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'Outnumbered' In The Press...Why Outnumbered's junior rebel is the ultimate kids' hero It's just possible that the best cult TV hero for under-10s is a curly-haired kid whose work has never been shown pre-watershed, unless you count an ad for Kingsmill bread. A hugely unscientific survey of children of my acquaintance reveals that those who have seen the BBC comedy series Outnumbered, about a flustered but happy middle-class family, all want to be Ben, the seven-year-old middle son, played by Daniel Roche. Written by Michael Hann. From The Guardian, 18th June 2009 A complaint often levelled at television is that there are far too many repeats slotted into the schedules, which can be a highly valid gripe. But when the repeat in question is another go for Outnumbered series two (which gained decent ratings on its previous Saturday showing), we'll let it go. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's heavily improvised comedy is a constant delight as Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner play the average couple with three kids - and it's the kids that steal the show every time. In this first episode, Pete and Sue shepherd their brood to a family wedding - with predictably chaotic results. Highly recommended. Don't get too excited about the reappearance of Outnumbered. This repeat of the first episode of series two is just plugging an awkward gap in the TV schedules and the rest of the series won't be following. The family are at the wedding of Sue's cousin Julie - and young Karen (Ramona Marquez), the undisputed star of the show, is chief bridesmaid, quizzing the bride relentlessly on her dubious taste in boyfriends. While we wait for a third series to materialise, there are plenty of other TV shows where Karen's unique world view and unwavering style of interrogation could - and should - be employed. Hosting Have I Got News For You, standing in for Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, interviewing suspects on The Bill... She's far too good to waste on just sitcoms. Outnumbered lost out to The IT Crowd at the Baftas this year, which wasn't just baffling it was also a real pity, because Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton's winning portrayal of the minor absurdities of family life, and its brilliant, scene-stealing child actors, deserve proper recognition. In a repeat of series two's first episode, the family, including hapless mum and dad Sue and Pete (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis), is off to a wedding. As always they hover perilously close to being late as violence-obsessed Ben (Daniel Roche) debates if hitting someone who is attacking you with a shovel would be OK, limpid-eyed Karen (Ramona Marquez) locks herself in the bathroom and Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) worries. It's achingly funny and packed with lovely moments, including Karen's remorseless quizzing of the increasingly unnerved bride, that always end with the grown-ups being outmanoeuvered. Alison Graham, The Radio Times, 12th June 2009 Ah, you lucky things. This is another chance to see the opening episode from the last series of Outnumbered, about the travails of a middle-class couple with three children struggling to do their best and failing miserably. Sharply observed and brilliantly cast, it is accurate, warm-hearted, understated and free of a horrible laughter track. But what makes it so special, above and beyond all those other estimable qualities, is the astonishing acting of the three children. They are the most natural comic performances from children that I have ever seen on television. Sitcoms are usually a form of hell on earth, in which the viewer feels as though he or she is being torn apart by a pack of brain-dead hyenas. This is a glorious, life-enhancing exception. Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin Interview The Independent meets Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin. If a show has ever made you laugh, these two probably wrote the script. They gave us a rare interview for Red Nose Day, which this year includes an episode of their hit comedy Outnumbered. Written by Cole Moreton. From The Independent on Sunday, 8th March 2009 Fox to air US remake of Outnumbered US network Fox has given the go-ahead for an American version of critically lauded BBC1 comedy Outnumbered. The part-improvised show, about middle class parents trying to cope with three unruly children, pulled in about 5 million viewers when it aired on BBC1 in a late-night Saturday slot at the end of last year. Fox has been developing a US version since last year and has now ordered a pilot, which if successful could be commissioned for a full series. Written by Leigh Holmwood. From The Guardian, 9th February 2009 U.K. 'Outnumbered' by new laughs Following The Office and Gavin and Stacey, the BBC may have another hit laffer on its hands with Outnumbered, a meticulously observed, downbeat comedy focusing on middle-class, cash-strapped, contemporary family life in suburban London. Written by Steve Clarke. From Variety.com, 5th January 2009 The best sitcom currently on TV has to be Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's Outnumbered, which succeeds in being both charming and funny in equal measure. In Outnumbered, I get the strong sensation that Ben and Karen have been mixing with rough children behind the camera. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who write, direct, produce and generally lead astray, have been seen whispering to them between takes. Hence the angelic Karen's reproach to her father, 'You're spending all the money on salads and beer!' and her comment on her grandfather's smell, 'When you're old you have a special smell so you know when they're near.' In Outnumbered (BBC1, Saturday), I get the strong sensation that Ben and Karen have been mixing with rough children behind the camera. