Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy

Plot

Each episode of the first series is structured around a plot involving Noel and his friends, with sketches featuring strange characters often unconnected to the main story. The first series is set in Noel's treehouse in a red and blue jungle. The second series, Tales from Painted Hawaii, is set on a fictional Hawaiian island where Noel runs a coffee shop, with fewer sketches and most episodes revolving around characters completing a task.

Characters

Noel, played by Noel Fielding as an exaggerated version of himself, is imaginative yet childlike and irresponsible. In the first series he lives in a treehouse and wears elaborate costumes and face paint; in the second series he manages Luxury Coffee in Painted Hawaii, wears a uniform, and stops wearing face paint. Smooth, played by Michael Fielding, is a grey human-anteater hybrid who often serves as the voice of reason and plays bass guitar. Dolly, played by Dolly Wells, is Noel's friend and former girlfriend, a fashion model from Berlin obsessed with art and trends, who plays drums.

Warhol, played by Tom Meeten, is an exaggerated version of Andy Warhol who talks like a robot and is neurotic and insecure; he works in the coffee shop in series two and plays keyboard. Other characters include Secret Peter, a purple blob creature covered in crystals who speaks in an East London dialect, and Roy Circles, an anthropomorphic chocolate finger biscuit who works as a PE teacher and has PTSD.

Music

The soundtrack for the first series was written by Noel Fielding and Kasabian's Sergio Pizzorno under the band name Loose Tapestries. For the second series, they were joined by Kasabian touring member Tim Carter. An album titled Loose Tapestries Presents: the Luxury Comedy Tapes was released after the first series. The series one theme tune appears on that album, and a Hawaiian-style variation is used for series two.

Reception

Series 1 received mixed reviews. The Guardian described it as a neo-psychedelic riot of mirth, while The Sunday Times called it subversive. Purple Revolver said it was like television made for Salvador Dalí and Rene Magritte. Conversely, The Yorker found the plots too obscure and the dialogue random. The Scotsman was highly critical, calling Fielding uninspired and the show charmless rubbish. Series 2 was rated 4/5 stars by the Daily Telegraph's Christopher Howse, who described it as best watched drunk.