Not Going Out

This truly was the funniest comedy on TV by miles. Lee Mack's quit wit was great and he was supported by a great cast. It was extremely funny and well written. The storylines were great and the humor was on another level to anything else. This show was on top for several years right up until Tim Vine left and Lee married and had kids. To be perfectly honest I feel they should have ended the show while they were in top. He got his girl and then all the fun went out or it. Series 1-7 I'd rate 10 while series 8 onwards is barely worth watching so I'd score it 5 on a good day. It's tired and time to be retired.

When it switched from being about Lee Mack trying to get off with Sally Breton, especially when Tim Vine was in it, it was hilarious. Then it was a fast and clever comedy with adult humour.

Series 8 metastasised not just into a family sit-com but the blandest, mundane, most inoffensive sort of thing possible. Mildly amusing but not funny.

The two shows are so different that they really should have changed the name of it. So much so that when you say you like Not Going Out to someone, you have to qualify that by saying: the early seasons only of course. The two shows are as different as 1970s Genesis with Peter Gabriel to 1980s Genesis with Phil Colins.

I didn't expect much from this programme when it first aired and it was only on as I hadn't turned over from the previous programme. Now I'm glad I didn't! Not often is there a programme on that makes me literally laugh out loud - normally I'm just a smile-on-my-face kind of girl, but this was so so funny I couldn't help it! The jokes come thick and fast as one liners, with very clever word play which I think is reminiscent of the Two Ronnies. It sometimes borders on the very rude, but doesn't go too far into this territory as to spoil it.

The sexual tension between the landlady and her best friend/flatmate adds an extra dimension to the show, which is keeping me guessing as to how it will turn out: will she go with Lee or return to her ex-boyfriend (and Lee's best friend) Tim?

Not sure how this would play overseas as a lot of the jokes are very British and some centred around Lee's northern roots. But my congratulations to the writers and cast for a programme thats very funny and very original.

I have to agree profusely with some comments that have been made on this title. Watching the two series I have been compelled by the nature of the comedy-which I have accertained as a compromise between stand-up comedy and a sitcom. Rather than to shroud the characters true feelings, as has been done before, all characters speak their mind. This brings the result of a comedic 'battle' between them in which their unresolved disputes and generic arguments are turned to light-hearted funny quirks in the viewers perspective, as the drama unfolds for all those involved-namely for the unfortunate Lee, who seems to be at the tail-end of most decisions and seems to have most bad-luck.

Conclusively, I believe that the more unnatural stance on this genre is very effective for a wide audience, and makes a welcome change from your standard sitcom. Moreover, I believe that an entertaining show such as this does not need to develop further. As has happened in many American comedy shows, characters and plots have been killed off by over-running; but a good show should end whilst it is still laughed at and enjoyed by its viewers, as to bring it into a reputable class of British comedy.

Ah - this used to be genuinely funny and very clever - but alas, no longer.

The best of this series was when it featured Tim Vine (S1-5). Since then it has become tired, hackneyed, predictable and rather tedious.

There was a time when the episode scenario was at least faintly believable but then this moved into a new era where it did not matter what was happening so long as there was time for the usual jokes with their canned laughter accompaniment.

We could just about live with the dim character played by Katy Wix but after she left it became increasingly unfunny. The main characters were given children who seem to appear once in a blue moon and the series is frequently populated by morons who do not question the imbecility of what is happening.

Loved this once - now it has become embarrassing. Such a shame.