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25 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Great comedy!, 20 July 2004 Author: Thomas Jolliffe (supertom-3) from Marlow, England
My Family is a great comedy. It's rare these days that a sitcom can stand the test of time but this has lasted 4 years all ready ad is still as funny as it was to start with, and it was funny to start with which is also important. It's very exaggerated but very much based in real life and everyone can see trademarks of their own families in the Harpers.The characters are excellent and well portrayed. Firstly there's the mother played by Zoe Wannamaker, who as Jonathan Ross once said, has a strange kind of sexiness. She's the woman with the mad hair and a kind of Witch like, everything in the pot, attitude to cooking, with each episode having her come up with new disgusting recipes like Roast Chicken with chocolate topping. Then there's Ben Harper the father but not head of the household it must be said. Played superbly by another comedic veteran, Robert Lindsey. His sarcastic and biting delivery to everything is hilarious and the banter between him and Wannamaker is the centre piece of the show. Also superb is Kris Marshall as the eldest son Nick, the gormless, unemployable idiot who is the bane of his father's existence. Marshall plays him superbly and generally Nick has had some of the best scenes in the whole of the run. The most recent series was unfortunate as Marshall has reduced his role to an occasional cameo because essentially he is becoming too old to play the part. Marshall is 31 and Nick is only in his early 20's. Marshall can pass for that because I thought he was Nick's age but also at some point it is inevitable someone aspiring to be a respected actor would not want to become to related to a certain part and become typecast. Gabriel Thompson is also very good as the youngest Harper, the geeky Michael who throughout the series has grown into a sort of amoral shady businessmen, taking friends and family for mugs and making money off them. Daniella Denby Ashe plays the daughter and like Marshall is now an extended cameo. She's the bitchy, spoilt little IT girl who wants things for nothing and is now a mother herself. The newest family member is Abby played excellently by Siobhan Hayes who is another gormless idiot.This is one of the finest examples of recent British sitcom and certainly relatable worldwide. Excellent stuff!
20 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Brilliant!, 1 October 2001 Author: Julia from England
Not an original summary really sums up how I feel about this great comedy. Robert Lindsay is hilarious (and strangely attractive) as the incredibly cynical Ben and Kris Marshall just as funny as Nick. However, in my opinion the star turn is Zoe Wanamaker ( v. sexy) and words dont do her justice. Watch out for the funeral scene in the new series where she is taking 'unprescribed' flu medication and is to put it bluntly, stoned. Her performance here is understated and fabulous, not staggering around, just glassy eyed wierdness. Please watch this (and the repeats on UK Gold) It wont tax your brain and we all need a good laugh sometimes :-) The scary part? I see some of my family in them!
14 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Yes. it is surprising!, 30 June 2001 Author: MEG-40 from Darlington Western Australia
Robert Lindsay on our TV screens at present in two roles so vastly different from each other- Captain Pellew of Hornblower fame and as the "insane" dentist - father - family man of My Family! I am a great fan of RL ever since first seeing him in Nightingales, another quite insane comedy of quite a different calibre.After last seeing Zoe Wannamaker as the love of Adam Faith it makes a change to see her as less 'Ms' Prim and Proper and more as 'Mrs' Avant Gard Dentist's wife. She does both so well in my opinion.Anyway, I love My Family, it will appeal to an audience who likes the humour of Seinfeld mixed with the madness of someone of the ilk of Lenny Henry and it does really work. The wit is very clever, very in your face and not as subtle as english humour can be at times but nevertheless it is great fun.
17 out of 24 people found the following review useful: This series rocks! Worth a watch!, 3 August 2004 Author: neighbourinblack (neighbourinblack@hotmail.com)
Just wanted to say that this series is really great! I've followed it for a long time now and seeing as I live in Canada and only get to watch it on YTV, I didn't really get to see Season 5 until recently which completed not that long ago apparently. It basically cycled through Seasons 1 through 4 several times. My girlfriend recently bought me Season 2 from the BBC website on DVD. It's in widescreen format which is the way most programs are aired in England, at least they were during my brief stays in England. This is really good because I get to see My Family the way it was intended. Season 1 was only available in Fullscreen for some reason. Oh well, I'll probably buy it anyway. I've recorded all of the episodes so far off YTV with my digital recorder so I can put them on DVD, but they have those annoying "Next: Are you being served?" and "Next: The New Addams Family" advert things pop up every now and then. It's really worth a watch. I think Ben Harper is a great character, his sarcastic and often offensive comments are really refreshing. I think Nick is really funny, too, with his dumb comments and crazy antics. Janey is gorgeous(but not nearly as nice as my oh so wonderful girlfriend)! Abi's pretty cute in a weird sort of way. Michael is a fun character, too, he reminds me of a cross between Lisa Simpson and I don't know, some jerkwad. Roger Bailey, though, he's alright in some episodes but just plain annoying in others. I agree with one of the reviewer's comments on how annoying his voice is. My favourite memories probably include the Halloween episode where the officer said something like, "Oh no, it's the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Death, Famine, Pestilence and Wensleydale.", the entire Exorcist spoof, especially the part where Nick says that he sprayed Ben with holy water mixed with the urine of virgins and Ben returns a disgusted look and also the whole jury duty episode where Ben meets that woman named Joanna Elton-Johns and he introduces himself as Ben Judy-Garlands. Funny funny stuff. I highly recommend this series to anyone who wants a good laugh and especially Canadians who want something different from the typical North American sitcom.
