

I don’t believe in that, but I must say that after chapters 23 through 33 out of the planned 85 chapter series aired over the holiday weekend, it’s obvious that Trapped’s biggest influence is Laurence Sterne’s 18th century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman. Tristam Shandy is of course a strangely humorous nine volume series - released over an eight year span - in which a man unsuccessfully attempts to write his autobiography.

Kelly’s most glaring acknowledgement occurred when Sylvester and Twan entered Beano’s headquarters in Chapter 32. In one of Sterne’s volumes there is a very long passage where one of the characters begins to walk down the basement stairs, only to stop and tell very long stories, repeatedly, at one point even pointing out that him and the character he was speaking to and boring to death that they hadn’t made much progress down the stairs for quite sometime.
