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Vent

First broadcast from 20060711 to 20071030.

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.
 

Radio 4  Radio 4

12 episodes

 
SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast		RepeatedDescription
0101Wake Me Up Before You Go-go2006071120070621Mary 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.
0102Don't Bet On It2006071820070628As 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.
0103Wouldn't You Like To Get Away2006072520070705Mary 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.
0104Switching Off2006080120070712Ben'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.
0105Gravity Gets You Down2006080820070719Ben'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?
0106 LASTSwitching Off2006081520070726As 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.
0201 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.
0202 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.
0203 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?
0204Wednesday Morning At 3am20071016 As Ben lies in bed in ITU in the small hours, his thoughts start to wander, as do everyone else's.
0205 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?
0206 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?

Cast and Crew