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Elvenquest #1
Elvenquest: The Complete First Series
Stephen Mangan, Alistair McGowan and Sophie Winkleman star in this fantastical BBC Radio 4 comedy by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto. Sam (Stephen Mangan - "Green Wing") is a fantasy novelist who is whisked off to a Tolkien-style parallel universe by a noble elf, a sexy warrior princess (Sophie Winkleman - "Peep Show", "Red Dwarf") and a feisty dwarf called Dean. Why? Because Sam's dog is the Chosen One who is destined to save 'Lower Earth' from the evil Lord Darkness (Alistair McGowan - "Alistair McGowan's Big Impression"). For fans of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hordes of the Things", this is an epic story of adventure, kinship, romance and dog biscuits. ElvenQuest also stars Darren Boyd ("Saxondale", "Smack the Pony") as Vidar the Elf Lord, Kevin Eldon ("Hyperdrive", "Big Train") as Dean the Dwarf and Dave Lamb ("Moving Wallpaper") as Amis. Written by Richard Pinto ("The Armstrong" & "Miller Show") and Anil Gupta ("The Office"), this recording contains all six episodes of the original BBC Radio 4 series. 'Even the most dedicated Tolkein fan will laugh' - "Daily Express". 'It's so much fun you'll wish you'd joined the Dungeons & Dragons society after all' - "Radio Times".
Audio CD
First published June 3, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 15, 2015
Warning: I write funny fantasy myself, so I was listening to this BBC audio production not only for my own amusement, but also to learn. That means I analysed the humour, and analysing humour is like making a butterfly collection: it kills what it studies. So you might prefer not to read this review, unless you're also interested in the anatomy of comedy.
The humour in ElvenQuest comes pretty much entirely from stereotype and cliche. Specifically, most of the jokes work like this:
[Cliche/stereotype from bad fantasy fiction]
[Immediate frame shift to cliche/stereotype from contemporary/real life]
It's an effective comedy technique--it's the one that works so well in the popular memes Business Cat, Business Baby and Successful Black Man. And by giving the show a better cast than the script really deserves, the BBC has managed to make it funnier than it would otherwise have been.
Nevertheless, it doesn't rise, even for a moment, above stereotype and cliche. The characters and the setting are paper-thin, and there's no depth to anything, including the humour. It's funny, but because it relies on a single comedic technique, and doesn't attempt a good story, character development or anything other than a series of simple gags, it wears thin quickly. It successfully picks the comedic low-hanging fruit, and if that's all you're looking for, it works. I'd hoped for more, though.
The humour in ElvenQuest comes pretty much entirely from stereotype and cliche. Specifically, most of the jokes work like this:
[Cliche/stereotype from bad fantasy fiction]
[Immediate frame shift to cliche/stereotype from contemporary/real life]
It's an effective comedy technique--it's the one that works so well in the popular memes Business Cat, Business Baby and Successful Black Man. And by giving the show a better cast than the script really deserves, the BBC has managed to make it funnier than it would otherwise have been.
Nevertheless, it doesn't rise, even for a moment, above stereotype and cliche. The characters and the setting are paper-thin, and there's no depth to anything, including the humour. It's funny, but because it relies on a single comedic technique, and doesn't attempt a good story, character development or anything other than a series of simple gags, it wears thin quickly. It successfully picks the comedic low-hanging fruit, and if that's all you're looking for, it works. I'd hoped for more, though.
November 19, 2017
I first listened to Elevenquest when working as a cleaner at a hotel and needing something to keep my mind busy. I loved it and found it incredibly entertaining. This time I am listening to it to help me sleep as listening to audio helps shut my brain up. Although I was using it to sleep it did make me laugh on many occasions and I found the whole experience enjoyable.
