Friday Night Dinner

Watching unPC sitcoms should be part of the curriculum

The BBC's remakes of Till Death Us Do Part and Are You Being Served? are only to be appreciated through the filter of irony. But things like It Ain't Half Hot Mum weren't malicious.

Ask the expert: Robert Popper (writer and producer)

I asked Robert a few questions about his past and current projects in order to learn more about his creative processes...

Something smells rotten to Jonny and Adam when they arrive for their weekly feast, and not just the former's sweaty five-a-side kit. A "For Sale" sign sits in the driveway, resulting in two siblings angry about losing their childhood home - and at their Friday night being interrupted by potential buyers. As the series concludes, could this be the final crimble crumble served at Chez Goodman? And whose porch will Jim darken from now on?

With the exception of the Siddiquis from Gogglebox, the Goodmans are arguably the funniest family on British telly right now. Each episode of Robert Popper's sitcom highlights the chemistry between Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter. This week, Uncle Saul's funeral means Martin's mum - AKA Horrible Grandma - is back in town, making Adam and Jonny's squabbling seem good-natured by comparison.

Robert Popper's family sitcom has become something of a fixture. It probably writes itself by now, but for all its occasional predictability it remains effortlessly amusing, mainly thanks to the cast's enviable chemistry. Tonight, Adam feebly regresses back to childhood after tonsillitis. But how long can Johnny bear his brother's coddled antics? A trip to Grandma's house is the trigger for the familiar fraternal jousting.

A comedy about a Jewish family who gather for a Shabbat meal each week could become repetitive. Thankfully, creator Robert Popper and co continue to find new ways for the Goodmans to humiliate one another and themselves. This week, Adam has won an award for composing advert music, but his celebrations are overshadowed when Jonny returns from America a married man.

It's an auspicious night at the Goodmans': Martin's annual oiling of the hinges is here, marking a decade of squeak-free doors. Unfortunately, his zeal results in disaster when the slimy stuff finds its way on to Mum's pristine carpet, prompting a guest appearance from John Sessions as a rug restorer, and a hit to Martin's wallet. If that wasn't enough action for one Friday, meddlesome neighbour Jim decides to get a cat.

Friday Night Dinner returned; it combines slapstick with Jewish subtlety in entirely the wrong mix but sometimes, slowly, works. Jason Watkins lifted this to glory.

It was mainly business as usual on Friday Night Dinner with more calamity for the family who just can't seem to have a quite meal together. This week's comedy of errors saw Paul Ritter's fantastic patriarch invite round his old uni friend to dinner however it later became clear that he'd got mixed up the two Tonys that he went to university with. Instead of inviting round the guy who he had a lot in common with he was lumbered with Jason Watkins' unfunny bore whom he tried to get rid of by telling a rather whopping lie. Just like prior episodes of the sitcom, this episode of Friday Night Dinner played out like a mini-farce which ended with a big gag that I for one didn't find in the least bit amusing. In my opinion Friday Night Dinner is at its best when we just see the family engage in witty interplay as I feel the core cast have developed some fine chemistry over the past four series. However it's when events get too far-fetched that Friday Night Dinner loses its way and after watching the series four opener it feels that Robert Popper's comedy has run out of ideas. The problem with Friday Night Dinner is that the entire premise shackles the characters to the same setting every episode meaning that Popper has to find increasingly outlandish things to happen to the family which just don't ring true.