Eisspeedway

Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish

Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish
GenreStand-up comedy
Written byDave Gorman
Directed byPaul Wheeler
Presented byDave Gorman
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5 (+1 highlights series)
No. of episodes36 (+3 highlights episodes)
Production
Executive producersJamie Isaacs
Iain Coyle (Series 2–3)
ProducersNick Martin
James Fidler
Running time45 minutes
Production companyLiberty Bell
Original release
NetworkDave
Release17 September 2013 (2013-09-17) –
19 December 2017 (2017-12-19)

Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish is a British comedy television show that ran for five series between 2013 and 2017, with a revival series due on U&Dave in 2024.[1] It was broadcast on Dave and presented by Dave Gorman. The series mainly consisted of Gorman presenting comedic PowerPoint presentations in which he attempts to argue that modern life is neither bad nor good, but "good...ish". The series began on 17 September 2013. A fifth series began airing on 31 October 2017.[2] Gorman announced on 18 December 2017 that the show would conclude after the final episode of series 5 aired the following night.[3] In July 2024, it was announced that four brand-new hour long specials had been ordered by UKTV for their rebranded Dave channel.[4]

Format

Each episode sees Gorman present a stand-up show using PowerPoint, on a particular theme about modern life. Examples include celebrity culture and social media. Each episode features a recurring section called the "Found Poem", in which Gorman reads out a selection of bizarre comments left on news websites, all covering a particular story. Gorman performs the Found Poem with a lone spotlight shining on him, while accompanied by the Billroth String Quartet[5] (Billroth Ensemble from Series 4) playing 'Sarabande' from George Frideric Handel's Keyboard suite in D minor (HWV 437). The title of each episode comes from a line out of the Found Poem.[6]

Production

The programmes were recorded at the Tabernacle, Notting Hill. The episodes were recorded in pairs. Prior to the final recordings, Gorman did "dry run" performances of each episode's content in small theatres. Gorman frequently rewrote portions of the performance after the dry runs.[3]

The show was labour-intensive to create; in the final three weeks before taping a pair of episodes, Gorman would work for over 100 hours a week.[3] The heavy workload was one of the contributing factors to the decision to end the show in 2017. Another factor was Gorman's decision to tour in 2018.[3]

The show's title is similar to that of the 1993 Blur album Modern Life Is Rubbish. When asked if the title was an intentional reference, Gorman said 'I think it's a Blur reference if you want it to be. The "rubbish" version, I think, comes to mind anyway. I just like that'.[7]

Series overview

Series Episodes Original broadcast
Series premiere Series finale
Series 1 6 17 September 2013 22 October 2013
Series 2 8 9 September 2014 28 October 2014
Series 3 8 8 September 2015 27 October 2015
Goodish Hits 3 11 May 2016 25 May 2016
Series 4 6 8 November 2016 13 December 2016
Series 5 8 31 October 2017 19 December 2017

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date Viewers[a]
11"Not a Very Nice Biscuit"Paul WheelerDave Gorman17 September 2013 (2013-09-17)518,000
22"Badgers Don't Vote"Paul WheelerDave Gorman24 September 2013 (2013-09-24)457,000
33"I Is Da Queen"Paul WheelerDave Gorman1 October 2013 (2013-10-01)441,000
44"A Prince, Not an Estate Agent"Paul WheelerDave Gorman8 October 2013 (2013-10-08)512,000[b]
55"I Like Eggs"Paul WheelerDave Gorman15 October 2013 (2013-10-15)643,000[c]
66"Will It Make Toasters Cheaper?"Paul WheelerDave Gorman22 October 2013 (2013-10-22)513,000

Series 2 (2014)

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date Viewers[a]
71"I Call Mine Sally"Paul WheelerDave Gorman9 September 2014 (2014-09-09)612,000
82"Winston Churchill's Pants"Paul WheelerDave Gorman16 September 2014 (2014-09-16)550,000[d]
93"Just Chips That Haven't Been Made Yet"Paul WheelerDave Gorman23 September 2014 (2014-09-23)495,000[e]
104"Poogle"Paul WheelerDave Gorman30 September 2014 (2014-09-30)533,000[f]
115"I Would Drink That Bathwater"Paul WheelerDave Gorman7 October 2014 (2014-10-07)588,000
126"Dat Is Data Dat Is"Paul WheelerDave Gorman14 October 2014 (2014-10-14)650,000[g]
137"I Like Hot Bananas"Paul WheelerDave Gorman21 October 2014 (2014-10-21)523,000
148"The Dirt Collects There"Paul WheelerDave Gorman28 October 2014 (2014-10-28)573,000

Series 3 (2015)

