With such a strong cast I was expecting the worst and the scene with Peter Egan nearly confimed this. However it turned out quite brilliantly. The son was sooo obnoxiously selfish and expecting to be welcomed back with open arms - although I sympathised with him about the Comics.
I also enjoyed it, took me a while to get into it but I did enjoy it none the less. Brilliant cast and nice, gentle Sunday evening sitcom.
Great to see Cleese back in a sitcom role. I dare say, this won't appeal to everyone on here though.
I read 2 TV guide pre reviews of this which declared it to be awful. I found it to be rather good. Anything in which John Cleese is required to dial HIS personality down is ok by me. Alison Steadman is always VFM and Peter Egan, however brief is pure class. Much better than the woeful Still Open All Hours.
I too was pleasantly surprised - John Cleese was excellent, not manic for once, but nicely laid-back. It had a very seventies feel, and a bit predictable - I guessed several of the punchlines - but enjoyable. Hopefully further episodes will be a bit sharper.
Wasn't overly impressed, but will give it my usual two looks.
ANYTHING is better than what it replaced.
I went into this with quite low expectations, I had to given Cleese's involvement making me anxious for it to be good. You know what? I was very pleasantly surprised. Cleese did steal it, but only because he not only got the pithy, funny lines, he underplayed it perfectly, the antithesis of Fawlty. My only concern? Roger is a complete and utter arse who is so irritating he'd better be given a bit more depth in the coming episodes.
It did seem to be a lot of people talking in a kitchen. Certainly a middle class attempt at Royle Family.
I've found John Cleese a bit hard to watch ever since Rat Race, partly due to his increasing propensity for bombastic guffawing. So I watched this with low expectations. Recognized the son as the guy who played Mr Humphries in the AYBS one-off remake. Fortunately, Cleese could spend much of his time seated, rather than hobbling, and wasn't doing his over-the-top wheezy laugh, so I lasted to the end. Shades of The Rebel, what with the ELO song playing midway through the episode.
What are comedy writers supposed to make of this show with its high ratings?
Quote: Kenneth @ 19th February 2018, 9:53 AMI've found John Cleese a bit hard to watch ever since Rat Race, partly due to his increasing propensity for bombastic guffawing. So I watched this with low expectations. Recognized the son as the guy who played Mr Humphries in the AYBS one-off remake. Fortunately, Cleese could spend much of his time seated, rather than hobbling, and wasn't doing his over-the-top wheezy laugh, so I lasted to the end. Shades of The Rebel, what with the ELO song playing midway through the episode.
I wasn't going to say anything, Kenneth, but there were a few similarities...probably coincidence.
Quote: Paul Wimsett @ 20th February 2018, 10:10 PMWhat are comedy writers supposed to make of this show with its high ratings?
That they should write broad, accessible sitcoms with lots of jokes.
So no shifting boundaries and taking on the establishment then? 
They're not mutually exclusive, surely?
This is the problem with relying on ratings.
The papers today are saying that a lot of people have been complaining because they don't think it's funny. That takes the issue beyond alleged ratings. I think the media have got it in for it. The quality is probably too good for them. Most of the people on this thread don't seem to be against it so it must be the Twittersphere. And the fact that journalists are by inference rallying behind Mrs Brown's Boys because they share interests in saying f**k a lot and also in tax avoidance.
