Lead Balloon, BBC Two

Older but not wiser: Jack Dee still excels as the failed stand-up Rick Spleen

by Jasper ReesWednesday, 01 June 2011

The pig, while messy, was not as messy as Rick, with whom spending time remains glorious torture: 'Lead Balloon' returns

It’s been more than two and a half years since the third series of Jack Dee’s comedy about a comedian. Everyone in Rick Spleen's world looks a little bit older, a mite more pinched and drawn, as if proximity to the man about the house is draining the blood out of its occupants. Time has not at all been kind to Rick himself (but then, when was it ever?). His temples are awash with grey, his skin is sallow with failure, and his self-important delusions seem ever more steeped in bitterness and malignity. I for one have missed him dreadfully.

You wouldn’t want to see Dee stray too far from his miserable comfort zone, but he has always been brilliant at disgust

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