance, recorded live at the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington with a club audience. Usually two episodes of the show were recorded per evening. Each episode has a theme, which Lee performs with his material. The stand-up is punctuated with sketches, written by Lee but usually performed by Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner with cameos from other TV and circuit comedians. From series 2, the sketches were removed in favour of a short film at the end of each episode. An element of the programme is the "hostile interrogator", played by Armando Iannucci in the second series and by Chris Morris in Series 3 and 4. In a darkened room, the interrogator quizzes Lee about his approach to stand-up comedy and his attitudes toward his audience and the comedy industry. In Series 1, the interrogator segments (with Iannucci and Johnny Vegas as interrogators) were not included in the main programme, accessed instead via the BBC Red Button and included on the DVD releases as bonus features. The interrogator segments were integrated into the main body of the show by Series 2. The opening theme tune to Series 1 is "Tom Hark" by Elias & His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes. From series 2 there is a cold open and no theme tune or title card.

DVD releases

• Series 1 was released on 7 September 2009 as a 2-disc region-2 PAL set. Red-button extras are included.

• Series 2 was released on 20 June 2011 as a single-disc region-2 PAL issue. Red-button extras are absent.

• Series 3 was released on 10 November 2014 as a 2-disc region-2 PAL set. During a promotional run of his A Room with a Stew tour at the Leicester Square Theatre the admission price included a complimentary copy of the DVD.

• Series 4 was released on 10 October 2016 as a 2-disc region-2 PAL set.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1

Series 1 was broadcast on BBC Two between 16 March to 20 April 2009.

Series 2

Series 2 was filmed between 11 and 14 January 2011; aired from 4 May to 8 June 2011. It features Armando Iannucci as the hostile interrogator. Six lines in the series were written by Bridget Christie, Simon Munnery and Tim Richardson.

Series 3

Series 3 was filmed between 17 and 19 December 2013; and aired from 1 March 2014. It introduced Chris Morris as the hostile interrogator.

Series 4

Series 4 consists of six episodes, broadcast from 3 March 2016.

Reception

Andrew Billen of The Times described the first series as "the most intelligent half hour of stand-up you will see on television this year" and that Lee "has become the master of deadpan stand-up". The Guardian Guide said "Lee's Vehicle feels well overdue, with his brand of bone-dry, spot-on scepticism a refreshing change from the perky, ambitious tones of the Mock the Week brigade it's brilliant." Brian Viner of The Independent said "In my front room, Lee was preaching not so much to the converted, as to an ayatollah. He did so brilliantly, though."

The Guardian named Comedy Vehicle as one of its top ten television highlights of 2009, commenting that it "was the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity". One of the show's few negative reviews came in the Sunday Mercury, which stated: "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension". Lee subsequently used this line to advertise his next stand-up tour.

Writing about the third series in The Metro, Keith Watson said "It’s comedy that makes you stop and think, and there’s not enough of it about", awarding the show four out of five stars. Ellen Jones writing in The Independent said "this comedy about comedy would be unforgivably self-indulgent if Lee wasn’t just as incisive on every other facet of modern life as he is on his own comedic genius".

Awards

In May 2010, the series was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy Programme, which was won by The Armstrong & Miller Show. In May 2012, the second series of Comedy Vehicle was nominated for the same award, and won.

At the 2011 British Comedy Awards, the series won the award for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme, and Lee won Best Male Television Comic.

References

1. Jonathan Trew (1 March 2009). "Stewart Lee interview: Putting his neck on the line". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
2. Rob Sharp (16 March 2009). "Who says you can't do jokes about religion on the BBC?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
3. "BBC cancels Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - News". British Comedy Guide. 6 May 2016.
4. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - Series 1 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
5. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - Series 2 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
6. Stewart Lee. "STEWART LEE - Officially the 41st Best Stand Up Ever* .::WWW.STEWARTLEE.CO.UK::. *Or 12th, depending which spurious poll you believe". stewartlee.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015. Season 4 -The Final Series was released on 10 October 2016.
7. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle 4". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
8. "Have you been watching … Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle?". The Guardian. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
9. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - BBC Two". BBC. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
10. Andrew Billen (17 March 2009). "Last night's TV". The Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
11. The Guardian Guide - Saturday 14 March - Friday 20 March 2009, page 69.
12. Brian Viner (17 March 2009). "Last Night's Television - Keep taking the mic". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
13. Dean, Will; Meer, Malik; Vine, Richard (19 December 2009). "Pop culture 2009: The year in lists". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
14. Laws, Roz (29 March 2009). "Stewart Lee is a condescending snob". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
15. Sommers, Jack (8 October 2009). "Stewart Lee: Protests cost me millionaire status". Get Hampshire. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
16. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is an antidote to false mateyness of other comics". The Metro. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
17. "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, TV review: Stewart Lee's guilt trip makes for a brilliantly rude awakening". The Independent. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
18. "John Hurt gets Bafta nod for Quentin Crisp role". BBC News. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
19. "Television Awards Winners in 2010". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
20. "Television Awards Winners in 2012". Bafta.org. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
21. "Arqiva British Academy Television Awards - Winners" (PDF). Retrieved 29 May 2012.
22. "Stewart Lee and Victoria Wood among 2011 comedy winners". BBC News. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

External links

• Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle at IMDb
• Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle at BBC Online
• Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle at British Comedy Guide
• The barnacle of British comedy - The Guardian, 14 March 2009. Lee interviews himself for the paper shortly before broadcast of the first show.

• 2009 British television series debuts
• 2016 British television series endings
• 2000s British comedy television series
• 2010s British comedy television series
• BBC television comedy
• British stand-up comedy television series
• British English-language television shows