Customer Reviews
sympathy for the devil... - By: A. Allnatt, 22 Feb 2006 
This has to be without a doubt the best & funniest radio comedyin existence. Andy Hamilton has woven together something here that is not only unapologetically funny, but insightful, witty & even at times, touching.
The plot centres around professor Richard Wittingham dying & going to hell. While there, he strikes up a psuedo-friendship with Satan & many moral arguments & bets ensue. For example, The Prof makes a bet with satan that if he can make a vile human being called Thomas into a caring individual, his wife gets to stay with himin hell (if) she ends upin hell. Satan constantly tries to convince the Professor that mankind has no moral worth & is base. The Prof thinks otherwise, & outlines mankinds great achievments. Other characters adding to the mix are Satan's minions Gary (season 1) & Scumspawn (all other seasons) & Thomas, a human so vile that he even shocks Satan.
The humour is excellent, & works brilliantly for its medium (radio). Perhaps this is the only way this comedy could ever be made anyway, given thatin today's overly PC society, people could find the idea of a comedy setin hell offensive.
All of the characters are entertaining & bounce off one another giving this show an energy missing from many other audio recordings released by the BBC. Satan & the Prof's arguments are quite enjoyable, especially because underneath it all, one can't help but feel the Devil is simply envious of being human.
There are a few episodes missingin this collection from seasons one & two, but not so you'll lose the plot.
Devilishy Good - By: shinysteve, 15 Nov 2005 Supreme comedy writing from Andy Hamilton.
Original, witty & very entertaining, Hamilton's comedy setin Hell pushes all the right laughter buttonsin an intelligent, satirical & possibly contemporary account of just how it might all be going on down there!
Wonderful stuff!
If your sense of humour is warped (like mine) you'll love it! - By: Elise, 01 Dec 2004 This has to be one of the funniest radio shows to have ever hit the airwaves. Andy Hamilton, the writer, who also plays Satan, has created a take on Hell that is hilariously funny & extremely witty.
These are 6 episodes from the first two series. Thomas & the Professor have both diedin the same car crash. Thomas for being the director of a privatised water company & the Prof. for being an atheist. Hell is currentlyin a bit of turmoil as Satan's deputy demon, Gary, wants to try the sort of rebellion (or "representation by middle management") against Satan that landed Satan & all his minions down therein the first place due to the doubts that Satan is having because of the "arty-farty notions" that the eternally optimistic professor continues to spout no matter what diabolical torture he is exposed to.
Although it is a repeating theme, the idea of the most obvious & appropriate torture for all of the inmates is hilariously funny. For instance every Pope is held at an eternal eight months pregnant, & Enoch Powell is playing eternallyin a reggae band. Satan will go through a search for the meaning of happiness (not because he is ever likely to attain it, just because he is curious) & calls on Buddha (also down there for atheism) & several other philosophers (including Machiavelli whose definition is "poisoning people without getting caught"). Gary is brought to trial after having led an unsuccessful rebellion to form "New Hell" for which he is tried by Satan & this leads to the revelation that God's first name is Nigel & He created humans for a bet, & He then freezes hell over. The second series concentrates on Satan's search for a new deputy, even thought the ever present, hideous, but surprisingly vulnerable, demon Scumspawn is desperate for the job.
The humour is definitely warped but extremely clever & highly original, with some wonderful one-liners & although I love it, I have to say it is unusual & may not appeal to everyone.
Radio Comedy at its best - By: Richard Weston, 12 Dec 2003 
Volume two of Old Harry's Game is even better than the first. Andy Hamilton's writing has like any good comedy has improved with age. With plots from Thomas the ex chairman of a privat water company helping Scumspawn become a better deamon, the Professor writing a Book proving that Humans learn from there mistakes!!! To jokes on Marxism & genitals turning into crocodiles.
A true gem of Comedy.
GREAT AND GENERALLY WONDERFUL!!!!! - By: Kim, 14 Nov 2003 What do you mean you've never heard of this before... okay so I have a mildly warped sense of humour... but I still think that Old Harry's Game is one of the funniest things that I have ever heard!
It's all about the devil who livesin hell (funnily enough!) & is based mostly around him, one of his devils & two of the condemned souls that are down there with him... it's sick & twisted but incredibly funny. One running joke is about all the different punishments that he comes up with... Judges playing naked volleyball with a porcupine is a pretty good example of the things that he's come up with! And you'd be amazed by some of the people who have made it into hell!
Anyway... gonna stop that paragraph before I just start to go on & on about how generally wonderful it is. It's great, wonderfully 'acted' with some truly fabulous one liners & some great running gagsas well! I would totally recommend this to anyone who even suspects that they might have a sense of humour!
