Lead Balloon Series 1 title card. The misspelling of "balloon" was a genuine mistake by director Alex Hardcastle.[1]
Genre
Situation comedy
Created by
Jack Dee Pete Sinclair
Directed by
Alex Hardcastle
Starring
Jack Dee Raquel Cassidy Sean Power Anna Crilly Antonia Campbell-Hughes Tony Gardner Rasmus Hardiker
Ending theme
"One Way Road" by Paul Weller/Written by Noel Gallagher
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Original language
English
No. of series
4
No. of episodes
27 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Addison Cresswell Andrew Beint Lucy Lumsden
Producer
Alex Hardcastle
Editor
Russell Beeden
Camera setup
Single-camera
Running time
approx. 29 minutes
Production company
Open Mike Productions
Original release
Network
BBC Four (2006) BBC Two (2007–2011)
Release
4 October 2006 (2006-10-04) – 5 July 2011 (2011-07-05)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)
Lead Balloon is a British situation comedy television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. The second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two from November 2007; the third series aired from November 2008; and the final series aired from 31 May 2011 until 5 July.
Comparisons were made by critics to the successful American comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, and positive comments were made about Lead Balloon's characters, particularly Anna Crilly's Magda, the Eastern European housekeeper.[2] The first series was released on DVD on the 12th of November 2007. The show's theme tune is a cover version of "One Way Road", written by Noel Gallagher and performed by Paul Weller.
^Hardcastle, Alex (2007). Lead Balloon: Series One DVD audio commentary for "Rubbish" (DVD). 2 entertain Video Ltd.
^"Lead Balloon press clippings". British Comedy Guide.
LeadBalloon is a British situation comedy television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by...
This is a list of episodes of the British television situation comedy LeadBalloon. The first series of six episodes aired in 2006 and a second series,...
Blair, Abby in Plus One, Katerina in Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, Donna in LeadBalloon, Prudence in Keen Eddie, Elle Kensington in Chasing Alice, Regan Peverill...
14 g/cm3). This density is the origin of the idiom to go over like a leadballoon. Some rarer metals are denser: tungsten and gold are both at 19.3 g/cm3...
High-altitude balloon Hot air balloon Observation balloon Research balloon Solar balloon Tethered balloon or moored balloon or captive balloon, a balloon that...
sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom LeadBalloon and hosts the panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. His UK television...
Beck would go down like a "leadballoon", an idiom for being very unsuccessful or unpopular. The group dropped the 'a' in lead at the suggestion of Peter...
"BBC Two – LeadBalloon, Series 4, Off". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022. "BBC Two – LeadBalloon, Series 4...
spoken vocals (barker) on "Harlem in Havana" Michael Landau – low lead guitar on "LeadBalloon" Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar Wayne Shorter – saxophone Larry...
television series including Teachers, Party Animals, Moving Wallpaper, LeadBalloon, The Worst Witch and The Good Karma Hospital. Born to a Spanish mother...
Raymond in Steve Coogan's sitcom Saxondale and Ben in the Jack Dee comedy LeadBalloon. Hardiker was also in the BBC3 sketch series The Wrong Door. He joined...
Entwistle suggesting it would "go over like a leadballoon" and Moon quipping that they could call the band "Lead Zeppelin". Although all the musicians remained...
the role of Magda, an Eastern European housekeeper, in the BBC sitcom LeadBalloon. Her deadpan performance has been described as "scene-stealing". In 2013...
Absolutely Fabulous, The Vicar of Dibley as a speed-date programmer, LeadBalloon, William and Mary, Smack the Pony (for which she wrote and performed...
auf'm Schrottplatz Narrator (voice) Episode: "Flower Power in Dernbach" LeadBalloon Bob Marlin Episode: "Giraffe" 2008 Waking the Dead Frank Monk Episode:...
portrayed his fictional brother in a "Doc Martin" episode. He has played the lead role of Dad in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in...
he also wrote) and Michael, the café owner in Jack Dee's BBC sitcom LeadBalloon. In 2009–10 he starred in three plays directed by Sir Peter Hall. In...
"Exit Strategy". IMDb. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2015. "Two – LeadBalloon, Series 3, Karma". BBC. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2011. "Acoustic...
An incendiary balloon (or balloon bomb) is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary...
2 episodes 2008 Comedy Lab Various Episode: "Kids School of Comedy" LeadBalloon Sweet Throwing Boy Episode: "Nuts" 2009–2010 School of Comedy Various...
British TV dramas, including EastEnders, Thorne, Extras, Holby City, LeadBalloon, Doctor Who and Hustle; and in British films. In 2015 she appeared as...
Very Social Secretary Flemming TV film 2007 Jekyll Dave Mini-series LeadBalloon Garry Episode: "Idiot" 2008 Sense and Sensibility Robert Ferrars Mini-series...
frequent collaborator Julia Davis' dark comedy Nighty Night, Jack Dee's LeadBalloon, Steve Coogan's I'm Alan Partridge and Mid Morning Matters, Saxondale...
Control" The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle Graham Season 1, Episode 3 LeadBalloon Barry Episode: "Debacle" Oliver Twist Mr Limbkins 2 episodes 2007–2012...
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