If You See God, Tell Him

If you see God, Tell Him was a black comedy starring Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson shown by the BBC in 1993. It was written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick.

Related Topics:
Black comedy - Richard Briers - Adrian Edmondson - BBC - 1993 - Andrew Marshall - David Renwick

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The show followed the character of Godfrey Spry, played by Richard Briers. While on holiday in Spain some scaffolding collapsed, killing his wife and leaving him paralysed and with a greatly reduced attention span. As a result of the disability, he spends most of his time watching television commercials and believes every claim made by the advertisements. This causes some rather eccentric behaviour which is dutifully dealt with by his son, Gordon (Edmonson), and daughter-in-law, Muriel (Imelda Staunton).

Related Topics:
Spain - Imelda Staunton

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The series was comprised of four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and only broadcast once. Every episode was punctuated by deadpan parody adverts for non-existent products, such as the recurring Sanshibosh Remote Controlled Microwave (which could be activated by telephone), endorsed by a non-existent female celebrity of trans-Atlantic origin ("Hi, I'm Tandy Da Silva. Living the life I lead, I don't have much time for cooking ...")

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In the last episode, Godfrey hires an assistant to help with a knitting industry Godfrey has set up in his shed (after seeing an advert suggesting that a knitting machine could prove a financial boon). The assistant falls dead of a heart attack. Godfrey attempts to revive her by performing open-heart surgery, which he believes himself to be an expert in after purchasing a partwork on surgical procedures.

Related Topics:
Heart attack - Open-heart surgery - Partwork

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He is then framed for murder by police. The final time we see Godfrey, he is languishing in a cell, happy under the illusion that he is attending a dinner party at which fancy chocolates are being served.

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Apparently the BBC's refusal to rebroadcast or release the series on DVD is due to the series final episode implying racism in the Police.

Related Topics:
BBC - DVD

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