Nathan Barley

Channel 4 (ended 2005)

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Show Summary

Status: Ended
Premiered: Feb 11, 2005

Nathan Barley, is a show that gives us a peep into the life of professional bighead, Nathan Barley. He runs a website called 'Trashbat' ( there is a real site @ www.trashbat.co.ck however, although it does relate to Nathan Barley it is not the one shown in the series) Nathan goes around giving out sticker and shouting at everyone, "come visit my website. it's at trashbat dot cock" The pun being that the 'co.ck' URL ending, is the international code for the cook islands, in the same way that 'co.uk' is the same for the UK. Barley, who lives and works in the fictional London area of Hosegate, works as a web master, (although all the web work is authored and coded by 'Pingu', whom he treats as a virtual slave, as poor Pingu is far too shy and reticent to stick up for himself) Barley also sees himself as a "guerrilla film maker", but his favorite description of himself is as a "self-facilitating media node". The nemesis of Nathan Barley is article writer, Dan Ashcroft. Whose latest piece entitled "The rise of the idiots" has been a huge success with everyone. ESPECIALLY the idiots themselves. As they of course don't see themselves that way. Dans office at the magazine 'Sugar Ape' is full of idiots, so they naturally continue to glide around the office on their tiny metal scooters and drool over the article, telling Dan how great it is, all the while blissfully unaware that it was based on them. Dan and Nathan soon meet up, in a shop and before he knows it Dan has been somehow cajoled into doing an advert for 'trashbat dot cock', which barley films on the spot with his mobile phone. Nathan has of course the newest and coolest phone in the world, the 'Wasp T12 speechtool', with the huge number five on the face, "as thats the number people use most" The T12 splits into two parts to become a pair of mini decks, so you can do a mix on the bus stop or wherever the muse takes you. Other protagonists in this biting satire include, Clair Ashcroft (Dans sister) who Nathan fancies and as ever tries to heel in on her idea for a video featuring a choir of reformed junkies. A guy just called 'Jones', who shares a flat with Clair and Dan Ashcroft. He is a supposed DJ and a musician of monumentally bad compositions, that keep Clair awake all night. Then there is the previously mentioned Pingu, a computer genius who can code anything in a night, but Nathan always steals at least half the credit, if he had the tinniest bit of input. Lastly we have the editor of sugar ape magazine, Jonatton Yeah?, who apparently has the '?' at the end of his name added by deed poll to make it legal. He is, unfortunately for Dan Ashcroft, not one of the idiots, although he sometimes pretends to be. He cannot be fooled like the rest of the office, and he has a firmer hold on Dan that Dan likes.moreless

7.9

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Episode Guide

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S 1 : Ep 6	Episode Six	Aired 3/18/05
S 1 : Ep 5	Episode Five	Aired 3/11/05
S 1 : Ep 4	Episode Four	Aired 3/4/05
S 1 : Ep 3	Episode Three	Aired 2/25/05
S 1 : Ep 2	Episode Two	Aired 2/18/05

Cast & Crew

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Oliver Chris

Max Herbert

8.7
Nick Burns

Nathan Barley

8.0
Julian Barratt

Dan Ashcroft

9.6

Nathan Barley News

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0

Olympic Comedy Twenty Twelve Goes For Gold

By Heather Hughes, Mar 12, 2011

Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes star in a new six-part series for BBC Four. With such a steller cast it's god to be good, right? read more

Fan Reviews (4)

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I thought it would be good, but no.

5.0

"Mediocre"

By ashlinisme, Oct 15, 2008

Why did I watch that?: I'll tell you why. I saw that Julian Barratt was in it, and was excited by the possibility of seeing him in something non-Boosh related. Boy was I disappointed. Nathan Barley is an exercise in idiocy. Each and every character, including the seemingly redeemable Ashcrofts, stuns me with his/her stupidity. I hated this show.

The only time I enjoyed watching was when Dan finally got to out Nathan as a moron.

I kept watching, hoping that it would turn itself around miraculously. But it didn't. And I will never get that three hours back.

Boosh fans: Don't waste your time with Nathan Barley. Try out Snuff Box or Garth Marenghi's Dark Place instead.moreless
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If people stopped haing on this becuase it's Cris Morris. They'd realise it one of the best sitcoms Britain has had recently.

8.5

"Great"

By LucaLibero, Nov 06, 2005

Chris Morris is funny.

Forget his power as a satirist. Being funny is the name of the game.

The Day Today, Brasseye, Jam; all funny and all cutting satire. Maybe the subject Nathan Barley riffs on is not a mainstream as others Morris as tackled but it is definately funny.

Dan Ashcroft is the clasic hero trapped in a world he helped create. Nathan is a bumbling insecure fool and Claire is too scared to admit she is ready to sell out like her brother has. The characters are complex, deep and funny and the situations are classic sitcom.

It served up six episodes of immense quality and I'm sure Morris is looking fowrad to his next project.moreless
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Nathan Barley, works for his own website http://www.trashbat.co.ck/ or has he says it \"trashbat dot cock\" the joke is that .co.ck is the internet url for the country of the Cook islands. And YES it really is. And YES there really is a website called trmoreless

8.0

"Great"

By tompepper, Aug 10, 2005

Nathan owns the latest mobile phone gizmo called The WASP T12 \'speechtool\' with a huge number 5 \"coz thats the most used number\" (apparently ?) The phone splits aprt to reveal 2 separate halves that turn into mini decks. So you can have your own clubnite anywhere. \"Hoot your trap off\" as Barley would say. I have seen many people asking if anyone knows where to buy one of these phones. I have also seen fake reviews just to enrage the guilible, as they can see but they cant touch. I can just imagine hundreds of Barleyesque youths on bikes too small for them racing from phone shop to phone shop, trying to buy the T12, after hearing a rumour that Sneeds in Oxford street had a dozen on sale this morning.

It\'s really heatening the way that some people can pick up on something and without any mutual contact, get in on a joke and spread and expand it, beyond anything the originator expected. The originator in this case being the ever versistile, enfant terrible of british comedy. ie: Chris Morris. A lot of people were dissapointed not too see morris himself in the role, prefering to stay as writer in the background. But after the first episode i could see that morris was correct in his estimation that he was not right for the role. for a start he was a bit too old. And secondly Nicholas Burns is perfect in the role.

Also straring is Julian Barratt as Dan Ashcroft, a feature writer for the \"youth style\" magazine Sugar Ape. Dan hates it at the mag, and to get back at them writes a piece called \'The rise of the idiots\' Only none of the idiots at the magazine get it. They think the idiots are someone else, instead of themselves.

Dan has a sister called Clair and she to Dan\'s horror takes up with nathan, who helps her write a piece on her pet project of urban alienation. Namely her \"Junkie choir\" Meanwhile back at the office Dan\'s fellow workers(the idiots) are playing a game of \"cock, muff, bumhole) that they have found on Nathan barleys website. Trashbat.co.uk The game is a variation of the playground game of Paper, stone, scissors. As the camera pans away to close the first episode, we see Dan Ashcroft helplesley being sucked into a game of cock, muff, bumhole. Is Dan doomed to the life of the idiots ?moreless
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Oddly funny?!

7.7

"Good"

By Droopi, Jun 12, 2005

This is a very wierd but unintentionaly funny show. Set around Nathan Barley (the idiot) and Dan Ashcroft (the idiot disliker), in a world of complete dumb asses and dorks. Its kind of an over exsagherated comedy of the situation of the world today (or maybe just the UK, i dont know).
I would say, just try it...
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