Fungus the Bogeyman

One of the Proustian memories fired by Shrek was that character's very obvious similarities to Raymond Brigg's 'Fungus the Bogeyman'. This book was notable for providing a fairy-tale style ogre, example of a subterranean race of bogeymen, who the reader could sympathies with. Spurning the human "drycleaners" from above, Fungus and his family conduct their disgusting - but to them perfectly proper - habits, traditions and lifestyles, out of the gaze of humankind.

This programme takes the ideas laid out in the Briggs book - using it as a kind of reference material for the series - and shows the gradual discovery, by conservative Martin Clunes and family, of the bogeymen of the title.

Fungus and his kind are made flesh through fairly irksome CGI, reminiscent of the technology used in the'Walking with . . . ' features produced by the beeb. The monsters are apparently animated over the top of live actors, a better idea might have been producing a basic musculature and skeleton over which to animate the creatures, in the WETA style.

All in all the series is an entertaining take on the 'Stig of the Dump' style saga and will gratify some fans who murmured accusations of plagiarism at 'Shrek'. Fungus could have been done better, but this will suffice for the moment.