ITV was not having much luck when it came to the world of sitcoms in the 1990s and 2000s, with many of their shows either getting low ratings, critically maligned, or ending up getting one series. This wasn’t the case for all their sitcoms though, with some getting good ratings and running for several series. One such example is Barbara, which ran for three series from 1999 to 2003. But is it as good as its ratings show. Let’s see.
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The past is an interesting time, a time that people would suggest housed funnier comedy and where you could get away with making jokes on minority groups without someone calling you out on it. I completely disagree with this view – even then, you had the likes of Mary Whitehouse and Points of View as indicators that people didn’t completely accept what was on their TVs – and further evidence for this comes in the fact that some groups were ignored altogether, usually because society was ashamed of them. Single mothers for one thing. This taboo was challenged by one sitcom in the 70s, a tale of a mother and her son surviving after the departure of the father in the family. I give you Miss Jones and Son.
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On the 29th of March 2002, BBC One implemented its Rhythm and Movement idents. Designed to replace the old balloon ones, they were notable for its use of people and diversity – one involved three basketball players dancing in their wheelchairs, another involved two performers performing the Brazilian martial art of the Capoeira, and another involved the performance of the traditional Maori Haka. I bring this up because All About Me, first broadcast on the 8th of March 2002, feels like these idents in sitcom form – a grand attempt at showing off the lives of people in the UK in a quite diverse manner. Was it successful, however? Let us find out.
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Ah, the family sitcom – a popular type of sitcom that has been practiced extensively over the years, especially by the BBC. Do you know what can also be funny? Divorce. Speaking of divorce, the sitcom that I’m going to be looking at today is one which explores this somewhat delicate process through the eyes of a duo who should not be together at all. But is it any good? Let’s find out!
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In recent times, you may have heard of John Cleese’s attempts to reboot Fawlty Towers with his daughter Camilla Cleese. This news has been heavily criticized and considering Cleese’s recent feelings about the concept of cancel culture, I fear that a lot of the humor in this new revival will be very weak. However, it has also inspired me to look at his other work, and this led me to the sitcom he did for the BBC from 2018 to 2019, Hold the Sunset. Is it as good as this ex-sitcom legend had hoped it would be? Let’s find out.
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With Friends having proven to be a popular worldwide phenomenon, it was only natural that British companies would have a piece of the pie. Some would be more successful than others – Coupling, released in 2000, made it to four series and is still fondly remembered today, whilst 1998’s Babes In The Wood, primed to be the next British success, vanished after 2 series with little trace. Today, however, this blog focuses on one of the more notable failures – the 2001 sitcom Sam’s Game.
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The industry of the male gigolo is a fairly lucrative one, with the UK as one of its top markets. The idea is quite simple – men are paid to go out with other women and be their companions. Sometimes, in fact, they serve the role of an opportunity for sex. But why am I saying this, you ask? Well, it’s because this week on “The Obscure Sitcom Files”, I’ll be looking into a sitcom that shows this field in fashion: Just a Gigolo.
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The other day, I was out on my occasional hunt for DVDs, and whilst I was out hunting in the DVD Treasure Trove that is HMV, I came across a curiosity: A DVD of the 1980s sitcom Clarence. My interest was intrigued, and I purchased the DVD with the intent to watch the entirety of the series. The show may be long forgotten and didn’t even last a series, but is it worth a watch? Let’s find out!
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In this week’s blog post, I’m going to be focusing on something newer than my last post – namely one single series sitcom created in the 2010s. The show in question is a sitcom that heavily spoofs health and safety guidelines through the lens of a man named Gerald Wright, a show imaginatively titled “The Wright Way”. The show in question was very poorly regarded, but is it as bad as people say? Let’s find out.
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“The Brittas Empire” was a British sitcom running from 1991 to 1997 which featured Chris Barrie as Gordon Brittas, a manager with a Dream but not enough social skills and too much confidence to lead it without everything descending into chaos, as well as a similarly oddball staff to compliment him. This blog post in particular though is specifically focused on a later part in the series’ history, namely Series 6 and 7. By this point, Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen (the original creators of the series) had left, with Series 5 presumably being intended to be the end of the Series, a theory backed up by the fact that their final episode had everyone being given their happy ending. However, after said special, the BBC decided to continue the series for two series, getting on new writers to fill the void left by the original two’s absence. Despite the attempts of the new writers, however, these new episodes were not well-liked by the viewers for a variety of reasons, and this post attempts to look into why this may be the case.
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