Kris Marshall

Clive Coleman's six-parter Spending My Inheritance was clearly intended to address the impolite notion that 30 and 40-somethings are casting covetous eyes at their parents' final salary pensions and the sky is the limit value of their mortgage-free properties.

Somewhere between Coleman typing 'The end' and transmission of the first episode, the credit crunch storm blew in. So the idea of a senior member of the golf-playing classes and his wife releasing equity on their house for a grey pound-splurging spree while their debt and responsibility-ridden middle-aged son looks on in horror, seems merely fanciful.

Now, perhaps I'm jumping the gun here. So far, Brian and Liz (Kenneth Cranham and Judy Parfitt) haven't actually got round to the equity release, but they are showing a superhuman dedication to the good life and their son Harry (Kris Marshall) is tearing his hair out as he attempts to live up to the expectations created by their other, careerist, son. So maybe later on we'll find out if a bit of crunchy credit has been written into this scream of inter-generational angst.

In the meantime, Marshall jumps around jabbering so hyperactively as Harry that I can hardly blame his parents if they do go on a spend, spend, spend mission destined to leave him nothing. I can be laughed into submission over most things, but another five weeks of far from hilarious Harry might have me contemplating hara-kiri.

Moira Petty, The Stage, 17th November 2008

While I love Peep Show and Garth Marenghi and all those cool shows, I'm quite happy to admit that I've always thought that the first few series of My Family were alright, and better than alright on occasion.

But now it's just so workman-like. Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker even recently refused to record an episode they thought was too poorly written to be associated with, and are clearly now just using it to pay the bills. Kris Marshall jumped shipped years ago, and the new characters haven't added a great deal. The fact that it's middle-class and filmed in front of a studio audience isn't the problem, the fact that there's no life left in the show is. Last night's episode was plodding in the extreme, and you've got to say that this series of My Family should really be the last.

annawaits, TV Scoop, 7th April 2007