Mrs. Brown's Boys

'Mrs Brown's Boys' 1.1 -

Taken as individual elements, this brand new studio-based comedy offers nothing original, but cumulatively it makes for a heady confection of madcap weirdness, a stream of hit-and-miss jokes, and bemusement.

Mrs Brown's Boys (BBC1) is like My Family meets Father Ted meets Dame Edna. Brendan O'Carroll, who also wrote it, plays Agnes Brown, who has a fruit and veg stall, swears a lot and interferes in the lives of her six children, one of whom is played by his real-life wife. It must be weird, pretending your husband is your mother.

Mrs Brown's Boys is not subtle or sophisticated. "Did Daddy always come late?" asks daughter/wife and the studio audience titter because it's not clear what kind of coming we're talking about. "That's none of your fecking business," says Mrs Brown, and they laugh some more because she said "fecking".

Grandad gets hit over the head with a frying pan, and a thermometer gets stuck up his arse. And Mrs Brown answers the Taser instead of the phone, just as you knew she was going to as soon as the Taser was plugged in to charge. I did find my self chuckling on a couple of occasions I'm afraid, against my better judgment.

Mrs Brown was just jaw-droppingly past its sell-by date

Mrs Brown's Boys (BBC1) was not even remotely funny, the BBC should hang its head in shame.

Mrs Brown's Boys, Monday 10.35pm, BBC One

I have no doubt that seeing Mrs Brown's Boys on stage would make for a good night out - especially after a couple of pints. But I can't help thinking there are probably more deserving comedy shows worthy of a six-episode run on BBC One.

How does a programme like this get commissioned?

The show just isn't funny at all. I didn't laugh once. Even smirk.

BBC comedy 'Mrs Brown's Boys' grabs 2.6m

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Mrs Brown's Boys: I love the lines that aren't scripted

Welcome to the world of Agnes Brown. It's a world where family comes first, authority is to be challenged, and everything always works out in the end.

New, fourth-wall-smashing sitcom starring Dublin playwright Brendan O'Carroll as an interfering, gutter-mouthed mother- of-six - the TV version of a hilariously rude stage show. We're rarely more than 20 seconds from a "feck", or the more common Anglo-Saxon equivalent - although even the clean one-liners are often pretty wonderful ("When I was 18, I married his son, because of a condition I had called pregnancy").

Mrs Brown's Boys - BBC1, 10.35pm

Remember the 80s sitcom Bread, with Ma Boswell, Joey and grandad? Imagine the very best episode of that with Catherine Tate's Nan in the central role and you have the rough flavour of this brilliant comedy from Dublin comic Brendan O'Carroll.

Mrs Brown's Boys: BBC One's latest foul-mouthed sitcom

BBC One's new sitcom featuring Irish comedian Brendan O'Carroll may startle viewers with its frequent use of the f-word.