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Lead Balloon

Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. A second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two in November 2007, and a third series began airing in November 2008. A fourth and final series commenced broadcast on 31 May 2011 on BBC Two and ended on 5 July. Comparisons were made by critics to the successful American comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, and positive comments were made about Lead Balloon's characters, particularly Magda, the Eastern European housekeeper. The first series was released on DVD in November 2007. The show's theme tune is a cover version of "One Way Road", written by Noel Gallagher and performed by Paul Weller.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Jack Dee, Anna Crilly, Raquel Cassidy

Type: tv

Season: 1

Episode: 1

Duration: 0h 30m

Release: 2006

Rating: 7.4

1 "Rubbish"

2006-10-04

"Rick fronts a lame government TV recycling campaign which backfires spectacularly. He falls out with caf\u00e9-owner Michael over a homemade fruitcake, and has a full-on row with unhinged baby-present shopkeeper Maureen."

2 "Wayne"

2006-10-11

"A teaspoon crisis in the Spleen household leads Rick to petty theft. Meanwhile, Rick's sleep is disturbed by the paperboy, Wayne, who is very punctual, very noisy and has a brain the size of a walnut."

3 "\u00a35000"

2006-10-18

"Rick gets in a punch-up at an awards ceremony and ends up with a black eye. Marty is preparing to pitch a programme to the BBC and Michael is delighted that Rick has accidentally sponsored him a small fortune for his Skipathon."

4 "Allergic"

2006-10-25

"Rick discovers he may have inadvertently killed one of Britain's best-loved entertainers, but he's preoccupied by a missing shoe-organiser. Meanwhile Rick prepares for upcoming appearance on topical news panel show Bullet in the News."

5 "Pistachio"

2006-11-01

"Rick buys himself a scooter but worries that it makes him look gay. Hosting the Air Conditioning and Climate Control Awards goes disastrously, and a trip to the local dry cleaner ends in a heated argument."

6 "Fatty"

2006-11-08

"Rick is publicly humiliated on TV by daytime chat-show host Adam Green. He also has an unfortunate encounter with an acquaintance at the gym, and Ben manages to destroy Rick's brand new DVD player by taking the back off."

7 "Episode 07"

N/A

"No description"

1 "Gas"

2008-11-13

"The episode opens with Rick at a celebrity charity auction trying to attract bids for the waistcoat of an ex-rock star. To start the bidding, he opens with a bit of \u00a3500 but with no takers, he ends up with it. Seeing Michael's father at the auction with a man, he assumes that they are a gay couple and resolves to protect Michael from this revelation.\n\nMeanwhile Magda has had to move out of her flat as the gas boiler is faulty and moves into the Spleen household. It is clear that Michael believes his father's companion is solely a business colleague, however, when he relaunches his cafe as a chic restaurant, with less than complete success, it becomes clear that this is not the case; Rick's suspicions had been correct. The waistcoat bought by Rick turns out to be worth considerably more than he paid for it, but he has given it to his daughter, whose boyfriend has cut it up for a textiles project at college."

2 "Panda"

2008-11-20

"Magda has begun settling in, to the extent of infiltrating her fridge magnets and watching The Jeremy Kyle Show in the afternoons; meanwhile Rick has signed up for a television programme to trace his ancestry. Ben and Sam have formed a pop duo, \"Ben and Sam.\" who are shown performing a track called \"Tragic\" on Youtube. Michael is inexplicably missing after the revelations about his father, but Rick and Marty find him working out in his garage, seemingly unconcerned. Rick has discovered his Scottish ancestry for the programme, but since his family name is Shaw, the confused Magda thinks he may be Chinese. It turns out, however, that his family history is not interesting enough for the television programme, and is rejected."

3 "Fax"

2008-11-27

"Rick has a bad day after doing poorly on a radio quiz and then finding out his email is broken and has to search for a fax machine. To make matters even worse his daughter and her boyfriend and rehearsing their music loudly which he isn't too keen on. His mindset changes though when he hears they could actually make some money out of it."

4 "Karma"

2008-11-27

"Rick decides to change his ways after an accident and will only see the positives in people from now on. He is pushed to the limits by Magda as she looks to offload some of his most treasured items, and Marty is sure it won't last. Elsewhere, Ben and Sam begin to move in a different direction and may have to split up."

5 "Spikey"

2008-12-11

"Rick is forced to go and see a play which turns out worse than he could've imagined as the writer used to be the same level as Rick. He is happier though, to learn that his daughter is single once again until he realises who her latest love interest is."

6 "Mistake"

2008-12-18

"Rick and Marty have to make extra room around the house when Mel has to work from home. Rick is annoyed by Marty's liking of Mel's assistant and the constant disruptions, until he realises he might be able to get a job through Mel."

7 "Nuts"

2008-12-23

"Rick is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas at home with Mel. It will be a well-earned break from the challenging acting role he is currently immersed in - playing the part of Mr Smee in a panto. Marty is no fan of pantomime, or of Christmas in general, and plans to head off for some winter sun - preferably to a country where carol-singing is punishable by death. Meanwhile, Michael has fallen in love at first sight with a chat room friend named Zoe and is already planning to propose on their first date. Ben and Sam are spending the holidays together, accompanied by Sam's gift to Ben of \"homemade\" mince pies. As for Magda, plans to return home to spend Christmas with her family are called off in favour of a week of mourning when her country's president dies."

2 "Dead"

2011-06-07

"Rick lands a job as a presenter on the Bargain Channel - it's Britain's premier shopping channel, as he points out to anyone who will listen. For once, his new job impresses surly East-European help Magda, who is a big fan of the show. His writing partner Marty and local cafe owner Michael are not so easily convinced, but Rick is determined that he's finally found something he's good at.\n\nMeanwhile, Rick's daughter Sam and her boyfriend Ben are allegedly looking for work - without ever getting up from the sofa."

3 "Shoddy"

2011-06-14

"Rick's new job as a presenter on The Bargain Channel is going well but after his writing partner Marty takes a shine to his co-presenter Donna, Rick is not happy. Clive is on the warpath wanting a refund for an ornamental windmill that his mother bought from The Bargain Channel. Rick's behaviour at a funeral sees him getting into trouble and threatens to kill off his career."

4 "Off"

2011-06-21

"Rick is at his lowest ebb. With no other work on offer, he decides to set up his own stand-up comedy workshop. But the first week's class attracts just five students. Worse still, the second session includes a new wannabe comic - deranged cafe owner Michael. A disastrous session on how to deal with heckling backfires spectacularly, but hope is on the horizon - in the form of an earnest council executive, Libby.\n\nMeanwhile Magda is trying to claim compensation after tripping on a paving stone, but it turns out that Rick is the one who's in danger of serious injury."

6 "End"

2011-07-05

"In the concluding episode, Rick has at last found the fame and success he so desperately craved. Thanks to his ordeal as a hostage, the 'Prison Siege Comic', as he is now known in the tabloids, is on an all-time high. He is inundated with offers - from appearing as a hostage expert on the national news, to featuring in a celebrity survival series.\n\nWhen he is asked to host The Brave Britain Awards in front of a live television audience of millions, Rick thinks all his dreams have finally come true. But, as he prepares to go on stage, it seems that the dream is about to turn into a nightmare."