Big Train is a surreal television comedy sketch show written by the creators of the more successful Father Ted, Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan.

Following in the tradition of Monty Python, the comedy of Big Train is based on the subversion of ordinary situations by the surreal or even macabre. For example, one scene features a bad-mannered man casually stabbed to death by his embarrassed wife at a dinner party. The series is probably most famous for a recurring sketch of the first series, a stare-out competition accompanied by commentary from BBC football commentator Barry Davies and Phil Cornwell .

Despite running for two series (1998 and 2002), Big Train attracted only a limited audience. Even so, the first series was voted "Best Broken Comedy Show" at the prestigious British Comedy Awards in 1999. Both series were released on DVD on 25 October 2004.

Its stars included Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Rebecca Front, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Catherine Tate and Amelia Bullmore , who have all starred in a variety of other comedy shows including I'm Alan Partridge, Spaced, Smack The Pony and Brass Eye. Catherine Tate went on to get her own show on the BBC, The Catherine Tate Show .

External links

• BBC Big Train Home Page

Big Train also was the nickname of Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson.