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Vent

First broadcast from 20060711 to 20091229.

Comedy by Nigel Smith.

Ben doesn't get out much, but he's got a loving and attentive family, an active imagination and a comfortable bed...because he's in a coma.

Comdy?
The theme music is "Cannonball" by Damien Rice.
I was crying by the end of the second series.

19 episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Description
01	01	Wake Me Up Before You Go-go	20060711	20070621	Mary and Mum wonder whether some of Ben's favourite music will wake him up, while his own thoughts are occupied with visions of Sue Lawley, Robbie Williams and an unconventional seduction technique.
01	02	Don't Bet On It	20060718	20070628	As Ben lies on a ventilator in hospital, Mary and Mum put the racing on to try to bring him out of his coma. It doesn't work, but Ben does somehow seem to have developed a knack for predicting the winners, if only he could think of a way of telling anyone. Meanwhile John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's own fortune teller, appears in Ben's brain with some unhelpful observations about what the future might hold.
01	03	Wouldn't You Like To Get Away	20060725	20070705	Mary and Mum have a break when Ben's unconscious body gets driven to a medical conference in Birmingham. But they can't quite bring themselves to break their routine and leave the hospital. Meanwhile, Ben's mind also takes a trip. Unfortunately, it's a trip back to the hotel in Paris where he had the most miserable night of his life.
01	04	Switching Off	20060801	20070712	Ben's doctors wonder if lying in a coma might be making him depressed, and they send in the hospital psychiatrist to see him. This has a surprising effect on Ben, Mary and Mum. Meanwhile ben's unconscious mind takes him back to his previous experience of therapy - having a row with mary about their marriage guidance counsellor.
01	05	Gravity Gets You Down	20060808	20070719	Ben's physiotherapy seems to be working miracles when he gets far enough out of his coma to punch his physiotherapist. And what are a tough-as-nails agent, a giant winged angel and Elvis doing in his unconscious mind?
01	06 LAST	Switching Off	20060815	20070726	As he lies unconscious in Intensive Care, Ben's mind takes him on his most difficult journey yet, through the landscape of his own chaotic brain, which looks suspiciously like Mordor.
02	01		20070925		Ben's quest for a reason for his illness leads to a package tour through the Bible and a hard-hitting interview by Jeremy Paxman with God.
02	02		20071002		Mary and Mum have bought Ben a lifestyle magazine. Meanwhile in his unconscious mind, Blitz takes Ben back to 1973 and finds him a life coach with a rather unusual motivational technique.
02	03		20071009		Ben is heading for a compromising situation with a scantily-clad fellow patient. Is his life turning into a farce? Why is he in a strangely familiar hotel in 1970s Torquay and just what really happened with Andrea and the extra virgin olive oil?
02	04	Wednesday Morning At 3am	20071016		As Ben lies in bed in ITU in the small hours, his thoughts start to wander, as do everyone else's.
02	05		20071023		As Ben wonders how to make sense of his coma, Blitz suggests he might need the help of a script doctor. But if his life really were like a Hollywood film, would he really like the way it ended? And who would play which part?
02	06 LAST		20071030		Everyone is faced with decisions. Should the doctors try a last-ditch treatment to bring Ben round? And is he ready to leave the safety of his unconscious fantasy with Blitz and face up to the grim reality of pain and disability?
03	01		20091124		Comedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind. Ben makes the ambulance journey home to begin life in a wheelchair. On the way he remembers an argument about cheesecake, invents a panel game and meets Buzz Aldrin. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley....Spencer Brown Chairman....Robert Webb Buzz....Peter Banks Announcer....Bruce Alexander Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Directed by Nigel Smith. Ben makes the ambulance journey home to begin life in a wheelchair.
03	02	Loneliness Is A Crowded Head	20091201		Comedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind. Ben's life is full of well-meaning people trying to do everything for him. Everything, that is, except leave him alone. He begins to wonder if Robinson Crusoe might have been on to a good thing. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley....Spencer Brown Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Castaway....John Kay-Steel Waiter....Bruce Alexander Directed by Nigel Smith. Ben begins to wonder if Robinson Crusoe might have been on to a good thing.
03	03	Stirrings In The Night	20091208		Comedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind. Ben and Mary's love life needs help; luckily Blitz has found Lord Byron to offer some useful tips. Meanwhile, mum dismantles a toad in the hole in case it gets in the way of romance. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley/Lord Byron....Spencer Brown Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Directed by Nigel Smith. Ben and Mary's love life needs help; luckily Blitz has found Lord Byron to offer some tips
03	04	Victoria	20091215		Comedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind. Ben is beginning to resent being pushed around. He imagines a different life back in Victorian times when he might have got things his own way a bit more often - until he gets into an argument with Benjamin Disraeli. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley....Spencer Brown Disraeli/Karl....Matthew Kelly Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Grocer....Nigel Hastings Directed by Nigel Smith. Ben imagines life back in Victorian times, when he might have got his own way a bit more.
03	05	When Was The Last Time You Saw Your Godfather?	20091222		Comedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind. Ben is invited to be godfather to an ex-girlfriend's baby. Mary isn't impressed and there's a showdown on the stairlift. Meanwhile St Paul gives Ben tips on responsibility and where to get the best olives. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley....Spencer Brown Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Karl....Matthew Kelly Sophie....Abigail Burdess Priest/St Paul....Richard Johnson Directed by Nigel Smith. Ben is invited to be godfather to an ex-girlfriend's baby.
03	06 LAST	The Stand-in	20091229		Ben stages a sit-in at the post office. Meanwhile a shiny new Ben is trying to write him out of his own life. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Nurse....Jo Martin Derek....Stephen Frost Marley....Spencer Brown Bea....Scarlett Milburn-Smith Assistant 1....Kate Leyden Assistant 2....Tara Lynch Lorraine....Tessa Nicholson Mr Shah....Bruce Alexander Martin....Nigel Hastings Copper 1....Tom Price Copper 2....Abigail Burdiss Ten-year-old Boy....Lizzy Watts Directed by Nigel Smith.
FP			20091120		Comedy drama by Nigel Smith. Ben has survived a crippling brain lesion but he won't engage with the world around him, preferring to stay safely in his own fantasy world. Ben....Neil Pearson Mary....Fiona Allen Mum....Josie Lawrence Blitz....Leslie Ash Naz....Robert Webb Ellie....Rachel Isaac Bitch Nurse....Joanna Brookes Karl/HG Wells....Matthew Kelly Katy....Laura Doddington Mr Arcola....Bruce Alexander Bea....Scarlett Milburn-smith Directed by Nigel Smith. By Nigel Smith. Ben has survived a crippling brain lesion but won't engage with the world.

Cast and Crew