It's A Cliché

Rob and Doug's original sketch show back on Radio 4 Extra.

27 June, 2014

If you know your Red Dwarf history, you'll be well aware of the lineage that goes back to the Dave Hollins: Space Cadet sketches that featured in Rob Grant and Doug Naylor's early 1980s Radio 4 sketch comedy Son of Cliché. You may even have listened to some of the sketches themselves, as they were featured on the Series V-VIII DVD releases.

Hearing the rest of the series, however, has generally proven to be a more difficult task - as it's not presently commercially available, and doesn't show up in the wild all that often. There's a rare opportunity to do so at the moment, however, as BBC Radio 4 Extra - the digital and online station dedicated to archive comedy and drama broadcasts and formerly known as Radio 7 - are in the midst of running a selection of episodes.

The episodes are airing on Tuesday nights at 11.30pm, but if you can't tune in at that time, you can also listen again via the iPlayer to the most recent week's episode. It's a great opportunity to hear Grant Naylor in the formative years of their writing partnership - as well as a great opportunity for us to once again wheel out that picture of a far-too-youthful-looking Chris Barrie...

Listen to Son of Cliché at the Radio 4 Extra website!