16. The Worst Week Of My Life The Worst Christmas Of My Life (BBC One, 2006)
Walking disaster area Howard Steel (Ben Miller) goes to spend Christmas with his in-laws but, as usual, finds himself in their bad books after causing a number of small catastrophes. This ones a bit of a cheat since its a three episode miniseries but I still think it deserves a place on this list.
The Worst Week Of My Life is a bit like a modern
Some Mothers Do Ave Em only with cruder jokes and a more self-assured protagonist. As well as the physical comedy and the farce elements, its the intricate plotting of the jokes that makes this such a good miniseries. A good example of this is Howard accidentally urinating over his in-laws Christmas goose. Its a relatively small moment in itself but its the starting point for a huge number of other jokes throughout the three episodes that happen as a result of that mistake. Other than the writing and plotting, Ben Millers excellent performance is the cornerstone of it all but the supporting cast do a brilliant job, especially Geoffrey Whitehead as Howards father-in-law Dick, whose sardonic comments are always a great counterpoint to the physical jokes.
Best Moment: Howard dragging Dick into the house shouting Look what Ive found after knocking him unconscious in a minor car crash at a time when (thanks to a misunderstanding) everyone thinks he (Dick) is dead. Angelas (Alison Steadman) reaction is priceless.