12 out of 16 people found the following review useful: A day in the life of the Harpers, 18 December 2002 Author: stamper from The Netherlands
The Harpers are not what I would call a model family, but I think that they are in a way a realistic family. Of course, the situations are exaggerated, but the basics are very realistic. Just look at Susan's clinging behavior towards college going daughter Janey. Janey thinks her mother is being annoying, while Susan thinks that it is fun if she and her daughter are able to spend some time together. Now not every mom is as goes as far as Susan, but believe me, some parents really know how to break your biscuit. The exaggeration of these and other typical daily events, the great actors and the fact that you see how much the individual family members love to hate each other, make this series a must see. If you enjoy this show, also try Men behaving Badly (UK version) and Fawlty Towers.9 out of 10
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Hilarious, 19 July 2004 Author: StayinFrosty from Ontario, Canada
"My Family" follows the day-to-day foibles of the Harpers, a British family of five. There's Ben (Robert Lindsay), the dentist who seems to loathe his life and family. Susan (Zoë Wanamaker), his tour-guide wife who prides herself on her open mind and is an awful cook but doesn't let it hinder her culinary style. Janey (Daniela Denby-Ashe) is the fashion magazine-reading, self-admittedly shallow teenaged daughter. (In season 4, Janey goes to college and is replaced by the vacuous Abi (Siobhan Hayes), Ben's cousin's daughter, for just as much fun). Michael (Gabriel Thomson) is the youngest son, who seems to be the brightest of the bunch. All of them are funny but the character who really shines, is the oldest son, Nick (Kris Marshall). Every scene with Nick is comic genius; from his quest to make money through various schemes and an assortment of jobs to his seeming inability to be troubled by anything.The writing is good, with a variety of entertaining stories. I'm watching re-runs so there are many I have yet to see but I've found every episode that I have seen amusing. The actors are well-suited to their roles and all do a fantastic job. There are a few running gags as well, including Nick's quest for the perfect job, as mentioned, and some Harry Potter references that have popped up since Zoë Wanamaker appeared in the first Potter film. Since I've mentioned it, I might add that under other circumstances, Gabriel Thomson could easily have played Harry himself.I'd highly recommend checking it out if you can. The show's episodic enough that one can start watching at any point.
8 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Laugh a minute, 20 April 2003 Author: rjhey from Manchester, England
I can be in the foulest mood, but just watching an episode of "My Family" can bring a smile back onto my face. Ben is hilarious, with his angry moods and "don't give a damn" attitude, Susan with her awful cooking and power to dominate, Janie with her ever practiced money grabbing techniques, Abbi with her extremely dumb blonde act, Michael with his seriousness and finally Nick with his stupid ideas and quick, quirky one-liners. The funny thing is, I can look at the Harper family and it reminds me completely of my own
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Time to call it a day., 2 October 2006 Author: michaelrustage from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Having read that there are more series of My Family on the way I can't help but be concerned. The show has been rapidly declining with each series and has unfortunately already past it's peak point. With the show now heading dangerously close to the edge of ridiculousness and the majority of people fast losing interest I personally think that the BBC should think very carefully before proceeding with more episodes. It was OK up to about series 3 but since then it has just headed further away from reality and with each series there seems to be less and less family. Series 6 was a huge mistake. Only half the number of episodes and Robert Lindsay missing from most of them. What was the point in making it? The show is very soon going to come to an end because people no longer enjoy it which is a shame. The reason is because like I said, it's unreal and very unoriginal. Think about it. A dentist called Ben who doesn't understand his kids and he has an eccentric wife who can't cook. We've seen it before. Remember a sitcom called Butterflies? Also, the majority of jokes have also been done before. Remember when Ben is looking for the spider and he thinks he's spotted it but it turns out to be a black woolly glove? - same thing happened to Victor in One foot in the grave. I hope people continue to enjoy this show but I personally think they should call it a day as I and many other people are now ready to move on to something else.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Surprisingly addictive and hilarious!, 1 August 2006 Author: toxina90 from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
I remember watching this from the start and quickly became absorbed in the series. I was expecting another rather dry and short living comedy that the BBC had produced before but I was surprised. Every episode is fresh and original and you quickly warm to all the members of the dysfunctional Harper family. The characters are excellent especially Susan, Ben and the hilarious Nick, the show always seems to come up with some sort of hilarious story for the family to endure. When Nick left a few series in, I was expecting the show to bomb, however the new characters brought in like Abby and Roger, proved just as amusing and what the show needed to continue. I have watched all the series and there are certain episodes that are better than others, however I think My Family could appeal to anyone, as all the characters are different and easy to relate to. This is definitely one of my favourite comedies from the UK. 5 star entertainment.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: I would like to say this about My Family, 29 September 2002 Author: LordHolocaust from Essex, England
Wonderfull! The first My Family episode I saw was the final episode of the first series. I started to tape the second series when it came on tv, and got every episode. Always on the lookout for series 1, I taped them when I saw them, and now taping the third series, 5 mins away from taping episode 4 of series 3 as I type this. This is a great British sitcom, It is sooooo hard to find good (In My Family's case, GREAT) British comedy programmes. Given Bottom which has a certain age rating, My Family is sure enough to make 18 y/o p**s their pants in laughter. There is a great cast. Ben, always the frustrated stress-pot, Suzan, the witty scheming mother, Nick (who has to be credited as the most humorous member of the family and series) as the pillock, Janey, the sexy sassy teenage daughter, and Michael, the quiet and brainy smart-ass. Result = Magic. If you haven't seen My Family, your missing out! Watch it!!!!!!!!!
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