Think the Unthinkable
Encyclopedia
Think the Unthinkable is an audience sitcom about hapless management consultants, written by James Cary
and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
in 2001. It starred Marcus Brigstocke
, David Mitchell
, Catherine Shepherd
, Emma Kennedy
and Beth Chalmers. Each week the team of consultants inflict their unique brand of help on unsuspecting companies. It won a Silver Sony Award for Comedy
in 2002 for the first ever episode. It is produced by Adam Bromley
.
The team consists of:
April 2006 saw a repeat of series 3 in Tuesday's 6:30pm slot on BBC Radio 4
.
April 2007 saw a repeat of Think the Unthinkable, starting at series 1 on BBC7.
Series 1 of 'Think the Unthinkable' will be released on CD by BBC Audio in February 2008.
The show also featured other comic actors playing various roles, including Simon Greenall
and Olivia Coleman.
James Cary (writer)
James Cary is a British television and radio writer.James is the creator and writer of Radio 4's Sony Radio Academy Awards Silver Award-winning comedy series, Think the Unthinkable and lead writer on the sketch show, Concrete Cow...
and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in 2001. It starred Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...
, David Mitchell
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
, Catherine Shepherd
Catherine Shepherd
Catherine Margaret Shepherd is an English actress and writer, with a career spanning radio, theatre, film and television.She was educated in South London at the James Allen's Girls' School...
, Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
and Beth Chalmers. Each week the team of consultants inflict their unique brand of help on unsuspecting companies. It won a Silver Sony Award for Comedy
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
in 2002 for the first ever episode. It is produced by Adam Bromley
Adam Bromley
Adam Bromley is a freelance producer and director working in TV and radio.Specialising in comedy, Bromley has won two Sony Awards for radio. He won Silver Sony Award in 2002 for Think the Unthinkable, a management consultant sitcom written by James Cary. In 2004, he won a Bronze Sony Award for The...
.
The team consists of:
- Ryan Packer (Marcus BrigstockeMarcus BrigstockeMarcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...
): The keen and enthusiastic team leader, utterly clueless, and given to overblown metaphorMetaphorA metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s. A running gag is that he usually describes the consultancy process with a metaphor that leads to an inadvertent insult to himself (for example: “Imagine you are square pegs and we are round holesSquare peg in a round holeA square peg in a round hole is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusualindividualist who could not fit into a niche of his society.-English literature:...
. Try to think of me as a round hole”). Ryan is almost completely oblivious to any hostility in the people he meets, and always assumes the best about everyone. Despite this relentlessly positive outlook rarely working out, he claims to have only ever been depressedDepression (mood)Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
once in his life.
- Sophie Stott (Emma KennedyEmma KennedyEmma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
series 1-2, Beth Chalmers series 3-4): Sophie has a direct and no-nonsense approach to most problems, and is probably sociopathPsychopathyPsychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
ic. She has little patience for anyone else in the team, and enjoys firing people. She would probably be the closest the team has to a normal person were it not for her violent temperTemperamentIn psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
and extreme mood swingsMood SwingsMood Swings is an album by Koby Israelite released in 2005 on Tzadik.- Track listing :# "Dror Ikra" - 3:03# "Return of the Idiots" - 2:19# "It Is Not a War Here" - 7:05# "Ethnometalogy" - 5:08# "Europa?" - 2:49# "Hiriya On My Mind" - 4:53...
, and often acts as the voice of reason in the group, although her suggestions are usually ignored or overruled, triggering another aggressive phase.
- Daisy de Vere (Catherine ShepherdCatherine ShepherdCatherine Margaret Shepherd is an English actress and writer, with a career spanning radio, theatre, film and television.She was educated in South London at the James Allen's Girls' School...
): Relentlessly nice and deeply naïve, Daisy is the team conscienceConscienceConscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
, or would be if anyone listened to her. Daisy is not very bright and may never have fully recovered from the time she fell off a pony, whilst on holiday in Cornwall.
- Owen (David MitchellDavid Mitchell (actor)David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
): The team's technical expertTechnical supportTechnical support or tech support refers to a range of services by which enterprises provide assistance to users of technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods...
, and Sophie's stalkerStalkingStalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
. Owen is fond of online wargames, crackingHacker (computer security)In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
computers systems, and video nasties. He is basically immoral and creepy, and relentlessly critical of all existing IT systems, mostly describing them as "pump". His catchphrase is "Alright, losers!" Owen was originally a freelance IT specialist who the team hired for one episode in Series 1, but he had joined Unthinkable Solutions full time by Series 2.
- Jed: (Robin InceRobin InceRobin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...
) A fellow member of Owen's online Fraternity of the Sacred Goat, Jed joined the team for the latter part of series 3 after Owen was forced into hiding. (The real reason for this is that David Mitchell was unavailable for the recording dates, as he was filming Peep Show for Channel 4.) Just as Owen was keen on pornographic films, Jed was very keen on obscure low-budget sci-fiScience fiction filmScience fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
and horror movies, which he frequently quotes and refers to. Like Owen he has his own greeting catchphrase - 'Alright, tosspots!'
- The Sacred Goat: Along with Owen and Jed, two further members of their online fraternity have appeared in the series: "Clanger" (so called because he's considered the socially awkward one) in the Iota Credit campaign, and Colin who works in Barrington hospital. Other known members include "Gandalf", "The Mole" and "Captain Puke".
April 2006 saw a repeat of series 3 in Tuesday's 6:30pm slot on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
.
April 2007 saw a repeat of Think the Unthinkable, starting at series 1 on BBC7.
Series 1 of 'Think the Unthinkable' will be released on CD by BBC Audio in February 2008.
The show also featured other comic actors playing various roles, including Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall is a British actor, writer and voice artist from Longtown in Cumbria. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles in television, film, radio and the theatre, and is probably best known for his role as Michael in the TV series I'm Alan Partridge and as the voice of headmaster Iqbal in...
and Olivia Coleman.
Episode lists
| Series | Episode | Title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Longleys Bank | 16 October 2001 |
| 2 | Barrington Council | 23 October 2001 | |
| 3 | Moore and Burmans | 30 October 2001 | |
| 4 | Utiliton | 6 November 2001 | |
| 5 | London Transport | 13 November 2001 | |
| 2 | 1 | Genforce | 7 November 2002 |
| 2 | Blue Herring | 14 November 2002 | |
| 3 | Barrington Comprehensive | 21 November 2002 | |
| 4 | Riddlington Plastic | 28 November 2002 | |
| 5 | Nambitrea | 5 December 2002 | |
| 6 | Christmas Party | 12 December 2002 | |
| 3 | 1 | Iota Credit Cards | 13 July 2004 |
| 2 | The Post Office | 20 July 2004 | |
| 3 | Wagstaff and Mutual | 27 July 2004 | |
| 4 | Matsons Electronics | 3 August 2004 | |
| 5 | Barrington Zoo | 10 August 2004 | |
| 6 | Brunel Insurance | 17 August 2004 | |
| 4 | 1 | M.O.D. | 28 September 2005 |
| 2 | Be Happy | 5 October 2005 | |
| 3 | Superco | 12 October 2005 | |
| 4 | Barrington General | 19 October 2005 | |