Citizen Khan - Series 1

Was looking forward to this after being introduced to the character in Bellamy's People and had high hopes that another great overly pompous sitcom monster had been spawned.

Unfortunately, this was probably one of the worst sitcoms I've ever seen, like an homage to a really bad 1970s show - I found the whole thing so unprogressive and racist, that they could have renamed it Mrs. Brownboys.

Predictable jokes, cod accents, unlikeable characters and an unneeded token white man just compounded the failure of what could have been a great new sitcom. It's like Goodness Gracious Me never happened.

At least the title is clever...well, sort of...

I did wince at the trailer wondering if it was a 70s sitcom I'd missed.

I've only seen the trailer but I thought the following (paraphased) joke (complete with phoney accents) took the biscuit:

Asian/Indian men have only got one thing on their minds
What's that?
Cricket!

I mean, c'mon! As a set up that's incredibly lazy, stereotypical and predictable. Is anyone really naive enough to not know the original expression and what it means to the point they'd want an explanation?

If that's made the trailer I dread to think what else was lurking therein...

Quote: Tuumble @ August 28 2012, 2:20 PM BST

I've only seen the trailer but I thought the following (paraphased) joke (complete with phoney accents) took the biscuit:

Asian/Indian men have only got one thing on their minds
What's that?
Cricket!

I mean, c'mon! As a set up that's incredibly lazy, stereotypical and predictable. Is anyone really naive enough to not know the original expression and what it means to the point they'd want an explanation?

If that's made the trailer I dread to think what else was lurking therein...

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This show obviously doesn't want to be innovative. It doesn't even want to be clever within its old school boundaries (there's nothing bad about old school per se). It tries to get cheap laughs from a...let's say...less discerning audience. And let's face it there are lots of people out there that laugh at the same old (racial) stereotypes and unclever wordgames. In german TV some of the most successful and longest running sketch shows or sitcoms provide such crap. The more subtle shows (incl. a german adaption of "The Office"...ok Aaron, I know..."The Office" isn't innovative!) are broadcast after midnight.
I don't know how it is in Britain...maybe such "easy stuff" generates high viewing figures (including the indian audience?) and the BBC opts for it. On the other hand "The Royal Bodyguard" was easy and dated as well but wasn't exactly a tsunami of success.

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ August 28 2012, 2:41 PM BST

I don't know how it is in Britain...maybe such "easy stuff" generates high viewing figures (including the indian audience?) and the BBC opts for it. On the other hand "The Royal Bodyguard" was easy and dated as well...

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It is perplexing, considering that we are also the same country that made Four Lions.

There's nothing wrong with broad comedy or ethnically centric comedy - shows like Desmond's, Grandma's House and Father Ted traded heavily on their cultural roots - but Citizen Khan was just lazily written, perhaps on purpose, to avoid any kind of controversial religious or cultural subjects.

Quote: Ben700 @ August 28 2012, 3:13 PM BST

The show is awful but the family in it are of a Pakistani background, not Indian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p00xq4q1

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Oh, you're right...(qu)easy mistake to make!

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ August 28 2012, 2:53 PM BST

It is perplexing, considering that we are also the same country that made Four Lions.

but Citizen Khan was just lazily written, perhaps on purpose, to avoid any kind of controversial religious or cultural subjects.

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If that's really the reason then they shouldn't have bothered. It's better to choose a safe premise and use its full potential than take on more special subject and shirk any possible debate/conflict and therefore make it a godawful and lazy show.

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ August 28 2012, 3:27 PM BST

Oh, you're right...(qu)easy mistake to make

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I've not seen this yet, but noticed it seemed to be on at about half ten. Which seems a bit weird.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ August 28 2012, 2:53 PM BST

There's nothing wrong with broad comedy...

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But it's not a good sign when the snippets of "When The Whistle Blows" (the sitcom-in-a-sitcom from "Extras") seem to be a lot better than the trailer of this pile of...
And Andy Millman's wig is not more unconvincing than Adil Ray's fiftysomethingman-masquerade.

Rest of quote:

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ August 28 2012, 2:53 PM BST

...or ethnically centric comedy - shows like Desmond's, Grandma's House and Father Ted traded heavily on their cultural roots - but Citizen Khan was just lazily written, perhaps on purpose, to avoid any kind of controversial religious or cultural subjects.

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True. And the characters in your examples come across more likeable/believable...they're not just lazy caricatures spitting out predictable stereotypical jokes.

Quote: Ben700 @ August 28 2012, 3:13 PM BST

The show is awful but the family in it are of a Pakistani background, not Indian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p00xq4q1

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Ah, I did wonder but couldn't remember and hadn't bothered to check.

*slapswrist

Just looked at the summary the next episode:

"Mrs Khan's mother is staying with the family. But Mr Khan's big opportunity to hobnob with the bigwigs of the Sparkhill Business Association is threatened when he has to take his mother- in- law on a shopping trip - one that she will never forget."

Sounds like a rib-tickler!

Very disappointed. as RC said I'd enjoyed the character in the past. I'm not sure it was it suck in the 1970s as such, it just wasnt funny.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ August 28 2012, 2:53 PM BST

It is perplexing, considering that we are also the same country that made Four Lions.

There's nothing wrong with broad comedy or ethnically centric comedy - shows like Desmond's, Grandma's House and Father Ted traded heavily on their cultural roots - but Citizen Khan was just lazily written, perhaps on purpose, to avoid any kind of controversial religious or cultural subjects.

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It was written as an old-fashioned sitcom not anything that requires much thought. I don't see why just because it's a sitcom about Pakistanis that it must focus on religion or culture.

It doesn't have to. But it plays with "racial peculiarities" (traditions, accents etc.) that seems to be its gimmick, its running gag. And if that's the case one could argue that it could do so but in a more sophisticated way (not just playing it safe in a childish/stupid way).

Quote: dennispennis123 @ August 28 2012, 8:59 PM BST

It was written as an old-fashioned sitcom not anything that requires much thought. I don't see why just because it's a sitcom about Pakistanis that it must focus on religion or culture.

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Excellent point, think many critics have overlooked this...
I watched it last night. It was all right. The problem with it, is that, rather like 'The Royal Bodyguard' it has become the victim of shocking BBC scheduling. Programmes like this should be on well before the watershed.