The Comic Strip Presents... The Bullshitters: Roll out the Gunbarrel (1982– ) Online

This is The Comic Strip's lampoon of 80's hit TV show "The Professionals" and it's as funny as it's accurate. Keith Allen and Peter Richardson have a riotous time sending up Bodie and Doyle, "let's going" around London bare-chested and trouser-less one last time under the iron-will of their tough-as-old-boots, wily Scot, ex-boss Commander Jackson (tributing Gordon, of course) cannily played by Robbie Coltrane.

Their mission is unimportant and indeed is the only weak part of the script, so far better just to join in the fun and laugh along at the unerringly accurate impersonations carried out by the three leads. For instance, when we first meet "Bone-head", he's hilariously training a bunch of track-suited wannabe tough-guy actors for TV work, especially when he teaches them "car-acting". Soon afterwards we encounter the be-permed serious, narcissistic thespian Foyle in a mock-up modern-day "Look Back In Anger"-type play, before Jackson hoists them out of there and teams them up again to rescue his kidnapped daughter.

The funniest scenes by far are those taking a rise out of the original show's stereotyped characters and clichéd situations so that now the pair's bromance is souped up to homo-erotic level before the blood bath body-count at the end and the inevitable closing helicopter panning shot.

It's very funny pretty much all the way through, idiomatically directed by Stephen Frears in an early task and as said earlier played to the hilt by Allen, Richardson and Coltrane. I loved "The Professionals" in my youth, probably before I fully gained my critical faculties, which no doubt helped me "get" this fun send-up as much as I did.

This series is all about parodies of British things that most Americans have never seen but it usually doesn't matter.In most episodes, if you can understand what they are saying you can enjoy the show.You didn't need to see whatever they are making fun of to get it.This episode is different.From what I can tell, if you haven't seen whatever obscure British TV show this is based on, you won't enjoy this.It's a typical Keith Allen episode, not very good.If you're not familiar with 1970's British police dramas you will not get this.I sure didn't.This is probably the worst episode of this series.I would recommend avoiding this and all episodes featuring Keith Allen(except The Yob).