I think Caroline Aherne has got her shows mixed up. Remember in Mrs Merton and Malcolm when Malcolm would sing along to the radio or when Bryan Murphy would sing a song to Mr. Merton? An easy way to fill up 3 minutes of screen time.

Personally, I think it's dreadful every week. Seriously.

Rumour has it that anytime anyong sings a David Bowie song on TV it costs them £1000 per second. In one episode of Mrs Merton and Malcom Brian Murphy sing Starman for about 10 seconds. That's £10,000 spent on ten seconds of film. I wouldn't mind if it were worth it. I'd gladly pay £10,000 pounds for the Fish-Slapping dance.


Also, Mrs Merton and Malcom was filmed in a large complex set and (the pilot anyway) was shot in front of a a studio audience, much like I'm Alan Partridge. Apparently the audience laughter was so inaudable, there was a small arguement as to whether to add an emourmous canned laughtrack, or to mix off the laughter and leave it quiet. I think they made the right decision. If they had given it a laughtrack, however, the public may have embraced it more and given it a second series. As I said, I think they made the right decision.

[I know all this because my dad knows editor Geoff Hogg very well]

Partridge was filmed in a large set?

Must have been very large - it included an entire traveller's lodge and car park.

>Partridge was filmed in a large set?
>
>Must have been very large - it included an entire traveller's lodge and car park.

Strangely, it was (apart from the car park, of course. And the other exteriors). Another oddity was that the traveller's lodge had a fourth wall so that the studio audience weren't able to see the actors. Truly.

Haven't watched the new series of Royle Family. The adverts put me off. I'm sure they didn't used to trail it like that. Why would they change it?
I thought the episode when she had the baby was shit (second series?) another great realistic section.... my arse! (can you see what i've done there?)

Life imitates TV Forum yet again. Bonus points for anyone who can spot a word of truth in this review. George Wood on Teletext page 124:

"There was a minor sensation in The Royle Family on BBC1 when Jim became separated from his armchair.

Shock turned to side-splitting hilarity when Jim and Twiggy started stripping wallpaper and wobbling their massive backsides to Mambo number Five.

It was a TV treat approaching the level of Del-boy and the chandelier or Basil Fawlty beating his car. A classic comical moment. Ricky Tomlinson is just fabulous as not so slim Jim."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I knew you'ld like it.

I didn't like the Royle Family before you did.

The Royle Family was better when it was'nt on the radio.

I thought the first series was pretty good. The new one can't be fucking arsed. I can't be doing with it - and the way the BBC is slobbering all over it when it is well-known just how much they hated the pilot is bloody typical.

Comedy, my arse....


hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Well worth a British Comedy Award, huh?

Aaaaaaaargh arrrgh argh aaaaaargh.

Just read that teletext review. Was that my fault? Did I will it to happen?

By the way, the earliest source for this week's dancing Royles sequence that I can think of is Laurel and Hardy in "Way Out West". If this week's "comedy classic" had had an iota of the class of Stan and Ollie, it would have been a worthwhile pastiche, but it was clodhopping and graceless.

Am I the only one who enjoys it, then? Yes, I agree that the dancing sequence was aiming a bit too hard at the 'comedy hall of fame' slot, and that some of the more 'gaggy' gags are very lame (such as the 'Isn't Dave under her thumb? Oh yes, she's got him under her thumb, that's where he is, under her thumb... oh no! Here comes my wife! Look busy!' thing, cringe cringe).
But in general, surely this is a genuinely original idea for a comedy series/ sit com, which usually achieves the ultra-reality it's aiming at, remains quietly funny, and is always superbly acted (especially whenever Liz Smith is on). And if it is, surely it's exactly the sort of thing comedy snobs like us should be applauding? Discuss. Or not.

>Am I the only one who enjoys it, then? Yes, I agree that the dancing sequence was aiming a bit too hard at the 'comedy hall of fame' slot, and that some of the more 'gaggy' gags are very lame (such as the 'Isn't Dave under her thumb? Oh yes, she's got him under her thumb, that's where he is, under her thumb... oh no! Here comes my wife! Look busy!' thing, cringe cringe).
>But in general, surely this is a genuinely original idea for a comedy series/ sit com, which usually achieves the ultra-reality it's aiming at, remains quietly funny, and is always superbly acted (especially whenever Liz Smith is on). And if it is, surely it's exactly the sort of thing comedy snobs like us should be applauding? Discuss. Or not.

Yes. I've never been a big fan of TRF but I think there's a bit of "Ooh it's getting popular now - it must have sold out" going on here. It still looks better than any other sitcom on BBC1 or ITV. (Or BBC2 come to that. Only Black Books on C4 can better it.)

No sell-out as far as I can see. I _never_ liked it.

No, no, no.
I'm not saying that TRF isn't a great idea. It's just that it started out as a sort of sitcom version of Mike Leigh, and now it's just a gag-led sitcom, but filmed as if it were Mike Leigh.
There appears to be more of an attempt in this series to deliver "lines" and "jokes", which ring very untrue in the characters' mouths. This wasn't what the show used to be driven by, or what it purports to be aiming at now.

