DVD review: House of Fools series one

Draw near. Nearer still. Nearer still: The spectacular stupidity of Vic and Bob’s House of Fools comes to DVD this month, gathering all six episodes of series one in their surreal, pun-spinning, slapstick glory.

In The Conan Affair, Bob struggles to ready his house for a hot date with a Sandi Toksvig type, with constant intrusions by troublesome housemate Vic, Vic’s jailbird brother Bosh, ill-tempered son Erik, and randy neighbors Beef and Julie. The Conan Affair wastes no time setting the tone for the rest of the series; knockabout comedy, barmy jokes, and disturbing puppetry cutaways. There’s no rhyme or reason here, just good old fashioned silliness.

Next up, The Pork Pie Affair sees Vic and Bob charged with looking after Julie’s prized pork pie, while Bosh attempts to prove he is a reformed, decent member of society in the The Probation Affair.

In The Wig Affair, Bob must reclaim his stolen hair piece in order to defend his Toupee Wearer of the Year crown, and on Bob’s birthday, Vic causes problems by inviting Bob’s ex over in The Birthday Affair. Finally, in The Ghost Affair, guest starring League of Gentlemen’s Reece Shearsmith, Vic endeavors to photograph a ghost in order to win a chimp.

The DVD also boasts a handful of extras as bizarre and haphazard as the show itself. A brief behind the scenes featurette reveals rehearsal antics, how the show pulls off those Hollywood-quality special effects, and where they source their cut-price coffins from.

In the DVD’s most peculiar and amusing bonus feature, Bosh’s alter ego Dan Skinner shows us around the props department with the help of a strange Indian/Eastern European accent.

And we find out all about Vic’s vividly nightmarish paintings, Bob’s secret jelly babies and how Matt Berry won’t work without three sausages as Vic and Bob show us around the set.

The extras may be slight, but the main event itself is more than worth picking up. Delightfully silly and gut-bustingly funny, House of Fools is a sitcom that truly marches to the beat of its own drum. To boot, the series’ non-sequiturial nature makes it ideal for DVD viewing; dip in anywhere you like and bask in its lunacy.

Vic and Bob’s House of Fools is out on DVD on Monday 23 February. Pre-order from Amazon for £14.