Tommy Tiernan

Set in the early 1990's, Derry Girls focuses on Erin (Saoirse Jackson); an aspiring author whose inner most thoughts are communicated via her diary. One of my favourite gags in the entire episode came early on when we heard an exert from Erin's diary only to learn it was her younger cousin Orla (Louisa Harland) who was reading it out loud. Completing the gang are pious Claire (Nicola Coughlan); who is participating in a 24-hour fast in this opening instalment and foul-mouthed troublemaker Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell). One of the big plot points in episode one is the introduction of Michelle's English cousin James who has become the first ever male pupil at the quartet's all girls school as they feared that he would've been beaten up had he attended a neighbouring boys school. Whilst there were elements of Derry Girls that I enjoyed, I found the humour to be quite basic in some places especially in one specific set piece. The most interesting piece element of the comedy is the historical backdrop and I felt that part of the plot was handled quite well. McGee makes it quite clear that the girls are used to having their bus ride diverted by bomb threats and seeing armed soldiers on a daily basis. As a child of the 1990's, I enjoyed the nostalgic references to Macaulay Culkin and Murder She Wrote as well as the period soundtrack. The parts of the first episode that I enjoyed was the interactions between Erin and her parents (Tommy Tiernan and Tara Lynne O'Neill) as this is where the dialogue felt more realistic. However, the dialogue between the girls didn't have the same ring of truth about it and at times felt quite cliched. The punchlines to the central gags were quite obvious with James complaints about the lack of boys' toilets ending with him relieving himself in a bin while Claire broke her fast by chewing on the sandwich of a recently deceased nun. As I think it's quite harsh to judge a sitcom by its first episode alone, especially as this opener was only 22 minutes long, I'm think I'm at least going to watch Derry Girls' second episode before I dismiss it entirely. This is due to the glimpses of promise I saw in the family scenes as well as the references to the early-1990's which appeal to someone like me who grew up during that time.

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Starring in Channel 4's new comedy drama Derry Girls was a "no-brainer" for the comedian Tommy Tiernan, who returns to sitcom after a 20-year hiatus.

TV review: Derry Girls, C4

In fact forget I ever mentioned trying to avoid mentioning Mrs Brown's Boys. Apart from the domestic inter-generational family banter there is little similarity here. It isn't even set in the same place. And there's another difference. Derry Girls is funny.

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Returning to sitcom for the first time in 16 years with Channel 4's forthcoming Derry Girls, and hosting a brilliantly innovative Irish chat show, where he doesn't know who his guests are before they appear on set, Tommy Tiernan remains one of the most gifted comedians of his generation.

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