Hut 33: Brilliant Bletchley Park Satire!

A few weeks ago, I was reading about Bletchley Park, to help me prepare for my upcoming lecture, when I stumbled upon a brilliant piece of British radio comedy. It was totally serendipitous and I am so delighted by this gem. 

Hut 33 is a wonderful radio comedy set at Bletchley Park in 1941. To quote the BBC website, the story revolves around "three code breakers who are forced to share a droughty wooden hut as they try to break German ciphers. Unfortunately, they hate each other." Hut 33 constantly finds itself in problematic and hilarious situations, but somehow they always come through. It is, in my opinion, a stellar example of British comedy at it's best. Witty, biting, well written --- you couldn't ask for better. I was amazed that in my four years of researching Bletchley Park, I have only now stumbled upon "Hut 33." 

L-R: Robert Bathurst voices Charles, Alex McQueen voices Josh, and Tom Goodman-Hill voices Archie

As the BBC summary says, Hut 33 revolves around three code breakers: Archie, Charles, and Gordon. Technically, only Archie and Gordon are code breakers and Charles is a linguist. Additionally, there is Josh (head of Hut 33), Minka (Hut 33's Polish secretary), Mrs. Best (the trio's landlady in town), and a slew of special guests. 

Archie is a geordie (from Newcastle) Marxist and enjoys antagonizing Charles (I'll talk about Charles in a bit). Archie is quite common and boasts about wanting to bring down the bourgeoisie. Archie is voiced by the brilliant Tom Goodman-Hill. I can't say that I have seen a lot of Goodman-Hill's work, I know he is currently in Mr. Selfridge, but I did enjoy his performance in the Doctor Who episode entitled "The Unicorn and the Wasp."Archie is just so funny and is my favorite character. 

Charles is Archie's rival in Hut 33. He is an ultra-convervative posh snob and he is always butting heads with Archie. Charles was a professor of linguistics at Oxford University before the war, and he likes to reiterate that fact. Charles is voiced by the very famous BBC actor Robert Bathurst. Bathurst is one of those actors that you see in many BBC programs and British films. Off the top of my head, I know that he has been in Downton Abbey, Emma (2009 BBC version), The Queen, Pillars of the Earth, and Blandings --- just to name a few. He is brilliant as Charles.

Gordon is the third member of Hut 33. He is a 17 year old math prodigy and a codebreaker. He is hopelessly naive and madly in love with the Hut's Polish secretary, Minka. Gordon is voiced by Fergus Craig. 

Although Hut 33 mainly revolves around Archie and Charles, with hints of Gordon, they are occasionally visited by their Head, Josh. Josh, or 3rd Lt. Joshua Fanshawe-Marshall, is the son of a well-to-do general and a complete imbecile. He was demoted from a 2nd Lt after losing a tank regiment in the Battle of France --- he directed the tanks into the sea! He is incredibly dim (he thought Winston Churchil was an actor!), gullible, and as a consequence, hilarious. Josh is voiced by Alex McQueen. I have seen McQueen in many of my favorite comedies, so I am quite familiar with his filmography. I particularly loved McQueen in The Thick of It, The Inbetweeners, and Keeping Mum. 

I didn't realize that Minka was supposed to be Hut 33's secretary until I read that on Wikipedia. I was wondering what she was doing at Bletchley, but considering how important the Poles were to breaking Engima, I wasn't surprised. Minka is a special character. She is a little deranged, violent, and hell bent on killing Nazis. She is very intimidating and has a knack for simply appearing out of nowhere. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Minka was voiced by the wonderful Oliva Coleman. I love Olivia Coleman. I still consider her more of a comedic actress, so I am still adjusting to her as a serious detective on Broadchurch. I've also enjoyed Coleman in Peep Show, The Mitchell and Webb Look, Hyde Park on Hudson, and Twenty Twelve.  I will admit, I did find her a bit creepy in Doctor Who.

"Hut 33" ran from 2007 - 2009, and frankly, I'm so bummed that it was so short lived. I have only been able to listen to the second series, but from what I've heard, I am hooked! 

The show is really and truly clever. The jokes are so intelligent and truly celebrate what British comedy is known for. It is a fine specimen of British humor. As I walked around Manhattan and rode the subway, I would listen to this comedy show, and people must have thought I was a bit crazy because I would be grinning like a fool or laughing out loud. This is a program that I could listen to over and over again and still find just as funny as day 1. 

I am desperately trying to find the first and third series because I think this show is pure comedy gold! (If you know where I can find them, please let me know!!!) If you like WWII, Bletchley Park, and/or British comedy, I highly recommend "Hut 33." You won't be disappointed.