Siblings

Every episode is a handcrafted masterpiece.

A perfect balance of writing, directing and acting.

Two car crash syblings racing through life at full pelt with absolutely no fear of consequences just let's try it and see. Of course in the best of traditions the audience know how badly it will go but somehow they usually come up trumps.

A true joy

Other reviewers class this programme as predictable and clichéd, and it might indeed be a little predictable at times, but the quality of the acting during the delivery of aforementioned predictable gags will make you laugh regardless.

The two leads Tom Stourton and particularly Charlotte Ritchie, as the siblings Dan and Hannah, really make the grade, and if you're a fan of crass-yet-clever British humour found elsewhere in shows such as 'The Inbetweeners' and 'Fresh Meat', you will probably find yourself binging the first 6 episodes of 'Siblings' in one sitting.

It truly is a great character comedy which ascends its formulaic appearance on paper with its delivery. Definitely worth a watch.

It seems to me that the creators of this show intended to ride the wave in popularity of cringe sitcoms, repackaging a now familiar premise for a young, British audience. The writing comes off as a joke factory, where cheap laughs are sought by having selfish, insensitive protagonists make token politically incorrect gaffes. The premise of selfish and cynical people, oblivious to the havoc caused by their schemes and plans to get ahead, feels old hat in 2014 having been done over and over but with a great more success in shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Extras" and "Always Sunny in Philadelpia." The theme music of Siblings is almost the same as "Always Sunny," the music for which was chosen because it had Creative Commons licensing and had a soapiness that seems ironic in show with such cynical, politically tone deaf characters. I don't know if the choice of music was a coincidence or if it was meant to be an homage, either way, in the case of "Siblings" it added to the sense that I was watching a formulaic, gimmicky imitation of previous shows.

From the music, to the faux cricket character in the first episode, it's like they've tried to remake IASIP, but badly. If you've never seen It's Always Sunny, you should, this isn't it.

The idea that anyone could seek enjoyment from this is beyond me. I am fond of forgiving even the most embarrassing or bizarre sitcoms, because we British fundamentally try new things and aren't afraid of pushing the line- but Siblings is the opposite of this. It's packed full of cliches. Every episode is 100% predictable, whether that be because we've seen the 'character accidentally has sex with other character because of a lack of sobriety' trope a blinding amount of time, or because we know that the story will go like this: everything's good, something bad happens which forces the watcher to cringe in some vile attempt to achieve emotion, and everything gets better (or sometimes not- this is where the sole excitement stems from).

I appreciate that the show itself wants to do two things: advertise sibling relationships as positive and ultimate, and show the modern British millennial in a new, trendy sitcom. However, the sibling relationship is lacklustre. I would describe how hollow and psychopathic both Hannah and Dan seem, but these qualities are shown in the lack of chemistry between their characters and how the script seems adamant to disallow anything bordering on emotion between the two.

Their relationship exists purely to summarise the slapstick scene we've just witnesses for maximum comedic potential, which sometimes works for a minor laugh- I'll give it that- or to reference previous funny experiences that the two have supposedly shared. The actors are new, upcoming. I wish them well. But in this, whether it be the script or the tired material they must cover, I wasn't too impressed.

If Siblings represents the British millennials, we will be dead within weeks. The careless, 'up for anything' characteristic is fine to a certain extent to create a confident, likeable character, but when everybody is this, it makes it hard to appreciate anyone.

I shan't elaborate anymore, because the hope and eventuality of this sitcom is that it will be forgotten, and all I can say is that, if you're thinking of watching it, don't. Rewatch Fawlty Towers, One Foot in the Grave, or Peep Show for programs which utilise the painful moments of life to a successful attempt.

The music is alright. There's no obnoxious screaming, as far as I recall (I've watched the entire two series just so I can comprehensively condemn it). Apart from the swearing and occasional sex scene, it's safe to watch with family around. Perhaps you could tolerate in the background of something, like grating cheese.