Friday Night Dinner

Radio Times review

A lovely, simple, madly eccentric premise for this episode sets the dominoes toppling across the Goodman family get-together. The thing is, it would be a shame to say exactly what the McGuffin is that dad Martin has hidden in the garage freezer, unbeknown to Jackie, because the reveal is such a great moment.

So imagine the perverse predilections of Martin and let your imagination run wild - writer Robert Popper certainly did. Having narrowly avoided Jackie discovering his secret, Martin then has to rope in his sons, sorry "bambinos", to help him shift it around - and mad neighbour Jim becomes collateral damage. Slick direction and plausible acting means we believe the farce that follows just enough for it to be stupidly, splutteringly funny.

The third series of Robert Popper's sitcom following a dysfunctional north London brood begins with a surprise for Jackie and Martin (Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter), as elder son Adam (Simon Bird) brings a girl to dinner. Unfazed by Martin washing dog poo off his foot in the toilet, plucky Emma fits right in. Things soon turn sour, however, when Adam's texts are intercepted by eight-year-old neighbour Katie, who makes child's play of blackmail. As usual, FND expertly treads the line between relatable and reliably potty.

Inside Television: A feast of comedy on Fridays

This Friday night, as is traditional, I'll be enjoying some family time over dinner. In other words, I'll be watching the new series of Friday Night Dinner - alone, hopefully - with a family-size glass of wine. Glorious.

Radio Times review

Within minutes of the start, Robert Popper's sitcom has contrived to get eccentric dad Martin covered in ketchup, half naked and shaking hands with his son's new girlfriend while his foot is in a toilet bowl.

This kind of wince-making farce is what Popper is good at. The confines of a sitcom where the one setting is a Jewish suburban home and the time frame is limited to the meal of the title only serves to boost his powers of invention.

Martin (Paul Ritter) is a consistently awful but just-recognisable creation. "Has anyone in your family been murdered?" is his idea of small talk with Adam's girlfriend, but he later concludes, "That Emma's a smashing female." (She is beautifully played by Sophia Di Martino, barely recognisable from her Casualty days.)

Ordinarily the comedy revolves around Adam and his brother Johnny's sparring but here Adam manages to sabotage his date himself, with just a little help from an eight-year-old neighbour. The laughs are excruciating, but they're big and real.

After something of a hiatus (the last series screened in 2012) we're back at the North London home of the bickering Goodman family for more middle-class Jewish mayhem. Writer and producer Robert Popper's sitcom may have a modest canvas - it rarely strays beyond its four suburban walls and plot development is minimal - but the show packs plenty of colourful farce into its frantic half-hour slot.

The opener of tonight's third run is no exception, hinging on a premise rife with comic opportunity. Eldest son Adam (Simon Bird) is bringing his new girlfriend Emma (Sophia Di Martino) round for dinner. As expected Mum (Tamsin Greig) has an eye on marriage potential, brother Jonny (Tom Rosenthal) sets out to embarrass and Dad (Paul Ritter) makes no attempt to curb his eccentricities.

Whilst the family dynamics are sharply observed and pleasingly quirky, this is soft-centred, amiable stuff bolstered by some top-notch performances. Ritter, as ever, is superb as shamelessly shirtless Martin, imbuing the character's oddities with pathos. A witty Di Martino also stands out, sweetly unfazed by the chaotic clan she's been invited into.

One-liners are thin on the ground but Popper's real skill is in his structuring, pulling together the episode's separate comic strands into a satisfying, climactic whole. There's no breaking new ground here and a fourth series might stretch things too far, but for now the Goodmans are still worth spending part of your evening with.

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