I thought that the cleaner was a bit better this episode. Very much a guardian angel type character at the beginning of the episode, which was a bit weird, but didn't play too major a role so it kind of balanced, I thought. Very funny though, despite the mental torture of the recording.
Interesting phraseology the continuity announcer guy used though, a new series "in the new year". Makes it sound like it's just two or three months away, which I assume is incorrect!
There were some good gags but it was one of the weaker episodes for me. Timothy West was wasted and the whole plot was ridiculous. Tim also should have been on screen much, much more. I still think that this show should be mostly about Lee and Tim as they are by far the best characters.
The cut between 'mid game' and afterwards on the sofa seemed to ruin the pace a bit for me. It's a pity NGO couldn't have had a longer special to fit some of the rest of the content in. 
What was wrong with the recording Aaron?
It was hell. It lasted almost twice as long as most recordings I've been to (and I've been to a lot). That particular studio isn't the most comfortable one there is, and the warmup guy started getting heckled and, to be frank, just ran out of material. Add a half hour of nothingness in the middle for a costume change, every single scene being recorded at least twice... Not that I'm ungrateful for all the hard work of the cast and crew of course, but it just felt so badly organised on that night, with no indication of how long was left, and a number of false "it's nearly over".
Oh, and not knowing if we were going to miss the last train too. >_<
ouch, I bet a decent warm up guy can really make a difference.
With lee and tim there you'd think they'd be alright!
Yes, well Lee saved us for ... Well about five minutes during the costume change, coming out and doing a kind of impromptu routine to stop us starting to kill each other.
Weirdly, the read-through, with lots of extra script, went through really fast. They even got (half) changed into the costumes in double-quick time, possibly due to the fact there was no warm up guy and Lee/Tim were doing it themselves 
.
And as it was done in a basement and the cast nearly outnumbered the audience you got to see everything really close up 
The warm-up guy wasn't Alun Cochrane was it? (who did the episodes I went to, and is doing Graham Norton at the moment) because he's usually really good.
A bit disappointing, though I always love Timothy West's eyebrows. I hope there will be more of Daisy and Tim in series 3. Agree that the pace of the episode didn't seem quite right - I didn't get the feeling that there was ever a really big dilemma or end-game that we were working towards.
One word sprang to mind - rushed.
It looked like they'd opened the Christmas crackers too early with some of the jokes. There is no chemistry with any of the couples they have on the show. Tim's dad having an isolated go at him and then another isolated go at him does not convince people that they have a father/son relationship. It needs to be built up like in the pilot of Frasier. They don't build from the ground up in NGO, a bit of character is just tagged on at the end.
Daisy is a prime example of a badly drawn character. She needs to say sensible things at times and then say daft things. If it's all daft, it's pointless. You only need look at Joey from Friends where he was great combining stupidity with normality. But make him daft for the whole episode like in Joey and it's too much.
I know Lee Mack wants jokes first, but if the jokes don't hit the mark you've got nothing because there is so little character. Seinfeld is character first. It has got to be.
Quote: David H @ December 22, 2007, 10:19 AMOne word sprang to mind - rushed.
It looked like they'd opened the Christmas crackers too early with some of the jokes. There is no chemistry with any of the couples they have on the show. Tim's dad having an isolated go at him and then another isolated go at him does not convince people that they have a father/son relationship. It needs to be built up like in the pilot of Frasier. They don't build from the ground up in NGO, a bit of character is just tagged on at the end.
Daisy is a prime example of a badly drawn character. She needs to say sensible things at times and then say daft things. If it's all daft, it's pointless. You only need look at Joey from Friends where he was great combining stupidity with normality. But make him daft for the whole episode like in Joey and it's too much.
I know Lee Mack wants jokes first, but if the jokes don't hit the mark you've got nothing because there is so little character. Seinfeld is character first. It has got to be.
Great post. I know that the show isn't intended to be entirely realistic but you have to have something to bond the jokes together. The characters in the show are far too one-dimensional and when the plots are weak, as in this episode, then it's difficult to stay interested for the whole show. I still like NGO but think it could be so much better.
I forgot about the christmas special last night.
3.8 million on the overnights for the Christmas edition.
This show could be better if they based the show around it's two stronget characters, Lee and Tim, and not Lee and lacklustre Lucy. Frasier got much better in the second series when the relationship between Frasier & Niles became more central to the programme.
Having every end scene be between Lee & Lucy just drives me to distraction, mix it up a little bit. And it really does need more Tim.
It could have been 3.8 million and one.
Jake, you've let us all down.
So did your recording work out?
