Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I'm an admirer of music hall and the stars - sadly now nearly all dead - who carried on the tradition in Variety. What a joy then to hear the not very old Steve Delaney as a kind of living throwback to an era that ended perhaps 80 years ago. It's all in the delivery - all those - pauses, that - pause - make the difference. Hia Count Arthur,is a wonderful mixture of performance and - pause- creativite writing. What he has done is to create the once popular entertainer in his twilight years when memories and bookings have dried up and he no longer a public figure. Not that the Count will acknowledge this change, he has retained all his overbearing self-confidence, much of his old vigour but much less of his brains and almost none of his memory. Old performers never die - they merely lose their marbles.The radio shows were uncluttered. Regulars who feature in the Counts life included: Geoffrey, dimwitted friend, the local butcher (the Count loved offal), and the proprietor of the local greasy spoon, were all minor characters. Steve Delaney's magic was convincly demonstrate what utter mahen could result when gross-error and enormous undaunted overbearing self-confidence coincided.That was the Count at his very best. I cannot imagine how Delaney worked out the convoluted plots in which comprehensive havoc was wreaked without apparent design. The Count's credo was: Never apologise, never explain - he didn't give a damn about anybody else, and in any case had such a faltering grasp of reality that explanation that anyone else would understand, was totally beyond him.Graham Lineham to my mind was at his best with the IT Crowd. Here though he clutters and pads out the cast and plot with regulars who just have too much to say and no compelling logic that they should be there (why does the Greg Kinnear character's life revolve round Count Arthur?). A real life Count Arthur = mega-egotist - would be complaining to his agent and his writer, that the others are stealing his scenes and his thunder. After all these years, Count Arthur is still the star - and we should never (be allowed) forget it!

I was very excited that there was going to be TV show of my favorite radio show, I absolutely loved the radio show, I have been listening to him since I was 12 (6 years) and loved the character. The count Arthur strong in the radio show is a eccentric old man, but is respected and also hilarious but does't mean to be, I looked up to the character like a comedy legend.The TV series doesn't capture the count Arthur Strong from the radio, the TV series we see him as a washed up old fool that no one respects like the character Michael who patronizes him all the time and not many take him seriously and that just saddens me, he may sound the same look the same as I imaged him to be on the radio but his entourage makes him seem like a mentally ill old man and that ruins all my fond memories of listening to him on radio 4 as a child each week.

I only found this by accident, when episode 1 (and on a rerun) was shown after Dad's Army one Saturday night. I was hooked as it was so funny. I have just finished watching episode 6, and I really hope they do a second series. It has some very funny moments. Some of the characters are quite absurd really, but that adds to the fun of it. The only sensible people are Michael and Sinem (the waitress). So mostly it is the funny characters who make the laughs, especially Arthur, who thinks too much of himself. If you have not seen this, and you like some of the old British comedies like Fawlty Towers then you should see this.

I'm a big fan of Linehan and I have enjoyed all of his work thus far. That said, I have not been a big fan of the radio series, and was slightly apprehensive when I heard of Linehan doing a series based on it. The radio show itself has garnered polarized responses from audiences, so you very well know that it's not going to get any better with the TV series.What works: 1. Delaney's very good with his mannerisms and I thought the character translated quite well into TV. 2. The gags which are classic Linehan moments (Jack the Ripper tour gag, Arthur as Dr. Two etc.) are excellent. Those alone salvage the show from being a poor one.What doesn't work: 1. Rory Kinnear as Michael - such a needless and irritating character. I really like Kinnear, but not in this role. A total miscast, if the character was necessary at all. 2. The pathos - they're all downright terrible. The one involving Eggy especially was unbelievably bad. 3. Over explanation of some gags - especially by Michael, is such a fun killer.Overall: Not great, and not Linehan's best, but still very Watchable and has a few flashes of brilliance. But seeing how the series has ended, and given that it has been recommissioned, I hope he rectifies these flaws and does a much, much better job with the second series.