Dead Set

I put off talking about Dead Set until I had been a zombie myself. Now that I've had that experience, at a Halloween party this weekend, I can properly delve into Charlie Brooker's latest TV show. And, just because Andy got to name-drop earlier in the week, I'll just casually point out that I met Charlie Brooker earlier this year. Whilst at the time I knew very little about any of his work, he was a very funny guy.

Whilst I've seen very little horror, perhaps because I'm not really scared very easily by films, I quite enjoyed Dead Set. I agree with those who think that it didn't quite work as a mini-series. It felt like it was a film that had been chopped up rather uncomfortably (like any film on ITV when they need to squeeze in the ads!). There was probably just over one-episode's worth of unnecessary rubbish, and if they'd got rid of that and played it over fewer nights it would have been a little more special.

I thought Davina's cameo was fantastic. She's always up for a little fun, and she doesn't take herself too seriously. I also admire that Endemol didn't have any problems with doing it. Their biggest show, and yet they don't mind people within their own company using it to make a point about reality TV. Though had it been a fictional Big Brother-like show it wouldn't have been half as effective as them using the real Big Brother.

I loved the role the Producer played, too; particularly when he abused the Big Brother control room (flashing lights, putting down the shutters and sounding annoying alarms) to get those in the house to come and save him. And the character's demise was, as I had speculated, a satisfyingly-gory mauling by a herd of zombies.