Disagree with Renegade Carpark 100%. Great episode this week, funniest since probably episode 1 or 2. Really nice to see some more of the central relationship, and Vicki was laugh-out-loud hilarious. Just, all round, thoroughly good.
Hebburn - Series 1 Page 4
Quote: Aaron @ November 9 2012, 2:28 PM GMTDisagree with Renegade Carpark 100%.
100%? Not 70% or 52.8%, but exactly 100%? Weird, because I found the whole job interview section with the Barnsley Gazette tediously boring and predictable along with the endless discussions about doing laundry and then when the pregnancy was tacked on at the end with no foreshadowing whatsoever, I was just glad it had come to an end.
I do like the show, but there is no way that this was one of the best episodes.
Probably the weakest episode of the series so far for me, but saying that it still featured lots of good, funny bits. Probably a bit too loose and scattered this one; needed to be tighter.
And now another character is pregnant. Oh dear, the writers seem to have run out of steam already - which for a six episode show is pretty shocking.
Unfortunately, another poor episode this week. Hebburn started so strongly and I thought it was going to build to something really spectacular, but it appears that the writers have collapsed under the weight of their own ambition. Trying to cram in too many characters and giving them all plot strands / screen time instead of concentrating on the core protagonists has been to the show's detriment.
Last night's episode exchanged a solid plot for a mish mash of stuff and the jokes seemed really crowbarred in.
Jim Moir / Vic Reeves constant deadpan look when no one laughs at his jokes is still comedy gold, but the laughs were few and far between last night and even he may not be enough to save this.
I am a sad panda. 
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ November 16 2012, 11:31 AM GMTAnd now another character is pregnant. Oh dear, the writers seem to have run out of steam already - which for a six episode show is pretty shocking.
Unfortunately, another poor episode this week. Hebburn started so strongly and I thought it was going to build to something really spectacular, but it appears that the writers have collapsed under the weight of their own ambition. Trying to cram in too many characters and giving them all plot strands / screen time instead of concentrating on the core protagonists has been to the show's detriment.
Last night's episode exchanged a solid plot for a mish mash of stuff and the jokes seemed really crowbarred in.
Jim Moir / Vic Reeves constant deadpan look when no one laughs at his jokes is still comedy gold, but the laughs were few and far between last night and even he may not be enough to save this.
I am a sad panda.
It's like we're watching completely different channels.
I tended to have a dead pan look when Reeves and Mortimer was on!
You have a deadpan look every time you come within 100 feet of a TV!
Nice end to the series and strangely touching in parts. The sentimental aspects didn't bother me as much as I thought they would, probably because I like to be strangely touched.
Vic made me get something in my eye.
Great last episode, that was.
Quote: zooo @ November 22 2012, 10:59 PM GMTVic made me get something in my eye.
Great last episode, that was.
Agree, totally.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ November 22 2012, 10:58 PM GMTNice end to the series and strangely touching in parts. The sentimental aspects didn't bother me as much as I thought they would, probably because I like to be strangely touched.
Agreed.
Yes, a satisfying end to a series which has grown on me.
I'm a bit late as I only managed to catch the repeats around Christmas, but dear oh dear, if this is what passes for cutting edge contemporary comedy at the BBC, then sitcom is in a dire state.
As others have said, it comes across as being written by London writers pretending to be Northerners, indeed it feels like it was written by a focus group rather than a writer. Clearly some producer has looked at the likes of Gavin & Stacey, The Royle Family and thought "Hey, no-one's done a working class sitcom set in the North East" before, and managed to get this shambles of cliched characters commissioned.
Basically all the girls want to do is get pregnant and be given a council flats. All the men want to be left alone to drink pints and eat pies. Anyone who tries to be or do something different is mocked and made to feel like an outsider.
In mitigation there were some amusing gags when the lead character went ot work as editor of the local newspaper, but most of these were pinched from "Dead Man Weds" which did that concept first and better.
I confess I only watched a couple of episodes but for me Hebburn is a sitcom 20-30 years out of date. Quite how it's got a second series when genuinely funny comics like Milton Jones can't even get beyond a pilot is baffling.
Quote: Basil Rathbon @ January 21 2013, 5:48 PM GMTAs others have said, it comes across as being written by London writers pretending to be Northerners,
It's not.
As I watched the first episode, I thought it was fairly poor. It has a little bit of everything, but, just didn't jell. But, as the series went on, it seemed each episode got better. Finally, at the end of the season, I was wanting more and happy to find they will have a second season.
It's one of the very few Britcoms we in my area get to see, that is fairly recent. I like that. Also, I have just a bit of a crush on Pauline! 