★★★★★ 0/5

Swift & Shift Couriers

Pizza's Paul Fenech is back with another raucous, blue collar, comedy of terrors. But who am I to argue?

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Let’s face it. You probably already know whether you like to comedy style of Paul Fenech or not. His raucous comic style as seen in Pizza isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it has its fans. As he moves into a new series, Swift and Shift Couriers, he is more empowered to follow the path he has charted –or possibly the road he has a delivery.

Set in a courier delivery company, the characters of this service are as inept as any you have ever encountered. Whether it’s the manager, the call centre staff, the drivers or the bloke in the warehouse, it’s impossible to believe anything is ever achieved. Pushing all reasonable logic, and possible a few genre boundaries, this is a comedy of terrors.

Ian Turpie plays the depot manager Keith, who partakes of a swig of booze whenever anybody isn’t looking. He spends a great deal of time yelling, being abused, and explaining himself to an executive from head office, sent to sort out the hapless, under-performing branch. In this school-marm role is Amanda Keller. Both Turpie and Keller jump into acting roles with a sense of fun.

In the call centre room are any number of caricature roles: they range from midget to obese to flamboyantly camp and everything in between. Melissa Tkautz, rarely seen in a regular role on television these days, sashays as the company vamp. Strutting through the office and causing male heartbeats to flutter, she looks rather fabulous and perfectly cast.

Fenech, who serves as writer / director / producer, is one of several courier drivers who mismanages every delivery they are ever issued. They are boastfully charmless as blue collar staff -as is the comedic terrain for which Fenech has become successful. The warehouse is equally a disaster, run by a trio of lazy Pacific islanders.

As a follow on from Pizza, there is little that surprises in Swift and Shift Couriers, save for some ironic casting and a confidence to fill out the screen with even more over the top characters and visual gags. There are a gazillion roles in the pilot episode, making it impossible to makes sense. But nobody ever said you were supposed to. It’s arguably easier not to fight such an onslaught. Besides, everybody on screen is having such a fun time who am I to argue?

Swift and Shift Couriers airs 8:30pm Monday on SBS.

52 Responses

  2. I know of three women who hate this series, but all in all, everyone seems to like it or love it…as I do.
    The ratings are not so good.
    Could it be the everyone is watching on the SBS website or on YouTube?
    That is the only answer I can come up with.

  4. absolutly golden, the way that it portrays all ethic groups, and makes a mocery of them is classic! And that ring tone is classic haha, but seriosly this show uses all the ethinic groups and make a mockery of them so funny. 10/10

  9. if any body knows anything at all about the transport indusrty first hand like me then you will see that this is indeed a very very funny show.A true send up of transport – i laughed so much i couldn’t get my breath, do one on long distance freight companies and its exactly the same – i have told every one this is really what happens in the real world

  11. I have watched every episode – I have never laughed so hard in my life. There should be way more of it. I have a sixteen and seventeen year old boys and this comedy is in their blood. We actually sit down as a family and laugh our heads off. That can only be a good thing. And then Bogan Pride is priceless. Well done SBS.

  12. 2nd show better than the 1st, & more like the old Pizza eps;
    2 many minor characters so hard to keep track;
    Aims for the bonghead/bonehead audience & does it well;
    Good fun but not awesome; Amanda Keller’s acting got
    tonnes better this time; Worth a go. Peace.

  14. Pizza past it’s expiry date.
    Everybody was trashing the final 2007 year of Pizza.
    That is why it was replaced in 2008.

    Swift And Shift is the best show on tv!

  15. I have watched the first 2 episodes of swift and shift…outstanding!
    Better than Pizza.
    Bad timeslot.
    The ratings will rise once City Homicide goes away over summer.
    Swift will be a cult show without question!

  17. It was weak compared to Pizza, & I thought that the this show
    signposted its jokes too far ahead… so by the time they got to them
    I was underwhelmed. ;
    The review was right – there were too many characters to absorb right off,
    maybe I was getting a form of shell shock from the rapid fire changeovers.
    It seemed less polished than Pizza, but it may have been a necessary evil
    so as to intro a new show quickly… dunno… Hoping for better next week.
    Wonder how many different cameos there’ll be.

  19. I liked Pizza. This was dismal & it can only get better.
    If they wanted to give the impression that they’d first read the script 2 minutes before recording, then they succeeded. Not funny just lame.

  20. I can’t wait for Monday nights.

    8:30 Swift and Shift Couriers
    9:00 Bogan Pride

    This is the first time in a long time that I’m watching a show, wait . . . make that shows, on SBS other than Insight. Not really taken by Top Gear (either versions) so I’m happy that I too now have a reason to watch SBS for entertainment.

  25. Someone said on the site befor it was pizza only this time with couriers?

    But David usually your first gut reaction is a good one and usually what you say rings true so I think you will be proved right and this won’t be anythink to different. I’ll give it a go but it smells of pizza but in a courier van!

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