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.
 
 
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?
0301 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.
0302Loneliness Is A Crowded Head20091201 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.
0303Stirrings In The Night20091208 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
0304Victoria20091215 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.
0305When 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.
0306 LASTThe 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.