So anyone watching this?
Caught a trailer, and noticed it had Charlotte Ritchie from Fresh Meat (Oregon).
Apparently written by the Fresh Meat writer, Keith Akushie, but doesn't have that kind of vibe.
It's about a brother and sister. He's a layabout; she's got a job which she has engineered into her not doing anything. A new boss threatens her easy-going lifestyle.
The first episode, without spoilering it, seemed a borrowing from a Not Going Out episode... but not bad, I think.
I found Episode 1 a little bit stock-cringey in places, but very very funny in others. Episode 2's a corker though.
I liked it enough to watch the rest. Charlotte Ritchie was great.
I've never seen that wheelchair plot before.....in more than 51 sitcoms - if simple (spilling coffee on guys laptop, didnt see that he would actually spill that either, shocked me) and borrowed comedy is the future of BBC sitcoms then....whatever..can't be bothered....
I watched this and had mixed thoughts. I thought some of the sister's dialogue and jokes were really good, but they were delivered terribly by the actress in my opinion. She just speeded through them when again, in my opinion they would have been funnier if she had took her time a bit and delivered the funny areas better.
As for the general plot I thought this was ok. Not much of a pay off at the end, instead more a start of a story ark from the looks of it. I liked the fact she was trying her best to do no work. The only problem is though that it would be easier to do the work as she had to put far too much effort into trying get out of everything. But why does she do this?
As for the brother. Oh my god. That was cringe if I ever saw it - and not in a good way. I found he character very annoying. I could not find any redeemable features in him. Even the worst monsters in comedy have a side that we can sympathise with, even if we may not want to know them as a person. Think Basil Fawlty, Victor Meldrew, David Brent. Richie from Bottom. We feel their frustrations even if we wouldn't try to solve their problems they way they do and that's what makes us love them.
The brother though had nothing. He didn't seem to think about anything he was doing, and his 'I need a friend' thing just went very much over the top. The bit in the cafe pretending to pour coffee over the guys laptop just made me fume with anger. Not good. Same with the stint in the wheelchair and the basketball game. It was just not funny to me.
To be fair I will watch the next few episode to see if anything changes.
Quote: Aaron @ 11th August 2014, 1:39 PM BSTI found Episode 1 a little bit stock-cringey in places, but very very funny in others. Episode 2's a corker though.
I have to agree, Episode 1 was a bit 'meh' but episode 2 was funny.
I watched the second episode and still thought the same as above. However, Episode 3 was much better. It feels a lot more controlled with the characters acting less crazy. I would go as far as to say I enjoyed the third episode.
Incidentally, this just shows how an opinion can change as a series progresses!
What do people think about the 2 leads both being hapless and not very nice? Do you think it's hard for the audience to get behind their plight? Or do you think it's more realistic that the leads aren't simply good?
Dan's more of an idiot than simply being 'not very nice'. He's unthinking and that can come across as monstrous in some situations, but a 'not nice' character I don't think would have sat around for hours engaging in innocent role-playing board games with outcast teenagers.
When I say not nice I meant not something you'd aspire to, including thoughtless etc. But in regards to sitting and playing boardgames I got the impression he did that for himself, much like he trained them to fight so he could relive and fix a unhappy memory in his life.
Yes, I suppose you have a point. But he did appear to have forged a real fondness for the children as well, and some kind of affinity with them over the bullying too, even though part of his end goal was to set right his own frustrations.
Hi folks, long time lurker, first time poster.
Siblings really intrigues me, for a first series I think it's really strong, but looking at reaction in general I think I've enjoyed it more than most.
Tonally it's incredibly similar to American show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", not just in terms of the characters and their oblivious selfishness (the Dee and Dennis dynamic also if you are familiar with the show), but right down to the upbeat music on the titles and between scenes. It would be hard to say Siblings was not at all influenced by Sunny if you had seen any amount of the latter. I'm surprised it hasn't been remarked on more actually but perhaps as the show has never really taken off over here it's understandable. But it shows that sitcoms without entirely likeable characters can work - and this is in America where sitcom characters in general are supposed to be a lot more likeable. However, I certainly don't use this as a criticism of Siblings, it's still very much its own show and has taken the best bits of that show and given them a British twist, I feel.
In terms of likeability, I think the nearest recent equivalent in British sitcom is Jez from Peep Show, who I don't think is a million miles away from Dan. Of course in Peep Show, Mark is - supposedly - the moral centre. I guess Hannah here is the more moral character as we've already seen her show her disgust at Dan's actions even though she is hardly whiter than white herself. Neither of them are bad people I don't think - they certainly aren't aware they are, as they are convinced they are doing the right thing - they are just incredibly self-centred and for me that's part of the charm and the comedy.
The only part that doesn't really ring true is Dan having been in jail - I'm not sure if that is the character himself joking around about that and his parole officer, but he seems the sort of character that if he genuinely did go to prison he'd probably not keep carrying on like he does.
That said I think both leads in this turn in some good performances - Dan especially could have turned out a lot worse with someone who doesn't quite nail that misguided confidence. For me I think it's one of the most enjoyable new sitcoms this year and given a chance I think it could run for quite a long time. Will be interesting to see if it comes back for series two though.
I've been watching this series and it is quite amusing but I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. It is a little uncomfortable at times and no they are not very likeable characters, but I still find myself sucked in and watching it.
Quote: teenage comedy freak @ 28th August 2014, 2:58 PM BSTI've been watching this series and it is quite amusing but I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. It is a little uncomfortable at times and no they are not very likeable characters, but I still find myself sucked in and watching it.
I would agree with this. I find that it does have a particular charm, yet for the life of me I cannot say why this is.
Quote: Geffers @ 11th August 2014, 12:41 PM BST
GOTCHA! It suddenly came to me when I read your post "Siblings" - you're Alfred E. Neuman's young sister!!
Here is my copy of Mad magazine and I claim my prize of $50,000 - thank you!
