My Family - Series 11 Page 6

This Friday's episode was above average, I thought. In my opinion, probably one of the best ones in the show's history. It felt different and slightly fresher on a number of levels. Aesthetically, Robert Lindsay was wearing a black leather jacket (that sounds trivial and irrelevant, but it made a change from brown suede). Plot-wise, having Ben and Susan separate felt like a big step (separating being a serious thing to do, after all).

Also, right from the start, all the actors were on the button, from a dowey-eyed Michael shifting into the kitchen with the 'no, you hang up first' lines to Roger hastily running-then confidently strutting to the door for his date.

Having Ben gate-crash the dinner date was a good gag too - even if it wasn't original. And later, getting Ben and Susan out of the house and to the anniversary party also felt like it was adding more to it.

Roger falling downstairs with the mattress on top of him was a recycled gag as the same thing happened to Ben in Series 1, but having them on the stairs like that and glimpsing the fourth wall (the crew would've filmed it before or after the audience arrived) was another example of the production pushing harder than usual.

Or maybe I'm just blind-sighted by the virtually unwatchable episodes we've had recently.

I wasn't impressed, funniest bit was when the bed broke.....

I think it's a real shame that they seem to have tried to re-write Michael's character almost from scratch - just keeping in a few token 'geeky' traits - in the past couple of series. It just feels out of place and forced.

Janey, however, I think has got better over the years if anything. She's really come into her own since Series 9, and episodes like tonight's where she featured more heavily, show what a waste of talent the writers' use of Daniela Denby-Ashe has tended to be over the past decade. It's particularly disappointing that they're only getting to really use her a bit more, now that the show is coming to an end. I'm not entirely sure I'd go as far as recommending the character for her own spin-off series, but I do think it's a shame they've not done as much with her as they could have. DDA could certainly carry more of a show herself, I think.

Pretty dire tonight. Few funny moments.

Seems to have been less interaction between the whole family in a few episodes, it feels a bit like a load of scenes just put together randomly.

Quite glad it's ending now, the episode from the 15th only managed 3.81 million, people are obviously bored.

Ratings for Series 11 so far

1. 4.37 million
2. 4.42 million
3. 3.62 million (overnights, did not make BARB Top 30) - Lowest ever rating
4. 3.81 million
5. 4.00 million (not sure if official or overnights)

Quote: David Carmon @ July 29 2011, 11:13 PM BST

Pretty dire tonight. Few funny moments.

Seems to have been less interaction between the whole family in a few episodes, it feels a bit like a load of scenes just put together randomly.

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Yes, it's become really fragmented and strange of late. Slightly conversely, I think they've had some of the best one-liners and short scenes since ... well, probably for the best part of 5 years - but as a whole, the episodes are feeling less ... well, just less. Which is a real shame, because the performances are still great, and the odd gag shows that the writing still has the capacity to be.

Quote: Aaron @ July 29 2011, 10:09 PM BST

I think it's a real shame that they seem to have tried to re-write Michael's character almost from scratch - just keeping in a few token 'geeky' traits - in the past couple of series. It just feels out of place and forced.

Janey, however, I think has got better over the years if anything. She's really come into her own since Series 9, and episodes like tonight's where she featured more heavily, show what a waste of talent the writers' use of Daniela Denby-Ashe has tended to be over the past decade. It's particularly disappointing that they're only getting to really use her a bit more, now that the show is coming to an end. I'm not entirely sure I'd go as far as recommending the character for her own spin-off series, but I do think it's a shame they've not done as much with her as they could have. DDA could certainly carry more of a show herself, I think.

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Agree with all of that. Michael has just become a really weak, quite irritable character. I don't have a problem with him coming out as gay but since then they have changed his personality for the worse. He used to be a sharp, cunning and sly teenager and far more entertaining.

Janey seems to have matured in this series. Where as Michael has become sillier and more childlike, Janey has seemingly grown up and become quite responsible with her job and Kenzo.

Quote: David Carmon @ July 29 2011, 11:13 PM BST

Pretty dire tonight. Few funny moments.

Seems to have been less interaction between the whole family in a few episodes, it feels a bit like a load of scenes just put together randomly.

Quite glad it's ending now, the episode from the 15th only managed 3.81 million, people are obviously bored.