The plot is cliché but I think this is the whole idea. It takes the (insert word of your choice here) of common fantasy tropes and sometimes brings in satire of modern day problems as well. The characters are brilliant. The character that is prophesied to be the ‘saviour’ turns out to be a dog but when he is magically transported into another world with his owner, he become human in appearance but still keeps certain dog traits, such as a love of biscuits and getting excited when somebody knocks on the door. The ‘bad guy’ commonly known as ‘Lord Darkness’ is rather bad at being a bad guy and often accidently causes things to go well for our heroes.
Overall, Elvenquest is entertaining to listen to and I would recommend it to fans of fantasy who are looking for something light hearted and a little bit silly.
The plot is cliché but I think this is the whole idea. It takes the (insert word of your choice here) of common fantasy tropes and sometimes brings in satire of modern day problems as well. The characters are brilliant. The character that is prophesied to be the ‘saviour’ turns out to be a dog but when he is magically transported into another world with his owner, he become human in appearance but still keeps certain dog traits, such as a love of biscuits and getting excited when somebody knocks on the door. The ‘bad guy’ commonly known as ‘Lord Darkness’ is rather bad at being a bad guy and often accidently causes things to go well for our heroes.
Overall, Elvenquest is entertaining to listen to and I would recommend it to fans of fantasy who are looking for something light hearted and a little bit silly.
November 6, 2014
Fun and geeky with a snide order of snark, this BBC series has several seasons, but I'm good with one. The plots are so cliche', and yes I know that's the point, that they are painful and not very fun. Also, I find the "traditional fantasy roles" of the female characters overdone to the point of offensive. Sorry BBC, not going any further.
January 14, 2021
4.5 stars
I love a good fantasy satire! A laugh.
I love a good fantasy satire! A laugh.
July 28, 2024
I was going to write a mean review about how the jokes were obvious and unfunny but by the end of the series I realised that had there been a 5th series I'd probably be downloading it now. You don't do that with bad audiobooks.
The bad: The jokes aren't that good and are very, very obvious. The series starts with a woman playing a warrior role and Sam playing the sensible one which was interesting but by the end Sam was thick and Pentheselea becomes the sensible woman looking after the boys. Opportunity for trope subversion there was badly missed. The story, despite purposefully being pointless gets a bit tiring. I think they've got the MacGuffin like 3-4 times now.
The good: The humour is silly and this is the definition of easy listening. You don't have to engage brain at all. Almost none of the jokes have more than a one or two sentence set up and so you can get them even if you've been distracted for the last few minutes. The cast were good also.
Overall: Mediocre to bad writing. Disappointing use of setting (fantasy writer in a fantasy world was never really used). Good cast. Good for background noise.
The bad: The jokes aren't that good and are very, very obvious. The series starts with a woman playing a warrior role and Sam playing the sensible one which was interesting but by the end Sam was thick and Pentheselea becomes the sensible woman looking after the boys. Opportunity for trope subversion there was badly missed. The story, despite purposefully being pointless gets a bit tiring. I think they've got the MacGuffin like 3-4 times now.
The good: The humour is silly and this is the definition of easy listening. You don't have to engage brain at all. Almost none of the jokes have more than a one or two sentence set up and so you can get them even if you've been distracted for the last few minutes. The cast were good also.
Overall: Mediocre to bad writing. Disappointing use of setting (fantasy writer in a fantasy world was never really used). Good cast. Good for background noise.
August 28, 2017
A parody of fantasy epics like The Lord of Rings with satirical narration about modern problems.
March 11, 2024
I should learn to not try comedy audio plays
August 9, 2016
Not as memorable or quotable as, say, Bleak Expectations, but still enjoyable. Alistair McGowan shines as Lord Darkness, our villain who often ends up being more helpful than he'd like.
March 22, 2013
Absolutly hilarious! I can't finish the laugh.
April 15, 2014
Funny,if a little simple and basic.
February 24, 2014
A perfect light fantasy full cast audio comedy on par with Douglas Adams' HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Top-notch entertainment. Strongly recommended.
May 20, 2016
Great cast. Cliched writing. Moments of humour. Blah.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews