The Wright Way is a short-lived sitcom penned by Ben Elton which concerns an anally retentive boss named Gerald Wright. Wright is the middle-aged officer for Baselricky Borough Council. However, he is very obsessive with the rules, to the point that his wife left him over it. Part of the cast is Susan, who is the glue that keeps everything together, and her live-in girlfriend Victoria, her incompetent girlfriend, who aspires to be a DJ despite getting little work relating to that matter.
The show aired for one series on BBC One in 2013.
This show contains the following tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Malika Maha.
- Animated Credits Opening: One involving the stick figures from safety signs during some health-related stuff.
- Birthday Episode: "The Rogue Speed Bump" takes place on Malika's birthday and revolves around Wright trying to buy a gift for her. Hilarity Ensues when the birthday present, a trendy scarf, turns out to still have its security tag on it, leading to him trying to return it. He eventually gives her the receipt for it as a birthday present, only to get slapped due to him giving her the wrong receipt.
- Bland-Name Product: "The Deadly Receptacle" introduces a fictional coffee chain named "Moonbonks", which is intended to be a spoof of real-life coffee chain "Starbucks".
- British Brevity: Only one series, which contains six episodes, was ever made.
- Broken Bird: Whilst Wright was always anally-retentive, he only got worse after his wife left him. Susan at point notes that his anger and anxiety issues are a poorly concealed attempt to mask his depression over the whole end of his marriage.
- Catchphrase:
- Wright has "Don't get me started..."
- Victoria has "OMG, that is SO a Youtube moment!"
- Dance Party Ending: "The Deadly Receptacle" (and the show as a whole) ends with everyone at Ballroom Night dancing.
- Dumb Blonde: Victoria, Susan's blonde-haired girlfriend, is...not very bright. She can't even properly soften ice cream, for one thing.
- Epunymous Title: A pun on the term "The Right Way" starring a man named Gerald Wright.
- Express Lane Limit: One piece of comedy was set in a supermarket check-out line where the anally retentive Mr Wright protested about the woman in front of him having nine articles in her basket, one over the limit.
- For Inconvenience, Press "1": In "Curbing the Kerb", Wright tries to book himself a prostate exam. However, he ends up stuck on the phone throughout the entire night due to the complexities of the automated system.
- Fun with Acronyms: A Running Gag involves Wright having a tendency to use acronyms for things that end up sounding quite dirty. For instance, on the topic of playground swings, he uses Targeted Observation of Tension Altitude Levels creating a Tabulated Ongoing Swing Study Pertaining Operational Testing (or TOTAL TOSSPOT).
- Gold Digger: Ever since her divorce to Wright, Valerie has been pursuing an Australian fitness trainer named Kyle. Susan accuses him of being only in the relationship for money, although it is Subverted when it turns out that he was only trying to help her live a little after 20 years of being a mother, wife, and dental nurse.
- Not What It Looks Like: At the start and end of "The Rogue Speed Bump", Wright, who's having issues with the tap, accidentally sprays himself near the crotch with it. He ends up drying it in a way that is... sexually suggestive. Right as the cleaner comes in and sees it too.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: Wright, who is overtly anal-retentive and obsessed with health and safety to the point of annoying his co-workers.
- Rhyming Title: The second episode is titled "Conkers Bonkers".
- Running Gag: Wright using acronyms for things that end up sounding quite dirty.
- Safety Freak: Wright has a tendency to take safety measures very seriously. Apparently, one of the decisions he made under his department is making babies wear helmets when breastfeeding near the swings. And that's not going into the time he believed the simple game of conkers to be a genuine death sport.
- Strange-Syntax Speaker: Mayor Len Wrinkler has a tendency to speak sentences backward.
- That Came Out Wrong: Wright's....wording of stuff does make his dialogue sound dirtier than it really is.Gerald Wright: As you know, I have discovered one rogue erection which is six millimetres proud of its optimum legal altitude. Clive, talk me through my proud erection.Clive: ...we are still talking about speed bumps, aren't we, Gerald?Gerald Wright: What else?Clive: Right... good...
- Toilet Seat Divorce: Apparently, the reason why Wright's wife left him was that Wright got annoyed at her for leaving a bit of butter in the marmite.
