The Royal Bodyguard

2011

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
4.3| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 26 December 2011 Ended
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Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The Royal Bodyguard is a British television sitcom, written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, and starring David Jason, Geoffrey Whitehead, Tim Downie and Timothy Bentinck. A series of six episodes began on 26 December 2011, concluding on 30 January 2012. The first episode picked up more than 8 million viewers but the series declined in ratings throughout, with the fifth episode barely achieving 2 million viewers. The series was heavily criticised by viewers and critics. At 71 Jason was widely felt to be too old for the lead role. The show was cancelled by the BBC and will not return for further episodes.

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Reviews

Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Alicia I love this movie so much
BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
koalafishy After completing the first episode I was stunned at why David Jason would ever sign up for this rubbish. that was before i realized the comedy gold i was watching. What makes this show so great is its predictability, time and again I called the exact next scene just by seeing the location. In most films this predictability makes it boring or cheesy. not in this! This show made my Christmas, leaving me doubled up in laughter and still chuckling about it days later.A TRUE CLASSIC for the whole family, if you enjoy comedy and enter it not expecting carefully scripted and brilliantly acted Oscar/Bafta stuff your in for a treat.
zoe-butler51 A weak script with unlikeable supporting characters spoiled what could have been a great idea. As it is, The Royal Bodyguard is funny as a gentle comedy. It is not something David Jason will be remembered for, despite trying hard. Some people have said it would have been saved by a younger actor, but to me, this looks like missing the point. The premise is that Guy Hubble, a forgotten member of the security forces is given the job as a car park attendant so that he can carry on working out of harms way, but through being in the wrong place at the right time he impresses HM The Queen so much that she insists he be promoted way above his level of competence. It's a one joke film, of course. The only way the premise can be stretched is that everyone else is incompetent too. We have incompetent senior civil servants, incompetent security guards, even incompetent terrorists. It could be argued that the Queen herself is incompetent to be taken in, to the extent of insisting on Hubble being kept in his job. That is the weakness of the concept. An incompetent security officer in a highly efficient security department facing well organised, highly disciplined terrorists could have been far more suspenseful and therefore far funnier when the comedy relieved the tension. Instead we get situations where everyone falls over their own and each others' feet and Hubble wins by being the last man standing. This is not intelligent comedy at all. Comparisons have been made with Norman Wisdom. But Norman Wisdom comedies had sympathetic characters. The foils for Wisdom's antics were always the mighty brought down. In The Royal Bodyguard, we don't care about any of the other characters, and the mighty are brought down by their own incompetence as much as anything. There is one big mistake in Hubble's character. He blames everyone else. This is a believable flaw, but it alienates him from us. Hubble does too much of it. It is not well written because he is always childishly shouting, "That was your fault!" it is one thing to let someone take the blame, but to deliberately blame innocent passers by is not the way to endear audiences. I have given this a fairly generous score of five out of ten. This is entirely for David Jason. He brings pathos to what would be - in real life - a tragedy. This is a story about someone who is overconfident and in over his head; an old man who is too proud to retire and take a less active role and who pathetically attempts to look younger by wearing an obvious wig. People like that really exist and, in these days, there are probably more of them than ever. With better writing, this could have rocked. With poor writing it crumbles.
plutus1947 David Jason is arguably the best UK TV actor ever. Whether it is comedy like Only Fools & Horses and Porterhouse Blue, or hard hitting dramas like Frost and All The King's Men, Jason's acting is impeccable.He has, or had, a knack of selecting just the right scripts to show off his perfect acting ability.Sadly, in the case of The Royal Bodyguard this knack appears to have eluded him.SPOILER BEGINS: David Jason plays the part of Captain Guy Hubble, an ex soldier, who, after saving the Queen's life by stopping her runaway carriage was given the post of The Royal Bodyguard. It was Hubble's fault the horses stampeded in the first place.I must say this scene I thought was quite funny.SPOILER ENDS From there on what promised to be a typical Jason comedy series started to go down hill and if the first episode is anything to go by the series will continue to falter.True I have only seen the first episode and because I love Jason as an actor I will continue to watch the series in the hope it will improve although I don't hold out much hope.SPOILER BEGINS: In the first episode Jason (Hubble) was employed to secure the Queen's safety at a conference, because he had saved the Queen's life.The whole of the Government department responsible for the Queen's safety hate Hubble and want him replaced because of his total incompetence.Of course that did not happen because through his incompetence he saved the life of the Queen yet again.SPOILER ENDS All through the thirty minute episode it was no more than a sequence of slapstick and farce. The plot and dialogue was totally forgettable, in fact it was thinner than a sheet of paper.This series gives the impression that it was written after the author had seen Johnny English.Johnny English was much better and much more enjoyable, probably because Rowan Atkinson who played English is perfect in this type of role, and if they had cast Atkinson in the part of Guy Hubble I have a feeling I would have thoroughly enjoyed The Royal Bodyguard, especially if they had named the main character Bean, the character Rowan Atkinson is most famous for.I am so sorry Sir David but as much as I admire you as possibly Britains greatest TV actor I feel you have made a great mistake in choosing the role of Guy Hubble in this series.Unless there is a drastic improvement in the next 5 episodes I really cannot see a second series.I have given this first episode a 3 star rating simply because I love David as an actor and did enjoy the first scene.ADDENDUMSince writing the above review I have watched the complete first series and I owe David Jason a big apology.Each episode became more and more enjoyable and in the end I was sorry to see the first series end.Have no fears though The Royal Bodyguard is coming back for another series very soon.Once again I hope David will accept my apologies.
NitrousMcBread David Jason is a hugely talented comic actor. Why, then, are the BBC demeaning him by giving him such a catastrophically idiotic, derivative and mirth-free script as "The Royal Bodyguard"? And who on earth gave this pathetic dross the go-ahead? This is real car-crash television: you can see the 'jokes' coming light years away. Throughout a conversation with a pianist at a grand piano, we all know David Jason's character will somehow mistakenly knock the piano cover closed. The lead-up to this century-old comedy non-starter is excruciating, though when it finally happens, it's still amazing just how limp the payoff is.Other 'highlights': he tries to eat a lobster but doesn't know how! He tries to attack a suit of armour!! He falls into some water!!! Ahahahaha haha hahahahaha!!!!! I could understand better if this mess was a one-off special for Boxing Day, when people are generally too drunk to get up and turn the telly off - but there's a whole series of "The Royal Bodyguard" on its way.... good grief! In conclusion: unbelievably pathetic, and a hugely embarrassing failure. If a 6-year-old had written this script for a school project, it would be returned with a red line through it. An insult to the abilities of David Jason and an insult to the viewer.

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