Ah, fair enough I suppose.
The Royle Family Christmas 2008 Page 4
Liked this a lot. 'Uniball' 
I actually quite enjoyed it too. And it's the first episode I've seen. Blimey. Must get around to watching the rest.
Not hilarious, but a very good watch. 
Quote: Aaron @ December 25 2008, 11:02 PM GMTI actually quite enjoyed it too. And it's the first episode I've seen. Blimey. Must get around to watching the rest.
Not hilarious, but a very good watch.
Don't think it's really supposed to be hilarious Aaron.
Marvelously observed perhaps?
Well no, perhaps not. It didn't make me laugh. That's all I meant.
No, even though I've left it overnight before commenting, a good night's sleep has not changed my opinion.
IMO...
You know when you see one of your all-time heroes, say maybe a boxer like Ali, go back into the ring for one last time and take a right hiding?
That's how I feel now when contemplating last night's Royle Family special. The whole thing just saddened me. It was a mile off its usual pace and I was left baffled as to why they'd done it.
Caroline Ahearn, Craig Cash and Phil Mealy are some of the best comedy writers around and what they produced last night was some kind of ghastly dreadful old toot.
I am one of the biggest Royle Family fans you could imagine but...Blimey O'Reilly!!!
*Goes off and sobs in the corner*
I thought it was ace!
Only read a few posts but the Ralf Little bits were harsh. I heard him on Radio 2 on Christmas Eve he said he was going to do it but Craig Cash rang him and said we are going to include Dave's parents in this one and it's all a bit much, so do you mind if we don't include you. Ralf said yeah, no worries.
However Little did say he would be in a future couple of episodes.
Edited by Aaron.
I thought it was great - particularly the later half. There seemed to be a lot more gags this time, sometimes I felt at the expense of the usual realism (why put bubbles in the bath to defrost the turkey? Could see the Twiggy coming home/being released gag coming etc) but still a really good episode overall.
Tom Courtney was fantastic - the way he pronounced 'Barbara' was a great touch.
It was a weird one this - there seemed to be a lot more "gags" than usual and it threw me a bit. Whereas the Royles are usually steeped in realism, parts of this special just didn't ring true. For instance even Denise wouldn't be stupid enough to serve Cup A Soups as a starter, and the whole defrosting the turkey bit just seemed bullshit to me. Dave had changed too - they've made him seem extra-stupid, whereas before he was always the more sensible one out of him and Denise. Now they've got him sat in a bubble bath with a frozen Christmas turkey. Great visual gag, but for me it didn't fit at all in the Royle universe I'm so familiar with.
Also Jim seemed a lot more nasty in this episode - the way he was treating Barbara seemed overly - cruel and there was a distinct lack of warmth that usually sweetens Jim's character in that regard.
The set looked very "studio-ey" too don't you think? It was all lit very differently and didn't look anywhere near as organic as before.
Good points - Tom Courtney saved it for me. He was bloody wonderful and Jim's reactions to this "knobhead" were very funny indeed. There were also some classic Jim one liners that cracked me up -
DENISE:
Do you want a leg Mam?
BARBARA:
Yeah.
DENISE:
Do you want a leg Jim?
JIM:
Yeah.
DENISE:
Do you want a leg Dave?
DAVE:
Yeah.
JIM:
Bloody Hell Denise, what are you cooking, a turkey or an octopus?
So all in all I thought it was a bit of a disappointment in places, but I still ultimately enjoyed it.
Quote: Johnsy @ December 26 2008, 10:12 AM GMTI thought it was ace!
Only read a few posts but the Ralf Little bits were harsh. I heard him on Radio 2 on Christmas Eve he said he was going to do it but Craig Cash rang him and said we are going to include Dave's parents in this one and it's all a bit much, so do you mind if we don't include you. Ralf said yeah, no worries.
However Little did say he would be in a future couple of episodes.
Poor Ralf!
Sheesh!
I'm worried now for if comments I've read here and elsewhere are anything to go on then I seem to be totally out of touch with what's popular/good.
I agree with a lot of Lee's points and true some of the gags were decent but the entire premise of the episode and the wholesale changing of characters just left me cold. This was not The Royle Family that I love and that I've stood up for over the past 10 years.
I also felt that the way Denise's house was lit was terribly harsh and made the show look too different. Tom Courtney's character seemed to have stumbled in from Last of the Summer Wine (perhaps they were filming in an adjacent studio?) and was just far too irritating to hold my attention.
And nobody, but nobody could possibly be as gormless as the "New" Dave Best. Could they?
Quote: Lee Henman @ December 26 2008, 1:13 PM GMTDave had changed too - they've made him seem extra-stupid, whereas before he was always the more sensible one out of him and Denise.
As an RF-virgin, I don't know what you're on about; he was the more sensible of the two. (Level of sensibility in comparison to previous, I don't know.)
Quote: Lee Henman @ December 26 2008, 1:13 PM GMTAlso Jim seemed a lot more nasty in this episode - the way he was treating Barbara seemed overly - cruel and there was a distinct lack of warmth that usually sweetens Jim's character in that regard.
Again, this must just be down to contrast with previous. I didn't get a mean, nasty, cruel, or any other negative vibe at all. Unless you're getting confused with the jealousy when Dave Senior was being all chummy with her.
I thought it was excellent. Some absolutely hilarious moments. I agree that some of the food prep stuff was taken a bit over the top but that didn't matter too much to me as I felt it was just an excuse to get the characters talking (or "mingling"). Fantastic and funny.
Quote: sanniberry @ December 13 2008, 6:00 PM GMTSigh, Ralf Little. I can't honestly say I like or dislike him but he was quite a good sport on Nevermind the Buzzcocks earlier this autumn.
My biggest problem with Little is that he was shagging that Lisa Rodgers back when I thought I could have been in with a shout . . . what?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Dear Fellow members of the BSG,
I have this Sky +ed and might decide to watch it again after a few stiff drinks. Maybe I was pissed last night and haven't given it a fair go.
Mind, I do remember it all with a vivid clarity so I don't hold out a lot of hope of changing my opinion.
Baffled of Pease Pottage