Robert Popper

James Cary reviews Friday Night Dinner

Let us begin with a few caveats. The first is that Sitcom Geek is in awe of Robert Popper, the writer of Friday Night Dinner.

Friday Night Dinner: Sitcom Review

Friday Night Dinner is the first significant solo writing piece from the much travelled Robert Popper who is one of the men behind such hits as The Inbetweners, Spaced and Peep Show. The show which consists of the strong cast including Simon Bird and Tamsin Greig is set in the family home with the Jewish family meeting up for Friday Night Dinner which is very similar to a traditional English Sunday roast in terms of the occasion.

'Friday Night' exec pleased with ratings

Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper has revealed that he is pleased with the show's ratings.

The opening episode of a sitcom is always tricky, but Friday Night Dinner is particularly underwhelming so far, like a less interesting version of Simon Amstell's Grandma's House.

Dad gets the wrong end of the stick, mum's weird, the neighbour's weirder, the sons revert to childish behaviour when they return home, the sofa man comes on the wrong day, the sofa gets stuck on the stairs. Perhaps this is part of a new trend for gentleness someone was telling me about. I think it's taking it too far though; it's not funny enough.

But the cast is good: The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird, Green Wing's Mark Heap, and everything's Tamsin Greig. Writer Robert Popper has an impressive CV: Look Around You, Peep Show, South Park. Maybe we'll give it one more go. The sit's established, now let's have the com.

Friday Night Dinner - Channel 4, 10pm

Robert Popper - the writer of this new sitcom - is a comedy giant who can walk down the street without fear of being recognised. He's produced Peep Show, written for South Park and co-created and starred in Look Around You - the comedy science show. His TV and film credits are endless, but you might know him as Robin Cooper - pen-name for his ­best-selling The Timewaster Letters.

Surprisingly traditional family sitcom from Look Around You's estimable Robert Popper. Green Wing's Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners and Brass Eye's Mark Heap star as the Goodman family and their odd neighbour respectively. It will draw comparisons with Grandma's House in that it's about a Jewish family, but the trad exterior slowly begins to yield Popper's distinctive comic voice as this first episode warms up. Superb stuff.

Interview: Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper

Robert Popper, creator of Channel 4's new sitcom Friday Night Dinner, talks about how he drew on his own family'eccentricities.

Comedy writer Robert Popper on Tangerine gate

Award-winning comedy producer, writer and actor Robert Popper has helped create some of the most popular British shows on TV in recent years.

What a rarity: a sitcom that isn't black-hearted, cruel, vituperative, mean-spirited or blushingly filthy. Friday Night Comedy is rather sweet, which might sound like the kiss of death for a comedy, but luckily it's funny, too. Not gut-bustingly funny, but enough to make you want to return. Writer Robert Popper (he also acts, produces and is a prank phone-caller of considerable renown) has adapted his own early family life to bring us the Goodmans; mum, dad and two grown-up kids, who all gather round the dinner table every Friday night. Mum (splendid Tamsin Greig) is sweetly daffy and obsessed by MasterChef, while dad (Paul Ritter) is a bit bonkers, and has a bizarre obsession with his yellowing collection of ancient New Scientist magazines. It's all a bit Mike Leigh, only funnier.

As it is Friday, we're going to go easy on Robert Popper's new sitcom. It's charming, promising and features some good performances from the least funny Inbetweener and the most annoying thing about Episodes (not that Tamsin Greig was bad, it's just that her character made no sense - surely she'd work out what LA was going to do to her comedy? Anyhow, different preview).

Here Tamsin plays a Masterchef-obsessed (old format, obviously) mum to two kids who return home for Friday night dinner to be fed. They're embarrassed by their ketchup-supping dad and risqué nan. Does that sound dated and, well, sitcommy? That's because it is a bit. Like Grandma's House without any introspection.