Its show-within-a-show format is reminiscent of
The Larry Sanders Show which explored the blurring of reality and fantasy except with the focus of a talk show as opposed to a panel game. The show cuts between fictionalised scenes that see Brydon and the producers making the panel game, and scenes from the game show itself. These latter segments were filmed in full, as if
Annually Retentive were a real show, in front of live audiences at
BBC Television Centre who, initially, were not made aware of its intentionally derivative and uninspired nature. A good portion of the game show segments were scripted; however, the panellists were allowed to 'play out' the game as if it were real, and occasionally improvise. The two team captains were
Dave Gorman and
Jane Moore. Each episode was made available to UK viewers to watch on the BBC Three website a week before it aired. A second series began airing on Monday 30 April 2007 at 10.30pm; the 'gameshow' portion was filmed on 11 and 12 January 2007. The theme tune used is "
Reelin' In the Years" by
Steely Dan, though on the DVD release the song is replaced with an original piece. The first series has been released on DVD. The second series was released on 23 November 2009. ==Episodes guide==