Nelson's Column (1994–1995) User Reviews

''Read all about it!''

[Rabical-91 · 8/10 · 26 September 2018]

Paul Mayhew Archer scripted a vehicle in 1991 for John Gordon Sinclair entitled 'An Actor's Life For Me' which had him cast as a failed actor. It was not particularly successful ( because it was not particularly funny ) and only lasted for one series. Three years later, Mayhew Archer scripted another show for John in which he was a bungling journalist. The result was 'Nelson's Column'. It was better received than the earlier show, managing to run for two series, however it still didn't really move the earth and now it seems to have just disappeared completely, which is sad as it was a far better show in every way.

Sinclair had played a journalist in sitcom before, in David Renwick and Andrew Marshall's 'Hot Metal' for LWT. Here he played Gavin Nelson, who worked for The Weekly Herald. His boss Jackie ( the gorgeous Elisabeth Counsell ) would be continually frustrated at his inability to get that crucial story. His colleague Mike ( Steven O'Donnell ) was no better at his job. The only one who seems to take her job seriously is the shy but sexy Claire Priddy ( Sophie Thompson ) who Gavin has feelings for.

The second series saw Gavin form an uneasy relationship with blond bimbo Lorraine Wilde ( played by the gorgeous Camille Coduri ), who is well aware of Gavin's feelings for Claire and puts Claire down at every opportunity.

It was a pity it didn't get as much recognition as it deserved. Maybe some felt it to be a cheap knock-off of Channel 4's more widely known 'Drop The Dead Donkey'. Both shows were funny in their own right, however 'Nelson's Column' wasn't as near the knuckle as Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's creation. I remember a very funny scene in which Gavin got a date with an attractive woman, only to discover that her daughter is the same girl who he wrote a derogatory review about in the paper about a play she was performing in! Sinclair was far less unlikeable here as he was in 'An Actor's Life For Me'. The support cast were superb, particularly Sophie Thompson and Elisabeth Counsell, the latter who many may remember from John Esmonde and Bob Larbey's 'Brush Strokes'.

It is not out on DVD yet unfortunately. Why they released 'An Actor's Life For Me' ahead of this I'll never know.

What can I say? Far better than The Office will ever be!

[brdlybaum · 8/10 · 22 November 2006]

Why is it that good comedies are cut short but humourless ones are allowed to run and run and run and run and run and..... It didn't happen so much back when this was on television but the fact that it was dropped shows you that it did still happen. Now it happens more and more often, in fact it happens so often now that you can easily say that not only does humourless, boring, tedious, completely and utterly unfunny rubbish that gives the same number of laughs as a dead person (you have to be brain dead to watch them and you have to be brain dead and stupid to then say you enjoy them and then you have to be brain dead and completely moronic to say that you find them funny) such as The Office, The Royale Family, Little Britain, Bo Selecta, Ali G, Borat, (just to name a few of the many), they are then always self promoted by the industry due to the industry always giving them awards for best comedy. It's as if the industry is saying let's ignore the good stuff; let's throw it away and instead of that let's have complete crap on screen instead and hey if we give it awards we'll be able to keep the rubbish on-going for a fews years until some other rubbish can take it's place. It's the same in the music industry with all the tone-deaf, tuneless, off-key, and off-note, so-called singers that fill the charts from the number one position all the way down. The charts are clogged up with them. And then a bit of self promotion by the music industry by giving them the awards for Best Single or Best Album or Best Newcomer, (that should be Best Newcomer Of A Seriously Awful And Totally Talentless Lot) and like in television drivel ends up filling our screens and ears and it looks like doing so for years to come.

This was a very funny programme. The acting was sharp, the jokes were very funny, the script was very well written. What a shame it was not allowed to run for more than two series.

In the times of canned laughter in the office, before The Office came along...

[uuilson · 10/10 · 30 May 2005]

Only two series of Nelson's Column were commissioned. It's a follow-up of sorts to An Actor's Life for Me (1991), also starring John Gordon Sinclair and written by Paul Mayhew-Archer, which centers around an actor's rather than a journalist's frolics and follies.

Gavin Nelson is a journalist who has his own column (hence the meta-humor), in and out of love with his two female co-workers, he has a propensity to bite off more than he can chew on assignments; especially when his larger-than-life and "sluggish" cameraman is involved. Always looking for the easy way out, Nelson's "tall tales" oftentimes come back to haunt him tenfold.

Each episode of this series has a mediocre plot and is predictable in a lot of instances, however it redeems itself in certain areas. For instance, the cast of Sinclair, Thompson, and O'Donnell have a certain chemistry and are fantastic actors, which probably stems from all the time they have spent on stage.

It would be fantastic if this series was eventually released on DVD. It has often received harsh criticism as it wasn't embraced by the British public and actually had the misfortune to make it into the "Worst of" poll on BBC. It aired occasionally on PBS in the States.