One recurring example is the "Denise ignores baby then Barbara says what a good mother she is" joke. This keeps happening and is patently unrealistic. Barbara isn't a bad mother, she'd never condone her daughter behaving that way, it's just a simple "audience recognition" joke that undermines the truth of the family's relationships. The audience gets to feel superior. That never used to happen.
There are loads of these, and, backlash notwithstanding, they HAVE only just started to creep in, cheapening the programme.
I only keep posting about this because it is a very good programme, in theory, but it seems to be getting lazy.
Certainly, it's a bit rich championing it as a new form of sitcom when One Foot In The Grave has this week been compared to Beckett, Calvino and Ionesco in the press. That's breaking boundaries.

UB - I couldn't agree more. Including the bit about One Foot being more groundbreaking (and most importantly, funnier).

Also, is it just me, or is TRF slowly becoming more pleb-hating as it goes along, while Changing Rooms viewers pretend that they now know someone who lives on a council estate? There is something about it these days which is becoming increasingly hateful and unrealistic. Yes, I used to like it, and having watched the first series again a couple of months ago, I'd stand by it. But now? Pleased with itself, I think.

"Pleased with itself, I think."

You couldn't say TV Forum was pleased with itself. That gives me a lot of satisfaction.

>Also, is it just me, or is TRF slowly becoming more pleb-hating as it goes along

It was always pleb-hating. e.g. in the first series the constant close-ups of their dinner-plates as if to say 'look! This is what they eat! Burgers and beans! How pitiful!'

Notice the contrast between the characters of the Royles and those of Bobby and Sheila Grant in 'Brookside'.

Bobby was a trade union official who had to fight massive redundancies. Sheila did an OU course and went on to make a new life for herself after the marriage broke down.

The thing is, when it all started a few papers said "Here they are together again, playing a working class family again". They were playing very different people the 1st time round.

Maybe it's that, since the vast majority of the British public are "aspirational middle class" (in all its myriad hues), the makers are trying to remarket the show to the widest possible audience. They've made the Royles an object of sneering condescension because they think that's how the public will want to feel about them.
The warmth of sentiment that once distinguished the series has now gone.

>>Also, is it just me, or is TRF slowly becoming more pleb-hating as it goes along
>
>It was always pleb-hating. e.g. in the first series the constant close-ups of their dinner-plates as if to say 'look! This is what they eat! Burgers and beans! How pitiful!'

Despite my mild defence of it earlier, I'd say there's always been a strong element of this to TRF, that's why I'm not too keen. And in Mike Leigh come to that, despite all the praise heaped upon him.

The "pleb-hating" angle is odd, though.
The remarkable thing about the first series was that people I know who have reasonably privileged, comfortable, middle class backgrounds recognised their families in it. "That's like my mum / dad". It wasn't class-specific, just nice and ordinary.
It used to be true to family life, now it's just cartoonish.

It was hardly a classic song to be dancing too either. The one thing that I actually enjoyed about Mrs Merton & Malcolm were the musical interludes - Aherne always hams it up to the nth whatever she's in, but Craig Cash performed them brilliantly IMHO. His suspiciously bland face reveals its true comic ability during those sort of moments. I like him. The Royle Family is shit.

It worked, for the first series, as some sort of social document. Funny? Yes, very. Granted. But Aherne wrote it in the first place to capture elements of her upbringing, specific relations and hilarious stories from her family past. Or so I read in an article. The problem is that after the first series, as per, the original anecdotes and situations had been used up leading to more and more contrived set-ups for gags and Jim's er... witticisms. Jim is now a grotesque for the whole six episodes of a series (apart from the ten minutes in the sixth when he comes over all wobbly and sheds a fake tear or two).

And why - this is a bit ident-y - have the last two episodes only been about twenty-five minutes long? 'One Foot In The Grave' seems to be running a few minutes longer than the trad. twenty-nine but surely thay can't have filmed TRF with that bit of scheduling in mind. Or am I naive? Does this mean that they've edited out the very moments that meant it would have been funny if it was on BBC2?

From what I hear, when they shot this third series they went into the studio with only the bare bones of the script. This rumour is borne out by the 'filler' sequences like the dancing and antony and his friend practising Ali G in the kitchen. Large chunks of improv supervised by Aherne, the director. Lazy. I read somewhere else on this Forum that Henry Normal or the other third writer cracked the whip during the writing process. Perhaps the need him or her back?

hate this

Bollocks to the lot of you. It's as good as the good bits of Corrie, which is very good indeed.

I am from a northern working class family similar to the one depicted on The Royale Family.

I like the current series so far. So do my parents, apart from the last episode (which I am yet to see). Part of its appeal is seeing your own family reflected in the characters. At least that's why my parents watch it.

I used to see my family reflected in the characters.
Now, if my family were like the Royles, I'd ensure they were buried somewhere in unmarked graves.

Thank god my family aren't like that, mine are more a blend of Goodness Gracious Me and Radio4's most sarcastic program.
We can't answer each other straight.

Do you camp it up?

I like TRF.

I didn't start watching the first series until nearer the end. Up until that point, I'd never seen more that a fleeting minute.