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date Viewers[a]
151"Why Are There Still Chickens?"Paul WheelerDave Gorman8 September 2015 (2015-09-08)638,000[h]
162"The Veneer of Civilisation"Paul WheelerDave Gorman15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)685,000[i]
173"Ova Is Latin. For Eggs"Paul WheelerDave Gorman22 September 2015 (2015-09-22)611,000
184"Too-Ra Taloo Rye-Eh"Paul WheelerDave Gorman29 September 2015 (2015-09-29)592,000
195"Negative Nancy"Paul WheelerDave Gorman6 October 2015 (2015-10-06)525,000
206"Stuck on Level 342"Paul WheelerDave Gorman13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)668,000
217"That's What We Grow In"Paul WheelerDave Gorman20 October 2015 (2015-10-20)706,000[j]
228"A German Tradition"Paul WheelerDave Gorman27 October 2015 (2015-10-27)696,000

Goodish Hits (2016)

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date
–1"Series 1 Highlights"Paul WheelerDave Gorman11 May 2016 (2016-05-11)
–2"Series 2 Highlights"Paul WheelerDave Gorman18 May 2016 (2016-05-18)
–3"Series 3 Highlights"Paul WheelerDave Gorman25 May 2016 (2016-05-25)

Series 4 (2016)

Series 4 of Modern Life Is Goodish was confirmed on 7 August 2015. The series contained only 6 episodes because Gorman took a break to look after his expected baby.[citation needed] The show began airing on Dave on 8 November 2016.

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date Viewers[a]
231"It Was an Accident and I Was Hospitalised"Paul WheelerDave Gorman8 November 2016 (2016-11-08)608,000 (7 days)
671,000 (28 days)
242"If You Put a Sausage in It, It's Not a Viennetta"Paul WheelerDave Gorman15 November 2016 (2016-11-15)637,000 (7 days)
643,000 (28 days)
253"That's What Debt Actually Is, Actually"Paul WheelerDave Gorman22 November 2016 (2016-11-22)755,000 (7 days)
797,000 (28 days)
264"Vicars, Horses, Doctors and Smurfs"Paul WheelerDave Gorman29 November 2016 (2016-11-29)631,000 (7 days)
690,000 (28 days)
275"Nobody Wants Vom on Their Cheerios"Paul WheelerDave Gorman6 December 2016 (2016-12-06)698,000 (7 days)
733,000 (28 days)
286"Spray Gravy"Paul WheelerDave Gorman13 December 2016 (2016-12-13)515,000 (7 days)
539,000 (28 days)

Series 5 (2017)

Series 5 of Modern Life Is Goodish was also confirmed on 7 August 2015;[citation needed] the series contained 8 episodes. It was confirmed on 18 December 2017, by Gorman, that there would be no sixth series.

Total
no. 		Series
no. 		Title Director Writers Original air date Viewers[a]
291"Like Top Gun All Over Again"Paul WheelerDave Gorman31 October 2017 (2017-10-31)515,000 (7 days)
573,000 (28 days)
302"I've Never Seen a Cat"Paul WheelerDave Gorman7 November 2017 (2017-11-07)517,000 (7 days)
549,000 (28 days)
313"A Helicopter Is Quicker Than a Car"Paul WheelerDave Gorman14 November 2017 (2017-11-14)574,000 (7 days)
583,000 (28 days)
324"You Use a Spoon for Licking Custard"Paul WheelerDave Gorman21 November 2017 (2017-11-21)601,000 (7 days)
620,000 (28 days)
335"It Does Not Bong"Paul WheelerDave Gorman28 November 2017 (2017-11-28)539,000 (7 days)
582,000 (28 days)
346"Drippy Strummer"Paul WheelerDave Gorman5 December 2017 (2017-12-05)502,000 (7 days)
357"A Physically Large Head"Paul WheelerDave Gorman12 December 2017 (2017-12-12)445,000 (7 days)
368"My Childhood Is Ruined"Paul WheelerDave Gorman19 December 2017 (2017-12-19)457,000 (7 days)

Notes

  1. ^
    Ratings sourced from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.[8]
  2. ^
    453,000 on Dave and 59,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  3. ^
    582,000 on Dave and 61,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  4. ^
    504,000 on Dave and 46,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  5. ^
    455,000 on Dave and 40,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  6. ^
    478,000 on Dave and 55,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  7. ^
    592,000 on Dave and 58,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  8. ^
    565,000 on Dave and 73,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  9. ^
    611,000 on Dave and 74,000 on Dave Ja Vu
  10. ^
    621,000 on Dave and 85,000 on Dave Ja Vu

References

  1. ^ "Modern Life is Goodish: Dave Gorman Returns to U&Dave for New Series".
  2. ^ "Dave commissions two more series from Dave Gorman". British Comedy Guide. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Gorman, Dave (18 December 2017). "Dave Gorman: Goodish Bye". Dave Gorman. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Modern Life is Goodish: Dave Gorman Returns to U&Dave for New Series".
  5. ^ "The Billroth String Quartet". IMDb. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Dave Gorman's Found Poems - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  7. ^ Dave Gorman [@DaveGorman] (19 September 2013). "Jamiegitberger I think it's a Blur reference if you want it to be. The "rubbish" version, I think, comes to mind anyway. I just like that" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Weekly top 10 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018) | BARB".
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Gorman:_Modern_Life_Is_Goodish