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A Brief History of Timewasting: The Complete Series 1 and 2
- A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama
- Narrated by: Linda Smith, Jeremy Hardy, Margaret John, Femi Elufowoju Jr, Chris Neill, Martin Hyder, full cast
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
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A Brief History of Timewasting: The Complete Series 1 and 2
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Summary
All 12 episodes of the sitcom written by and starring Linda Smith, featuring her eccentric East London escapades.
Linda Smith lives in her East London home, where her daily routine involves dozing through Thought for the Day, filing and cross-referencing the pizza leaflets that come through her door, and updating her limited edition 'Songbirds of Great Britain' porcelain collection. That is, when she's not managing the chaos caused by her flamboyant, sugar-loving live-in builder Chris; dealing with the demands of her morbid, crumbly boned Welsh neighbour Betty; or taking regular jaunts chauffeured by Worra, the philosophical Nigerian cabby.
In these two series, Linda falls foul of the dodgy East End mafia when she tries to get Betty's 'Jack the Ripper' letters authenticated; attempts to broker a peace deal between her builder and her neighbour; and has her laid-back lifestyle disrupted by an upturned whelk-shaped heritage centre. Plus, Betty gets involved with Ground Force, Chris finds fame on 999 Emergency and Sir Cliff the tortoise faces a bionic refit....
Full of her trademark deadpan observations and freewheeling flights of fancy, this witty, surreal series showcases Linda Smith's comedy genius and features a star cast including Chris Neill as Chris, Margaret John as Betty and Femi Elufowoju Jr as Worra.
Production credits
Written by and starring Linda Smith
Produced by Lucy Armitage and Jon Rolph
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July-16 August 2001 (Series One), 4 June-9 July 2002 (Series Two)
Cast
Chris - Chris Neill
Betty - Margaret John
Worra - Femi Elufowoju Jr
Other parts played by Jeremy Hardy, Hattie Hayridge, Martin Hyder, Mark Steel and Rob Newman
Special guests: Rabbi Lionel Blue, Jenni Murray, Don Estelle, Dillie Keane, Kim Wall and Mia Soteriou
With Peter Donaldson as the radio announcer and Colin Sell at the piano.
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"One of radio's most sorely missed talents...it's a real treat to hear both her writing and her voice again." (The Guardian)
What listeners say about A Brief History of Timewasting: The Complete Series 1 and 2
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alex Gay
- 06-02-22
Who doesn't love Linda Smith?
Some of Linda's best work, followed by a brilliant tribute from her friends and family.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DoodleHead
- 20-09-23
Forget Stephen Hawking
I loved this series when originally broadcast on Radio 4. Linda Smith’s humour and wit shine out. Her writing is so generous, giving all the characters poignant and funny lines. I only wish there were more and that Linda was still with us.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-06-21
A sheer joy!
Wonderful that the entire series is available together on audible at last. Linda’s delivery, timing and flights of fancy are a joy. The silliness of her ideas takes you right back to her live shows - brilliant!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eightbirds
- 10-11-21
Worth the wait
I've waited years for this show to be available on Audible. It's brilliantly funny - a mix of sit com, observational humour, and the surreal. There's a lovely tribute to Linda Smith at the end as a bonus.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HAB75
- 24-06-24
The brilliant Linda Smith
I go back to this often. It lacks her bitingly well observed political satire in concentration, but it is a gem all itself with not a single minute without a laugh. The characters are wonderful and every idea is developed and progressed. I don't have a favourite episode or one I like less than others - it is simply enjoyable from start to finish. It is a fantastic reminder if her highly individual genius. I still find it sad that she's no longer here, even after all these years.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew G. Robson
- 25-07-21
A wonderful reminder of a very funny person
Linda Smith was a comedy genius, taken from her adoring fans way too early. Apart from her numerous appearances on the News Quiz and Just a Minute which required her to use her mastery of spontaneous wit Linda could turn out a well crafted sitcom script, which is exactly what she did with A Brief History of Timewasting. Subtle wordplay, combined with in your face double entendres and a fantastic cast made this show a pleasure to listen to. To round off this collection of both series of Timmewasting there is a wonderful tribute to Linda, hosted by Andy Hamilton. A great addition to my Audible library.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- JamesW
- 13-07-21
Gentle comedy from a much missed comedian
I’m so glad I was able to find this again having heard it originally twenty years ago. It’s not a laugh out loud comedy it’s very gentle British humour and while a few references are slightly out of date now it’s remarkable that so many are still relevant now after 20 years.
With guest stars that you will undoubtedly recognise from many other radio 4 comedies this is just a delightful listen and so enjoyable for a long car ride.
NB - the chapter headings in the app are mixed up slightly. The audio order is correct it’s just a couple of titles aren’t accurate
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 12-10-23
Utter garbage
Not at all funny, audio level for “cab driver” a lot louder than everyone else, and awful laughter track every 2 seconds. listened to about 40 mins and turned it off. No wonder it’s called a history of time wasting as that’s what I’ve done listening to this dribble.
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