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who write, direct, produce and generally lead astray, have been seen whispering to them between takes. Hence the angelic Karen's reproach to her father, "You're spending all the money on salads and beer!" and her comment on her grandfather's smell, "When you're old you have a special smell so you know when they're near." Grandfather, having incipient Alzheimer's, is also a child but going in the opposite direction. Well worth embroidering on a couple of cushions is his sound advice to his grandson, "Don't ever invade Russia!", and to his son-in-law, a history teacher, "There's no future in history." The series has been almost universally praised by the critics, and has even been compared in some quarters to The Simpsons in its portrayal of what Brian Appleyard describes as a 'dysfunctional family redeemed by love'. Written by Ben Dowell. From The Guardian, 6th December 2008 You'll recognise that the children involved are startlingly natural and funny in their responses, of course, and that Ramona Marquez as five-year-old Karen effortlessly steals any scene in which she features. Written by Tom Sutcliffe. From The Independent, 4th December 2008 Outnumbered: the British sitcom grows up Outnumbered, on BBC1, is an era-defining comedy — and its genius lies in letting its child stars speak for themselves. Written by Bryan Appleyard. From The Sunday Times, 30th November 2008 Outnumbered: the British sitcom grows up Outnumbered, on BBC1, is an era-defining comedy — and its genius lies in letting its child stars speak for themselves. Written by Bryan Appleyard. From The Sunday Times, 30th November 2008 You could argue that Outnumbered ploughs a familiar comic furrow. It is, after all, about besieged middle-class parents dealing with three children, and it has antecedents that stretch all the way from Joyce Grenfell to My Family. But familiarity is irrelevant when the scripts - written by the Drop the Dead Donkey team, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - are as acutely observed and as funny as this. The absence of a laughter track frees it from the straitjacket of gags, allowing it to veer off into unexpected directions. And best of all, there are the performances by the young actors. If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing something remarkable. Perhaps the best show on the box at the moment, and if you're not watching, then shame on you! Outnumbered is sublime and familiar and laugh out loud funny as Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis attempt to keep their boisterous brood under control. Hugh Dennis is just brilliant, which is a surprise as he's probably best known to a wider audience (outside Radio 4) as a low rent secondary character in My Hero (shudder). Everything you need to know about Outnumbered The Independent provides a guide to the show. Written by Gerard Gilbert. From The Independent, 28th November 2008 No room to properly do justice to the brilliance of Outnumbered, which has deservedly been promoted to a prime Saturday slot. But I would like to share the theological conundrums a hapless vicar found himself faced with after unwisely crouching down to talk to a group of children at a wedding: 'Why has God only given us 15 thousand billion years left to live before the sun dies?' and, trickier still perhaps, 'What would Jesus do if he was attacked by a polar bear?' Precocious children are generally funny for about five minutes or so and then you just want them to shut up and go away. So in that sense, child-centric sitcom Outnumbered was a fair reflection on its chosen subject. It was a perfect illustration of the nightmare caused by muddle-headed middle-class parents attempting rational debate with scheming brats. Keith Watson, Metro, 17th November 2008 This is some sort of a miracle. Sitcoms are usually a form of hell on earth, in which the viewer feels as though he or she is being torn apart by a pack of brain-dead hyenas. This delightfully frenetic family comedy returns as the Brockmans attend a wedding where all hell perpetually threatens to break loose. Parents Pete and Sue attempt to keep their offspring - surely the best child actors on TV - under control, but in this sitcom, as in life, they're always at least one step behind. The Telegraph, 15th November 2008 An odd piece of scheduling for a brilliant comedy. I hope this doesn't turn into another Trevor's World of Sport for co-writer Andy Hamilton, because the second series of this insidiously clever piece of work deserves an audience. Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner return as parents Pete and Sue, constantly trying (and generally failing) to corral their brood of three boisterous children. The beauty is in the fact the kids are rarely working from a script, with a lot of the comedy coming from just letting the child actors get on with it and see what happens. Cracking! Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin Interview A short Q&A interview with the writers of the show conducted during the build up to the second series. Written by Anna Lowman. From TV Scoop, 14th November 2008 Hugh Dennis answered some Q&A questions in the build up to the second series. Written by Paul Hirons. From TV Scoop, 12th November 2008 Once the middle classes were obsessed with cars, cats or gardens. These days, it's kids. Car seats? Baby on Board? Is this the nation that produced Stirling Moss? Stuart Maconie, The Radio Times, 1st November 2008 This deliriously enjoyable family sitcom had the funniest scenes ever between grown-ups and small children. Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner shone as the careworn parents but it was the child actors who were a revelation. David Butcher, The Radio Times, 23rd August 2008 There's good news for fans of Outnumbered. The unconventional family sitcom - which uses some improvisation - will be returning for a second series on BBC One at the end of September. Paul Strange, DigiGuide, 23rd August 2008 Outnumbered came to BBC One with very little fanfare. There were a few adverts, but it was stuck on at 10.35pm after the News, and shown on consecutive nights over two weeks. Which is unusual to say the least, and I've no doubt that some people missed some episodes if they thought it was a weekly programme. It's not the most earth-shatteringly original set-up, I'll grant you - mum, dad and three kids living the kind of comfortable middle-class London existence that comedy script-writers feel at home with. An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in north London - maybe Crouch End or Tufnell Park - and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen. So, maybe it's just me, but Outnumbered is very funny indeed. Rod Liddle, The Sunday Times A clever, funny, well-observed sitcom... Outnumbered gave the most truthful description on record of what it is actually like being a parent ... The show was entirely stolen by the three young children, whose acting was awesomely natural. The Daily Telegraph Outnumbered is very funny indeed... Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's script is beautifully observed and under-stated. There is a nicely cluttered, claustrophobic feel to the drama too, and the intimation of something dark and destructive lurking just around the corner. The Sunday Times |
