Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish is a British comedy television show that ran for five series between 2013 and 2017, with a revival series due on U&Dave in 2024.[1] It was broadcast on Dave and presented by Dave Gorman. The series mainly consisted of Gorman presenting comedic PowerPoint presentations in which he attempts to argue that modern life is neither bad nor good, but "good...ish". The series began on 17 September 2013. A fifth series began airing on 31 October 2017.[2] Gorman announced on 18 December 2017 that the show would conclude after the final episode of series 5 aired the following night.[3] In July 2024, it was announced that four brand-new hour long specials had been ordered by UKTV for their rebranded Dave channel.[4]
| Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Stand-up comedy |
| Written by | Dave Gorman |
| Directed by | Paul Wheeler |
| Presented by | Dave Gorman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 (+1 highlights series) |
| No. of episodes | 36 (+3 highlights episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jamie Isaacs Iain Coyle (Series 2–3) |
| Producers | Nick Martin James Fidler |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | Liberty Bell |
| Original release | |
| Network | Dave |
| Release | 17 September 2013 – 19 December 2017 |
Format
editEach episode sees Gorman present a stand-up show using PowerPoint, on a particular theme about modern life. Examples include celebrity culture and social media. Each episode features a recurring section called the "Found Poem", in which Gorman reads out a selection of bizarre comments left on news websites, all covering a particular story. Gorman performs the Found Poem with a lone spotlight shining on him, while accompanied by the Billroth String Quartet[5] (Billroth Ensemble from Series 4) playing 'Sarabande' from George Frideric Handel's Keyboard suite in D minor (HWV 437). The title of each episode comes from a line out of the Found Poem.[6]
Production
editThe programmes were recorded at the Tabernacle, Notting Hill. The episodes were recorded in pairs. Prior to the final recordings, Gorman did "dry run" performances of each episode's content in small theatres. Gorman frequently rewrote portions of the performance after the dry runs.[3]
The show was labour-intensive to create; in the final three weeks before taping a pair of episodes, Gorman would work for over 100 hours a week.[3] The heavy workload was one of the contributing factors to the decision to end the show in 2017. Another factor was Gorman's decision to tour in 2018.[3]
The show's title is similar to that of the 1993 Blur album Modern Life Is Rubbish. When asked if the title was an intentional reference, Gorman said 'I think it's a Blur reference if you want it to be. The "rubbish" version, I think, comes to mind anyway. I just like that'.[7]
Series overview
edit| Series | Episodes | Original broadcast | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series premiere | Series finale | |||
| Series 1 | 6 | 17 September 2013 | 22 October 2013 | |
| Series 2 | 8 | 9 September 2014 | 28 October 2014 | |
| Series 3 | 8 | 8 September 2015 | 27 October 2015 | |
| Goodish Hits | 3 | 11 May 2016 | 25 May 2016 | |
| Series 4 | 6 | 8 November 2016 | 13 December 2016 | |
| Series 5 | 8 | 31 October 2017 | 19 December 2017 | |
Episodes
editSeries 1 (2013)
edit| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Not a Very Nice Biscuit" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 17 September 2013 | 518,000 |
| 2 | 2 | "Badgers Don't Vote" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 24 September 2013 | 457,000 |
| 3 | 3 | "I Is Da Queen" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 1 October 2013 | 441,000 |
| 4 | 4 | "A Prince, Not an Estate Agent" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 8 October 2013 | 512,000[b] |
| 5 | 5 | "I Like Eggs" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 15 October 2013 | 643,000[c] |
| 6 | 6 | "Will It Make Toasters Cheaper?" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 22 October 2013 | 513,000 |
Series 2 (2014)
edit| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "I Call Mine Sally" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 9 September 2014 | 612,000 |
| 8 | 2 | "Winston Churchill's Pants" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 16 September 2014 | 550,000[d] |
| 9 | 3 | "Just Chips That Haven't Been Made Yet" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 23 September 2014 | 495,000[e] |
| 10 | 4 | "Poogle" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 30 September 2014 | 533,000[f] |
| 11 | 5 | "I Would Drink That Bathwater" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 7 October 2014 | 588,000 |
| 12 | 6 | "Dat Is Data Dat Is" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 14 October 2014 | 650,000[g] |
| 13 | 7 | "I Like Hot Bananas" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 21 October 2014 | 523,000 |
| 14 | 8 | "The Dirt Collects There" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 28 October 2014 | 573,000 |
Series 3 (2015)
edit| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1 | "Why Are There Still Chickens?" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 8 September 2015 | 638,000[h] |
| 16 | 2 | "The Veneer of Civilisation" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 15 September 2015 | 685,000[i] |
| 17 | 3 | "Ova Is Latin. For Eggs" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 22 September 2015 | 611,000 |
| 18 | 4 | "Too-Ra Taloo Rye-Eh" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 29 September 2015 | 592,000 |
| 19 | 5 | "Negative Nancy" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 6 October 2015 | 525,000 |
| 20 | 6 | "Stuck on Level 342" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 13 October 2015 | 668,000 |
| 21 | 7 | "That's What We Grow In" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 20 October 2015 | 706,000[j] |
| 22 | 8 | "A German Tradition" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 27 October 2015 | 696,000 |
Goodish Hits (2016)
edit| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 1 | "Series 1 Highlights" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 11 May 2016 |
| – | 2 | "Series 2 Highlights" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 18 May 2016 |
| – | 3 | "Series 3 Highlights" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 25 May 2016 |
Series 4 (2016)
editSeries 4 of Modern Life Is Goodish was confirmed on 7 August 2015. The series contained only 6 episodes because Gorman took a break to look after his expected baby.[citation needed] The show began airing on Dave on 8 November 2016.
