Supernova returns to 91Èȱ¬ TWO for second series
Dr Paul Hamilton (Rob Brydon)
An expert in gas, Dr Paul Hamilton arrived one year ago at the Royal Australia Observatory from the damp, grey climes of London, as a shy, nervous, yet clever astronomer.
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In London, he'd been a lecturer in astronomy specialising
in the gaseous components of the universe, but he'd never actually worked
in the field despite his impressive research record.
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Series two sees Paul plagued by putting his foot in his mouth when things are going badly and shooting himself in the foot when they're going well. He's good natured but a walking disaster area.
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However, thanks to the encouragement of his colleagues (who
are now more like his family), he seems to be finding his feet in the outback
and, remarkably, in life...
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Paul has moved from nervous novice to someone who now always steps up in a crisis, mostly when he's the very worst person to do so. He sees himself as a leader and self-appointed second-in-command of the observatory.
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Paul remains at the forefront of scientific evolution, optimistically pushing cutting-edge theories one moment, but being totally perplexed by his personal romantic insecurities the next. His professional success never mirrors his personal life.
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This series sees Paul accidentally target a French shuttle for destruction, join in a hunt for a rogue kangaroo, become a champion camel jockey, stalked by a sex crazed teenager and saving a human life.
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Rob Brydon plays Dr Paul Hamilton
With one of the UK's most popular and successful comedy performers returning for a second series of Supernova, the producers wanted to continue to provide Rob with scripts to showcase his full comic range.
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Rob loved returning to the role, and highlights a number of positives about the second series: "There are more jokes basically. Each episode is crammed with events and there's a great deal going on."
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Other pluses for Brydon on location in Broken Hill included a slightly lower temperature - and fewer insects!
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"The big difference this year is that we are shooting a little bit later and there are not as many flies! Last year they were terrible. It's been a bit cooler. We've had really gusting wind out here and lots of dust flying about - but I would take that any day over the incredibly persistent flies!"
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Executive Producer Mark Freeland adds: "Last year you couldn't open your mouth without one flying in; we were digging them out of our ears! It was hell and they crawled across you as if they were fixed with Blu-tack. This year there were none, which was a real relief."
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Rob had to learn to ride a camel for the new series, something he threw himself into with characteristic gusto, building up a strong relationship with his camel, Baldy.
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Mark laughs: "Working with camels was difficult because to start with you can't tell a camel what to do, and there are strict limitations on how often you can race a camel. It was like working with very small children – but small children who vomit green bile, and are incredibly obstinate."
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He continues: "We spent two days filming the camel races and we half expected six horrible, spitting, aggressive, coarse-haired animals, but in fact Baldy was wonderfully docile and everyone fell for him – not least Rob.
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"As we filmed the noise was extraordinary and we thought:
'Wow, here we are with 60 extras and six galloping camels – you
don't get that very often in your average half-hour comedy!' It was a
real thrill."
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Award-winning actor Rob Brydon started his career as a radio presenter for 91Èȱ¬ Wales and was on local television and radio for six years.
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Whilst at the 91Èȱ¬, Rob joined the Bath-based improvisational
comedy group More Fool Us, where he met Julia Davis with whom he would
go on some years later to make the award-winning Human Remains.
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Leaving Cardiff for London, Rob worked mostly as a voice artist on animations and commercials until his role as the traffic warden in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels prompted him to produce a short video of comic characters he had created.
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Rob Brydon - An Extremely Unlucky Traffic Warden, concluded
with Cardiff cabbie Keith Barrett, who would soon become one of Brydon's
best loved comic creations.
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Rob's television credits include: a new series for 91Èȱ¬ THREE called Annually Retentive, The Keith Barrett Show, Marion & Geoff, Human Remains, Cruise of The Gods and Black Books.
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Marion & Geoff, the dark comedy about a divorced cabbie coming
to grips with his wife's new relationship, was a breakthrough in his career,
and in 2000 he received a British Comedy Award for Best Newcomer, a Royal
Television Society Award for Best Newcomer, the South Bank Award for Best
Television Drama and the Broadcasting Press Guild of Great Britain Best
Entertainment Award for the programme.
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He followed this with a British
Comedy Award in 2001 for Best Actor for Human Remains and a Banff TV
Festival 2001 Award for Best International Comedy for the same show.
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As well as the feature film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Rob appeared in the critically-acclaimed film 24 Hour Party People.
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He was seen in two films released last year, Mirrormask and A Cock And Bull Story. Last year he completed a 60-date UK stage tour, and is a regular guest on radio and television.
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