Quote: Comedy Bloke @ February 9 2009, 12:32 PM GMT
I loved the first two series of NGO (most episodes were hilarious with only one or two average ones), and overall it has been one of the sharpest, most likeable and well-written new British sitcoms in the last few years.
So far, two episodes in to series 3 and I have been a bit disappointed. The 'bath' episode (ep 1) was poor, a stupid plot, with the script relying on crudeness instead of the razor-sharp wit of other episodes. It seemed totally out of place among previous episodes of series 1 and 2.
Episode 2 was much funnier in parts, with some good lines, but I can't help thinking that Lee Mack and his co-writers can do a lot better than the idea of pretending to be blind, parylysed, etc. I'm not one to get offended easily, I just think that this episode seemed to be lazy and very old-fashioned. And to be honest, blindness isn't that funny really. Before anyone accuses me of being too sensitive, I should point out that I love Extras and The Office, both of which have featured elements of 'disability', and done so hilariously.
I see that for this week's episode, according to 'Radio Times', the synopsis reads: 'Lee and Tim invite a lesbian couple round for dinner and Lucy discovers a side to her she never knew existed.' I might be wrong, but are the NGO writers running out of ideas?
I would hope that the disability gags were all on Lee and Tim. If the episode had been about a blind person or a wheelchair user being made fun of, I would accept your criticism on the chin. I am, as anyone who knows me will verify, a woolly liberal who would rather die than offend any group of people or person. So I hope the consensus is that Winner didn't lazily stereotype any group.
Are we running out of ideas? Best watch the episodes rather than go by what the one-line description says, don't you think? Series One, Episode Two: Lee has to pretend to be Kate's boyfriend when an Australian comes to stay. That sounds like we've run out of ideas too.