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "It Was an Accident and I Was Hospitalised" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 8 November 2016 | 608,000 (7 days) 671,000 (28 days) |
| 24 | 2 | "If You Put a Sausage in It, It's Not a Viennetta" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 15 November 2016 | 637,000 (7 days) 643,000 (28 days) |
| 25 | 3 | "That's What Debt Actually Is, Actually" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 22 November 2016 | 755,000 (7 days) 797,000 (28 days) |
| 26 | 4 | "Vicars, Horses, Doctors and Smurfs" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 29 November 2016 | 631,000 (7 days) 690,000 (28 days) |
| 27 | 5 | "Nobody Wants Vom on Their Cheerios" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 6 December 2016 | 698,000 (7 days) 733,000 (28 days) |
| 28 | 6 | "Spray Gravy" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 13 December 2016 | 515,000 (7 days) 539,000 (28 days) |
Series 5 (2017)
editSeries 5 of Modern Life Is Goodish was also confirmed on 7 August 2015;[citation needed] the series contained 8 episodes. It was confirmed on 18 December 2017, by Gorman, that there would be no sixth series.
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 1 | "Like Top Gun All Over Again" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 31 October 2017 | 515,000 (7 days) 573,000 (28 days) |
| 30 | 2 | "I've Never Seen a Cat" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 7 November 2017 | 517,000 (7 days) 549,000 (28 days) |
| 31 | 3 | "A Helicopter Is Quicker Than a Car" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 14 November 2017 | 574,000 (7 days) 583,000 (28 days) |
| 32 | 4 | "You Use a Spoon for Licking Custard" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 21 November 2017 | 601,000 (7 days) 620,000 (28 days) |
| 33 | 5 | "It Does Not Bong" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 28 November 2017 | 539,000 (7 days) 582,000 (28 days) |
| 34 | 6 | "Drippy Strummer" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 5 December 2017 | 502,000 (7 days) |
| 35 | 7 | "A Physically Large Head" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 12 December 2017 | 445,000 (7 days) |
| 36 | 8 | "My Childhood Is Ruined" | Paul Wheeler | Dave Gorman | 19 December 2017 | 457,000 (7 days) |
Notes
edit- ^ Ratings sourced from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.[8]
- ^ 453,000 on Dave and 59,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 582,000 on Dave and 61,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 504,000 on Dave and 46,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 455,000 on Dave and 40,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 478,000 on Dave and 55,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 592,000 on Dave and 58,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 565,000 on Dave and 73,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 611,000 on Dave and 74,000 on Dave Ja Vu
- ^ 621,000 on Dave and 85,000 on Dave Ja Vu
References
edit- ^ "Modern Life is Goodish: Dave Gorman Returns to U&Dave for New Series".
- ^ "Dave commissions two more series from Dave Gorman". British Comedy Guide. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d Gorman, Dave (18 December 2017). "Dave Gorman: Goodish Bye". Dave Gorman. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Modern Life is Goodish: Dave Gorman Returns to U&Dave for New Series".
- ^ "The Billroth String Quartet". IMDb. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Dave Gorman's Found Poems - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ Dave Gorman [@DaveGorman] (19 September 2013). "Jamiegitberger I think it's a Blur reference if you want it to be. The "rubbish" version, I think, comes to mind anyway. I just like that" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Weekly top 10 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018) | BARB".