# Big Train (1998)

> A twisted, surreal BBC Two sketch show from Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews featuring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1356

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Arthur Mathews, Graham Linehan
- Network: BBC Two
- Cast: Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon, Rebecca Front, Mark Heap, Julia Davis, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Catherine Tate, Amelia Bullmore
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178126/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: surreal, deadpan, irreverent, awkward, playful

## What critics say

Audiences rate this twisted, original sketch show positively, valuing its surreal and absurdist humour.

## Synopsis

Big Train (1998-2002) is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews for BBC Two. Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Julia Davis and Catherine Tate play a rotating gallery of odd characters who turn ordinary situations into bizarre, deadpan mini-dramas. Rather than following one protagonist through a continuing plot, each half-hour episode is assembled from short, self-contained sketches that escalate into strange, unexpected territory, with recurring performers returning in new guises across the run. The engine of the show is comic misfit behaviour: people who take social routines, mundane jobs and small talk far too seriously, or not seriously enough. Its two seasons, six episodes each, have a twisted, original sensibility rooted in the tradition of British sketch shows, with a dry, awkward tone that will appeal to fans of The Fast Show, Harry Enfield and Chums, and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. The result is a playful, uneven, cult-minded series that rewards close attention to its oddball detail and its committed performances.

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