Not Going Out: End of Series Review

1st June 2013

Much like its protagonist, Not Going Out may be simple and not very refined, but it certainly is funny. Finishing its sixth series on Friday night, it’s easy to see how Lee Mack’s sitcom survived a brief cancellation and now maintains a steady audience on BBC One. A solid rather than ground-breaking comedy that would never spring to mind if someone were to ask me my favourite comedies, it nevertheless often has me laughing out loud.

The series finale followed the established Not Going Out formula, where episodes play out like extended stand-up routines, and characters exchange punchlines rather than dialogue. Bobby Ball returned as Lee’s father, offering Lee the chance to woo landlady Lucy (Sally Bretton) in the romantic surroundings of his new boat. Naturally, Lucy turns out to have a fear of water, the boat turns out to be an un-seaworthy wreck, and soon enough they are adrift at sea with the hapless Daisy (Katy Wix) sabotaging any hope of return to dry land. The standard hijinks, banter and innuendo ensue; Not Going Out may be none too subtle and several steps removed from reality, but it gets all the bigger laughs for its unashamed reliance on quick fire one-liners.

The series has suffered this year from the loss of Tim Vine, which has resulted in his girlfriend Daisy being given greater prominence in the village idiot role. Her simpleness has proved a difficult tool to master – her misunderstandings can easily and hilariously escalate the many absurd predicaments the characters find themselves in, but used too often she can become wearisome. The sitcom is set to return for another series, where hopefully she can settle into her more central role, and with any luck the development of Lee and Lucy’s will they/won’t they relationship, left unresolved in the finale despite many hints to the contrary, can accelerate.

Its style may not be for everyone, but for mainstream BBC One fare Not Going Out is extremely good at what it does, and when on form the calamitous life of Lee can be hysterical. Though not every episode entirely hits the mark, occasionally a tightly scripted and quick witted gem will come along that demonstrates why the sitcom has continued to thrive. At six series old it still has life in it, unlike many other comedies that struggle on this far, and there are worse things to watch on a Friday night – although a high tolerance for jokes about the North is recommended.

The Curious Case of BBC Three

 

Until a few weeks ago, the most I’d ever watched BBC Three was when it streamed Olympic sports over the summer. It was a channel that, with a few notable exceptions, I generally only resorted to if there was nothing else on and I couldn’t be bothered to pick up a book. But over the last month or so, something strange has happened. BBC Three has had a sudden surge of appointment television, of programmes that I would choose to watch, not just let wash over me because I can’t roll out of the dent I’ve made in the sofa (it’s been a long summer).

BBC Three’s remit states that it should provide “high-quality” programming that is “innovative” and utilises “new UK talent”. Maybe I have a selective memory or I’m being overly critical, but those certainly aren’t the words that would spring to mind if anyone asked me to describe the channel. Maybe I’ve just missed much of the good programming the channel has had in the past, or perhaps the fact that it is funded by the licence fee means that we will always expect more of BBC Three. Its rival E4, competing for the same age group, often seems to grab the big name US imports, which attract more attention than any misfires the channel might produce.

But recently on BBC Three there has been a glut of new, decent comedy, the likes of which the channel usually only likes to provide in sporadic episodes, often years apart, before coming to its senses and returning to its usual output of repeats and Greatest Movie Mistakes; see Little Britain, Gavin and Stacey, and Him and Her for examples, all of which, even if not to your personal taste, have garnered larger audiences and more critical praise than the usual BBC Three fare. The channel seems to be undergoing another comedy renaissance at the moment, producing a string of quality programmes that seem a cut above the normal channel output.

Jack Whitehall’s Bad Education was a strong sitcom debut that I found myself looking forward to every week, mainly due to the phenomenally talented young cast that populated the classroom. The show managed to produce a whole host of gifted young actors, certainly filling the “new UK talent” requirement.

Cuckoo, the channel’s latest comedy, is far from perfect, but driven by the ridiculously brilliant Andy Samberg, it has become compulsively watchable. The inclusion of Samberg seems to hint at the channel’s intent – an American comedy legend from The Lonely Island and Saturday Night Live, he is traditionally more likely to be found in a spoof music video with Justin Timberlake than fronting a BBC Three comedy.

The channel also aired what was perhaps my favourite new show of the summer, The Revolution Will Be Televised (although truthfully I can’t really remember what I was watching two and a half months ago at the beginning of the holiday). When I saw the trailer, it looked like a lazy prank show, featuring comedians handing out Jubilee merchandise to the public and chortling about how it’s cheap tat; obvious, and not particularly funny. But it turned out to be a brave, intelligent and most importantly hilarious show. Rather than being a mere exercise in cynicism, Revolution explained the cold hard facts behind some of the biggest scandals and injustices that are going on, and then combined this with hysterical public stunts – one of its stars was the guy who tried to give George Osborne a GCSE maths textbook. Unfortunately for everyone, Mr Osborne refused it.

Revolution was a genuinely excellent programme, the sort that feels so vital that you are relieved someone is making it. With output like this, BBC Three seems to be finally demonstrating its worth. Is this the start of rejuvenation in the channel? Or is it just another brief episode of brilliance before the channel suddenly remembers that John Humphrys hates it, is crippled by self-doubt and returns to being a bit naff? Who knows. But I will certainly now be more inclined to make time for new shows on the channel, even if they do rub up alongside Pop’s Greatest Dance Crazes.