One of the great comic creations of our time, Andy Hamilton's infernally funny and Sony-award winning series Old Harry's Game appeals to young and old alike. Two festive episodes have been brought together in one CD just in time for Satan to ruin Christmas for as many people as he can. In Christmas Spirit he is so unimpressed with the calibre of new intakes to hell he decides to abolish Christmas, while in Ring in the New, Satan, fed up with the relentless chaos and grimness of Hell, heads off to the Lake District for a mini-break - leaving the incompetent Scumspawn in charge with inevitably chaotic consequences...

Andy Hamilton's Old Harry's Game ran for seven series (from 1995 to 2010). Between the fourth and fifth series there was a gap of four years, although for two of those years there were two Christmas specials. The seventh series finished in 2009 and the two Christmas episodes included on this CD were part of a loosely linked Christmas themed collection that were originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 23 and 30 December 2010.

The first episode, Christmas Spirit, deals with the fact that Edith misses Christmas, while Satan hates it so much he decides to go top side and get the traditional celebrations stopped. This he does by appearing on Radio 4's The Today Programme on their religious segment, Thought For the Day. He also appears on Oprah and eventually pretends to be the Pope, all in a bid to make mankind shun Christmas.

The second episode, Ring in the New, is a New Year's tale which sees the Prince of Darkness going on holiday to the Lake District in order to get away from it all. He begrudgingly leaves Scumspawn in charge, but when the other demons hear of this all hell breaks out.

For those who know the series, this collection is as hilarious as you've come to expect. Hamilton's deadpan delivery never disappoints, and the rather ridiculous situations will have even the most stony-faced individuals laughing out loud.

9

Darren Rea