Ratings for Series 11 so far

1. 4.37 million
2. 4.42 million
3. 3.62 million (overnights, did not make BARB Top 30) - Lowest ever rating
4. 3.81 million
5. 4.00 million (not sure if official or overnights)

View original

Episode 5 is an overnight. The official rating for that won't be released until Monday. All the officals will be missing those who watched in Scotland as the show airs at 9:30 instead of 9:00.

I never really got into this series until now. I've started watching it and find it quite good, I'll have to look back at some of the previous series.

I thought this Friday's episode about the couples retreat was pretty good, in fact for once it had me actually full on laughing at the priceless bit where Ben requires to fart in the relaxation class. The sub-plot with Janey and Michael was this time at least plausible and not just an excuse to throw them together.

However, I think the problems lie here...as someone else said, there aren't many scenes with the whole family anymore and the four remaining main characters are often split up into pairs, it shows you how dire the show would have been if Nick wasn't in it to start with. Secondly there is no continuity because they've messed up the episodes. Michael got back together with Scott and now he's gone again and he has a new boyfriend. I agree, Michael is now a terrible character. Ben and Susan remain the most interesting. Thirdly, the plot was a good idea but Ed Dyson is a terrible writer, I've noticed all the worst episodes have been from him, he does not have a flare for comic writing and wastes far too many situations like the martial arts class with lazy writing - the scenes do not pay off. Robert Lindsay is great at physical gags - wasted opportunity. And lastly, where are Roger and Kenzo, I know it's more characters to write in and more subplots to find, but at one point they managed with Alfie and Abi and Roger and Kenzo in the mix too, that's why it feels so empty now.

What does anybody else think about my opinions ha?

By the way the lowest rating episodes seem to be the ones without Ben and next week's appears to have Robert Lindsay being absent too. I think the quality of 10 and 11 would be better evened out if they'd stuck to the structure used on the DVDs or rearranged them so Series 11 didn't seem to have all the dud episodes. Pretty lazy mess if you ask me.

Fully agree Shepka.

Many of the recent episodes have felt like two different plots tacked into one episode. At least this episode had Janey and Michael reference that their parents had gone away.

The continuity is very annoying, I just can't understand why the BBC just couldn't show the episodes in the correct order, there was/is nothing to stop them doing so.

The reason for not showing it in the correct order is to confuse and annoy the audience, drive down the viewing figures, and cite the lower numbers as proof that it was right to end such a previously massively popular show.

Or maybe I'm just a bit cynical.

Quote: Aaron @ July 31 2011, 1:38 AM BST

The reason for not showing it in the correct order is to confuse and annoy the audience, drive down the viewing figures, and cite the lower numbers as proof that it was right to end such a previously massively popular show.

Or maybe I'm just a bit cynical.

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I think a bit too cynical, the viewing figures were already down to a level that didn't make the show untouchable from the axe. For all the BBC's faults I can't imagine they would show episodes out of order just to annoy viewers.

Scheduling the show in the middle of summer and giving it minimal promotion, now those were probably done to keep ratings down.

Quote: dennispennis123 @ July 31 2011, 2:05 AM BST

I think a bit too cynical, the viewing figures were already down to a level that didn't make the show untouchable from the axe. For all the BBC's faults I can't imagine they would show episodes out of order just to annoy viewers.

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I'd certainly like to think so, but ... well, other rumours that I couldn't possibly state publicly. Let's just say that whilst I'm not stating that that is what they did, under bizarre Beeb logic, the type of which we have certainly seen before, it wouldn't be out of place or surprising.

Either way, it's done now, and for whatever reason(s), innocent or not, a real shame that the scheduling has become the shambles it has.

Back to the bad episodes with this one, me thinks.

One thing about Janey's (or rather, Daniela Denby-Ashe's) delivery which really bothers me:

Janey has always talked in what is commonly referred to as 'rising questioning intonation', but when Michael's friend was doing it too - when Janey was sticking up for Michael - it was just embarrassing.

Quote: Aaron @ July 31 2011, 1:38 AM BST

The reason for not showing it in the correct order is to confuse and annoy the audience, drive down the viewing figures, and cite the lower numbers as proof that it was right to end such a previously massively popular show.

Or maybe I'm just a bit cynical.

View original

10/10 I reckon

It's an age old trick, Channel 4 did the same with Brookside.

Brian Protheroe and Joe McGann on tonight's episode.