So far we’ve had Catherine Tate, Frank Skinner, Jonathan Pryce and most recently the incomparable Johnny Vegas – but is Genius actually any good?
As with all shows with a simplistic, clear format – yes it is. Giving the great British public (long since a source of eccentricity and insanity) a platform to make whatever declarations and announcements each with the singular aim of improving life was a moment of near genius itself, and throwing a comedy guest along with host Dave Gorman seals the deal.
Discovering the comic ability of guest Jonathan Pryce was a wonderful moment itself, but none so far has come close to the last edition in which Johnny Vegas and Dave Gorman tried out a looped duvet, invented to ensure that when one half of the co-habiting couple pulls the duvet around them, the other remains covered thanks to a loop of duvet hanging below the bed.
Anarchic is probably the best way to describe the ensuing madness which results in Vegas and Gorman becoming trapped under the bed, hanging in a cradle of duvet.
In the end, “the conveyor duvet” was not declared genius; “zip-up animal suits” for deceased pets to be cleverly replaced by in-costume replicas was declared a genius idea, but the overall genius of the edition was “torture box” – a device to torture inanimate objects such as keys and knives that might cause harm or distress to the user.
If that isn’t genius, I don’t know what is. Genius is a superb series that has fulfilled it’s pre-launch promise, transitioning well from the BBC Radio 4 version (of which I’m barely familiar). Given the laughs and potential, a second series must be commissioned.