Although it hasn't had very positive reviews so far on this site, this series is one that I am quite partial to. I actually find that the clips from the live shows being interwoven with Billy's musings on the places he goes to quite a good approach - indeed, it's a very interesting way to take in as many "snapshot" views of England, Ireland and Wales as possible.
The only thing I find remotely frustrating is when I play my video of the series (for it came out so long ago that we were still buying things on video back then) is trying to find certain bits at random - some of my favourite segments include Billy discussing Jeffrey Dahmer the serial killer and his fears over what his daughters finding his collection of Bob Dylan records might lead them to do. (On the other hand, that is not a fault of the series at all - rather, it is the effects of changing technology.) But returning to the positive side, what I most love is being able to pick out places that I myself have visited, be they Portmeirion in Wales or (closer to home) the visit Billy makes to the church where the family of Alice Nutter, one of the "Pendle Witches" from the early 1600s, is buried. You certainly get the feeling - as you do when Billy goes to the Irish prisons where political prisoners were held and then executed - that Billy is the kind of person who learns things from the past, the sort of person whose attitude to life has developed from discovering these historical events and injustices. More importantly, I think Billy shows a keen interest in many of the quirky and original features of the places he goes to - I have never watched this series with the impression that the filming was a chore for him.
So, overall, the format chosen for this series is one that appeals to me and personally I find the combination of stand-up and travelogue works.
The only thing I find remotely frustrating is when I play my video of the series (for it came out so long ago that we were still buying things on video back then) is trying to find certain bits at random - some of my favourite segments include Billy discussing Jeffrey Dahmer the serial killer and his fears over what his daughters finding his collection of Bob Dylan records might lead them to do. (On the other hand, that is not a fault of the series at all - rather, it is the effects of changing technology.) But returning to the positive side, what I most love is being able to pick out places that I myself have visited, be they Portmeirion in Wales or (closer to home) the visit Billy makes to the church where the family of Alice Nutter, one of the "Pendle Witches" from the early 1600s, is buried. You certainly get the feeling - as you do when Billy goes to the Irish prisons where political prisoners were held and then executed - that Billy is the kind of person who learns things from the past, the sort of person whose attitude to life has developed from discovering these historical events and injustices. More importantly, I think Billy shows a keen interest in many of the quirky and original features of the places he goes to - I have never watched this series with the impression that the filming was a chore for him.
So, overall, the format chosen for this series is one that appeals to me and personally I find the combination of stand-up and travelogue works.
