So first off I am one of the biggest Gavin and Stacey fans out there. My partner and I watch it on repeat throughout the year and even more so at Xmas. I can't remember how I heard about Us and Them but thought I'd check it out, even after all of the reviews on here.
I found it strange that they changed some of the names but not all and the fact that they didn't change Gwen was even stranger. Unfortunately she just isn't funny nor sincere. Gwen West was loving, caring and funny without meaning to be. This one just feels like a non character.
Archie is no Smithy but he is still funny and I found him entertaining.
I think we can agree that Matthew Horne is the only thing that lets the the original show down and Jason Ritter is 100% better, but he just seems.... boring.
Stacey is hot. Hot hot hot. And brings a different type of humour than Stacey West, my favourite scene still the bar fight in E03, but like Gavin, she's just boring.
Nessa is great. She's entertaining and funny without trying too hard.
No one could ever better Rob Brydon's Bryn, but I think Brian did Bryn a solid and is a solid character who could easily earn his own spin off.
My favourite part of the show is definitely Gavin's parents; Michael and Pam. They are are by no means Larry and Alison but are original and hilarious. They deserve their own spinoff or they should relaunch this show as Michael and Pam.
If you accept this show for what it is and do not try and compare it to the original, it's still worth a watch, as a GnS fan or not. Definitely no where near as bad as I expected and still pretty funny. I ended the 5th and last episode with a hunger for more. Shame.
7/10
