Drawing a Flynn Veil

Humour, and more specifically comedy, is obviously a very personal thing. What makes one person laugh can easily leave another stony-faced.

Northern Hell

Which brings me to In With the Flynns, the latest offering in that sub-genre which The BBC seems to feel obliged to flood: the family comedy. Starring Will Mellor (previously known for Two Pints of Lager, and being Ryan Giggs’s brother’s best friend), this show does at least break the previous cast iron template of featuring a middle class family with really irritating poncey kids, with jokes that are inserted with a crow bar, and where no-one you would ever want to spend a moment with ever appears. Well, it’s got most of those things, but they’re (gasp!) Northern. And a bit common.

Bad though it is (oh it really is), it still has some way to go to plumb the depths of the programme it replaced in the Wednesday night 8.30 slot – Life of Riley, starring Caroline Quentin and Neil Dudgeon. Real belief-beggaring stuff that one, not least that it has survived 3 series.

Middle Class Hell

It's recurring tale of a recently wed couple who each have children from their previous relationships, creating the kind of situations and problems that many of us can identify with. They’re DYSFUNCTIONAL - okay? A limitless rich seam of material in the right hands, you might think. Hmmm.

Of course, this sort of stuff has been on our screens for 40 years or more, but the Seventies were more innocent times, meaning we make allowances for programmes from that era, looking back fondly on certain examples. For new shows of this ilk to still be commissioned, and for My Family to now be in its 78^th (I think) season begs the eternal question: WHO WATCHES THIS CRAP?

I’ll tell you who: my 8 year old daughter. She thinks Life of Riley is bloody hilarious. I know she’s only 8 but frankly I’m disappointed in her and am considering sending her to boarding school as a result.

It was all going so well – she likes Frasier and The Simpsons, and has recently enjoyed films like Groundhog Day and that football (soccer if you must) film that Will Ferrell starred in. She used to watch Hannah Montana (and likewise her older sisters when they were her age were fond of shows like Saved by the Bell), programmes intended for kids. Why does a programme which is screened at 8.30 in the evening feel like a step backwards in her development?

Clearly the viewing figures must suggest that it isn’t just Sophie and her age group that tune in to these shows: there must be actual adult fans. Makes you worry about your country really.

The Real Deal

In general, the Americans do family comedy so much better, but it’s not that the Brits or the BBC in particular can't make something to be enjoyed by the same people who love The Simpsons or Roseanne. Indeed it exists: Outnumbered is the absolute antithesis of the usual bland-athon we are presented with in the UK. For me it’s all about the writing, and while the likes of In With the Flynns are seemingly churned out by lethargic robots, Outnumbered, with its similar family set-up, is written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who have CVs as impressive as it is possible to have in British comedy.

The grown ups who adore My Family or Life of Riley would doubtless hate it, which is probably as good a reason as any to give it a chance if you haven’t yet.

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