The fact that TRF didn't/doesn't appear immediately comedic (i.e. no laughter track) put me off, until I actually sat down and took the time to pay attention.

I think that it's easily one of the best written things on TV. It's very realistic and
there are so many things I recognise, not particularly from my own family, but from people I went to school with and friends and their parents.

I think that the Ali G thing (which someone criticised or dismissed as poor improv or something) has extreme validity in this setting.
How many times have you heard a sibling, or one of their friends attempt an Ali G/Cartman/popular icon impersonation?

Shit...I don't know how I planned to wind up this posting or whether it actually had a point...

I think the new series is still good.

>Do you camp it up?
>

Ha di ha ha

Really enjoyed One Foot In The Grave tonight. Particularly "..enough to glue up a yak" (which didn't get a laugh from the studio audience, ah well). And "Dinosaur Hospital" was quite TVGH-ey. Sorry I missed all the previous eps in favour of Louis Theroux now, but no doubt they will be repeated ad nauseum.

Yeah. What a show.

Have now given up watching Royles (my old favourite) in preference to OFITG, which has impressed me massively this series.
Did anyone else notice the Royle-baiting gag in One Foot tonight? Where they spend the whole episode on the sofa NOT watching the TV, because there's a power cut.
Very clever.

But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though.

>But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though. #

Back to TRF isnt anyone going to comment on the lack of interest that Denise and Dave give Baby David?

As a parent I find scenes with the baby crying and being ignored difficult to watch!!

This is one of the reasons I've been turning off all through this series. Previously (whhops, almost typed perviously there, that'll teach me) you had this lazy family who lounged around the house all day, and most importantly, that was all they'd ever done. You could imagine them ten years earlier and they'd be exactly the same. And I know people like this. They're my family, my friends. Me.

Now they're trying to behave in the same way, but with a baby in the house. What the fuck?! No. Sorry. Missing the point of life I'm afraid.

>(whhops, almost typed perviously there, that'll teach me)

Kick my ass. I'm not asking, I'm telling with this. Kick this ass for a man.

>>But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though. #
>
>Back to TRF isnt anyone going to comment on the lack of interest that Denise and Dave give Baby David?
>
>As a parent I find scenes with the baby crying and being ignored difficult to watch!!
>
>
Christ almighty! What is it with people and their self-righteous "Back to <insert thread subject here>"? Jesus. Is there really any harm in following the continuity of the fucking thread?

>>>But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though. #
>>
>>Back to TRF isnt anyone going to comment on the lack of interest that Denise and Dave give Baby David?
>>
>>As a parent I find scenes with the baby crying and being ignored difficult to watch!!
>>
>>
>Christ almighty! What is it with people and their self-righteous "Back to <insert thread subject here>"? Jesus. Is there really any harm in following the continuity of the fucking thread?
>
>

Oy! correct me if I`m wrong but the thread IS about TRF.

Start another one about OFG if you want to, my comment was on topic!!

>>>But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though. #
>>
>>Back to TRF isnt anyone going to comment on the lack of interest that Denise and Dave give Baby David?
>>
>>As a parent I find scenes with the baby crying and being ignored difficult to watch!!
>>
>>
>Christ almighty! What is it with people and their self-righteous "Back to <insert thread subject here>"? Jesus. Is there really any harm in following the continuity of the fucking thread?
>
>

Oy! correct me if I`m wrong but the thread IS about TRF.

Start another one about OFG if you want to, my comment was on topic!!

>>>>But the lamp-shade falling on Victor's bollocks will be on every clip-show from now on. It was fantastic at the time though. #
>>>
>>>Back to TRF isnt anyone going to comment on the lack of interest that Denise and Dave give Baby David?
>>>
>>>As a parent I find scenes with the baby crying and being ignored difficult to watch!!
>>>
>>>
>>Christ almighty! What is it with people and their self-righteous "Back to <insert thread subject here>"? Jesus. Is there really any harm in following the continuity of the fucking thread?
>>
>>
>
>Oy! correct me if I`m wrong but the thread IS about TRF.
>
>Start another one about OFG if you want to, my comment was on topic!!
>
>
No, no. You are very much right. This thread is indeed about The Royle Family. How foolish of me to respond to the comments made that One Foot in the Grave was, in many ways, showing up the patchiness of the Royle Family. From now on then, perhaps, all threads should continue from start to finish, solely concentrating on the thread subject, without introducing another frame of reference.

And you are right, Dave and Denise do let the baby cry for too long. They are bad parents, and it can be a little uncomfortable to watch. Pax?

>And you are right, Dave and Denise do let the baby cry for too long. They are bad parents, and it can be a little uncomfortable to watch.

Horrid. It shows how sloppy this programme has got. The baby keeps crying and Denise keeps ignoring it because it's a lazy running joke. But they keep repeating every week and, unfortunately, the cumulative effect is to be actually upsetting for the audience.
If Aherne and co still cared about the characters as much as the audience do, they wouldn't make this mistake.

Couldn't they just drop the baby through the bar?

No, have a chandelier fall on it.

Or have the baby mention the war.

The baby was better on the radio.