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The Toenail

Episode 2 of 4

Neil's attempts at recycling strike Kim as an unhealthy obsession with death. Starring Frank Skinner and Katherine Parkinson. From September 2012.

What do long term partners really argue about? The sharp new comedy from Frank Skinner returns for a second series.

Well observed, clever and funny, Don't Start is a scripted comedy with a deceptively simple premise - an argument. Each week our couple fall out over another apparently trivial flashpoint - the Krankies, toenail trimming and semantics.

The stakes mount as Neil and Kim battle with words. But these are no ordinary arguments. The two outdo each other with increasingly absurd images, unexpected literary references (the Old Testament, Jack Spratt and the first Mrs Rochester, to name a few) and razor sharp analysis of their beloved's weaknesses. Underneath the cutting wit, however, there is an unmistakable tenderness.

Frank says:
"Having established in the first series that Neil and Kim are a childless academic couple who during their numerous arguments luxuriate in their own and each other's learning and wit, I've tried in the second series to dig a little deeper into their relationship. Love and affection occasionally splutter into view, like a Higgs boson in a big tunnel-thing, but can such emotions ever prevail in a relationship where the couple prefers to wear their brains, rather than their hearts, on their sleeves? Is that too much offal imagery?"

Episode 2: The Toenail
Frank's attempts at recycling strike Kim as an unhealthy obsession with death.

Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
Executive Producer: Jon Thoday
An Avalon production for 成人快手 Radio 4.

15 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Jul 2017 23:15

Credits

Role Contributor
Neil Frank Skinner
Kim Katherine Parkinson
Director Polly Thomas
Producer Polly Thomas
Writer Frank Skinner

Broadcasts

  • Wed 19 Sep 2012 23:00
  • Sun 11 May 2014 19:30
  • Fri 16 May 2014 07:45
  • Fri 16 May 2014 22:15
  • Sat 17 May 2014 17:45
  • Sun 18 May 2014 05:45
  • Tue 17 Nov 2015 22:30
  • Sun 2 Jul 2017 23:15