Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s Christmas… time? Yeah, this is one of two birthday presents I received from Stephen, my best mate at school, this year. The other present being ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ on DVD. It seems I get Christmas DVDs early for my birthday, which I really don’t mind, as it’s quite fun.

Last year, I did a quick review on ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, a comedy stage production adapted for TV that presented an amateur dramatics group performing J. M. Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’ stage play and getting it disastrously wrong, which was deliberate for stage and TV. I found it a fun viewing experience. 🙂

‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ is the follow-up to ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, as that was shown in 2016 whereas this was shown on BBC TV in 2017. In the special, the Cornley Polytechnic amateur dramatic society have been blacklisted by the BBC, following their disastrous production of ‘Peter Pan’.

Despite this, the enthusiastic amateurs are determined not to take their ban by the BBC lightly, as they force themselves back on TV and hijack a live production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, which was supposed to feature Sir Derek Jacobi in the starring role of Ebenezer Scrooge. 😀

It was amusing to see Sir Derek Jacobi in ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’, having seen and heard him play the War Master in ‘Doctor Who’ for TV and the Big Finish audios. It’s amusing when he keeps popping back in and out of the ‘Goes Wrong’ version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and gets his own back. 😀

This version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ also features the late Dame Diana Rigg, who plays the aunt of one of the performers – Charlie Russell as Sandra (who played Wendy in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’). It was amusing to see Diana Rigg in this production, having seen her in ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Doctor Who’. 🙂

And of course, the latest version of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’. I have to say, I’m not exactly familiar with how a live production on TV is supposed to work. I’m sure they’re better than what’s presented in ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’, but it’s different compared to what’s in a stage play. 😐

I enjoyed ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ from beginning to end, but I wouldn’t say it’s as good as ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’. Maybe with more watches, I’ll find there’s more to take from it and there were some funny moments featured, but I don’t think it’s as memorable as ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’.

The amateur cast includes Henry Shields as Chris (who played Captain Hook in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’) and is now playing Scrooge here. I found it funny when Henry Lewis as Robert was trying to get to play Scrooge and attempted to incapacitate Chris throughout the production to get the role. 🙂

Robert (who also appeared in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ in various roles) plays Bugsworth, Scrooge, Tiny Tim for a bit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and a Pallbearer. I found it touching when Chris became apologetic to everyone in the cast, having been mostly arrogant and so full of himself.

There’s Dave Hearn as Max (who played Michael and the Crocodile in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’) as Young Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Present, a Collector and an Undertaker. I like how the romance story between him and Sandra got resolved, as it seemed he was almost betrayed by her. 🙂

Charlie Russell as Sandra plays a Collector, Frances, Belle, Mrs. Cratchit and Olivia. There’s also Jonathan Sayer as Dennis (who played Jonathan and Smee in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’) as Bob Cratchit, a Priest and a Pallbearer. He’s having to read his lines written out to him a lot when he’s on set. 😀

There’s Greg Tannahill as Jonathan (who played Peter Pan in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’), playing Marley, a Topper and a Businessman. There’s Nancy Zamit as Annie (who played Tinker Bell in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’), playing Frances, the Ghost of Christmas Past and a Businessman in the production.

Ellie Morris as Lucy (who played Tootles in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’) plays Tiny Tim in the production. Unfortunately, she gets knocked out by Robert, who attempted to incapacitate Chris and he takes her place for a bit. Thankfully, Lucy as Tiny Tim gets to say “God bless us, everyone” at the story’s end. 🙂

‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ has been an enjoyable instalment in the ‘Goes Wrong’ series by Mischief Theatre. My parents and I are getting to enjoy these ‘Goes Wrong’ productions very well. Maybe we’ll check out ‘The Goes Wrong Show’ someday. It has had two seasons from 2019 to 2021 so far. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