It was a no-brainer to find The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin to be right up my alley. The AppleTV+ original, set in England in the 18th century, stars British comedian Noel Fielding as a purposeless man who decides his calling in life is to become England’s greatest highwayman. The only problem is, Turpin makes for a terrible criminal, as he is untrained, perpetually nice and cares more about fashion than robbery. But, as it turns out, he takes to it like a duck to water, even accidentally inheriting a group of misfits as
his gang who anoint him their leader. Not all is roses for Dick, though, as he is pursued by many factions, including jealous rivals and a secretive criminal organization that resents his success.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (TCMUAoDT from now on, phew) is a completely silly, irreverent and quirky comedy that is exactly what I needed. It filled the gaping hole in my soul left by the cancellation of Our Flag Means Death, as it has a similar tone and vibe and is packed with panache and brilliance, tinged by optimism and joy—all things we can certainly use more of. (This is also a show for the whole family)
But I dare say TCMUAoDT is even funnier than Our Flag Means Death, as it doesn’t even attempt to venture into sincerity or sentimentality, as it stays completely in its own lane of anachronistic charm, dishing out the one-liners and sight gags with a breakneck pace.
At the heart of it all is Fielding, whom American audiences will recognize mostly from being a co-host of Netflix’s (via BBC) The Great British Baking Show. Fielding is huge in Britain, but hasn’t yet made much of a dent over here, probably because his offbeat style of humor is so, so very British. It’s too bad, because his flamboyant, fashion-centric and quirky Dick Turpin should be universally appealing, and this show should be much bigger. But, alas, it looks like it will continue to be the best-kept secret on AppleTV+, but now you’re one of the lucky ones in on it. Enjoy.