Not Going Out, or, The Steady Decline Of The British Sitcom

Wow, that's a mouthful of a title. I think it sums things up pretty well though.

The UK used to be king of the sitcom. Back in the 80s and 90s, you couldn't watch TV without bumping into Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Red Dwarf and countless other greats. Whatever you liked to laugh at, there was something for you.

But, for some bizarre reason, we now have barely any sitcoms at all, let alone good ones. Why?

I don't know, really. Maybe we've all become moody bastards since the turn of the millenium. Maybe all the decent writers have swanned off to America, sticking their middle fingers up and shouting that our fathers smell of elderberries.

Let me give you an example. Only Fools and Horses is pretty much considered to be the best sitcom that the UK's ever produced. (I would, though, claim that that's Red Dwarf but that's another story!) Its writer, John Sullivan, officially finished the series about 10 years ago. Since then, there've been three specials, which essentially ruined the ending and ran the story into the ground. They were funny enough, but they didn't need to exist at all. So, rightly, in 2003/2004, Sullivan ended it, kaput, said 'no more, ever'.

Out of a job, he decided that he needed to do something with his talents. So he created (or, should I say, excreted) The Green Green Grass. In time honoured tradition, he 'rote the feem toon, sang the feem toon' and recycled the most annoying characters from OFAH, Boycie and his wife Marlene, and shoved them on a farm. It was like a cruel social experiment on the British public to see how much canned laughter and sheep 'jokes' they could take.

It is, crucially, not funny. At all. The only reason it's called a comedy is because people are meant to laugh. Somehow, this has managed to get the show recommissioned not once, but twice, and a Christmas special.

Another shitcom: After You've Gone. This has even less of an excuse, given that it's got Nicholas Lyndhurst, he of OFAH and Goodnight Sweetheart fame, in it. But, nope, it's terrible. It shamelessly rips off from My Family (which has been going down the pan almost from the beginning), to the extent that they have almost literally ripped off every single character, situation and joke.

So why is all this happening? What the hell happened? I think My Family was a big part of it actually. Seemed to be a turning point. That show is written in a very American way, with a large round-table group of writers throwing ideas into the pot. Or onto the whiteboard, more likely. But anyway, never has the expression 'too many cooks spoil the broth' been more apt. When it started, My Family was actually pretty funny. Mostly thanks to Kris Marshall, it has to be said. But still. It was popular. And so, shows started tryin to copy it. This is exactly what happened to The Green Green Grass, when it shoved a load of characters onto a farm and watched to see what would happen. It's kinda clever in a way, but it's been done to death now.

There is one show that might just be a new light, though.

Not Going Out, which has also just returned for a third run. If you've never seen it, it's the most generic plot you could ever design for a sitcom: man lodges with his best friend's sister, who he hates. Hilarity ensues. It's written by, and stars, Lee Mack, who I believe is one of the funniest comedians around at the moment.

Cruicially, NGO is actually very funny indeed, despite this generic plot. I think a lot of it is because it uses old-style sitcom joke structures, like overblown analogies a la Blackadder, but brings them up to date. And the fact that it's really well acted, with deadpan delivery all around. The characters are great, and surprisingly ungeneric. One of the more important elements though is that it has cut its roster of characters down to just 4, plus guests. Whereas modern sitcoms have 5 or 6+ main players, by cutting it down NGO can just focus on being as tightly knit as possible. It just, generally, ticks all the boxes.

I think I've banged on about this too much now. But in short, I think that the British sitcom really does need a kick up the backside. We used to rule the world of comedy, and now we're merely on a par. That sounds a bit xenophobic actually but you know what I mean. Right? Hopefully Not Going Out will shine a light down our dark tunnel, but equally I hope its not shamelessy ripped off by all and sundry. Which will happen eventually, I'm sure.