"Life of Riley" (2009) TV series

Creator:

Georgia Pritchett

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 January 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Sitcom about the dysfunctional lives of a newly married couple and the children each of them bring from a previous relationship.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Sitcom | Teenager | Family Relationships | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

Caroline Quentin	...	Maddy Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Neil Dudgeon	...	Jim Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Lucinda Dryzek	...	Katy Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Taylor Fawcett	...	Danny Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Patrick Nolan	...	Ted Jackson (6 episodes, 2009)
Ava Lamb	...	Rosie Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Neve Lamb	...	Rosie Riley (6 episodes, 2009)
Heather Craney	...	Alison Weaver (5 episodes, 2009)
John Bell	...	Anthony Weaver (4 episodes, 2009)
Richard Lumsden	...	Roger Weaver (3 episodes, 2009)
Jordan Clarke	...	Adam Weaver (3 episodes, 2009)

Runtime:

UK:30 min | UK:30 min (6 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

BBC Scotland

Making the title a pun does not make the show funny

You see, "The Good Life" also had a terrible title, but at least it was funny (cf. "Brittas Empire", "Fawlty Towers"). But I digress.

It seems to me that the writer (whose previous credits, lest we forget, include "My Family") is somewhat of a disadvantage, in that they've neither been exposed to an actual family, nor I suspect, have they ever heard a real human conversation.

Rather than creating humorous situations, solid story arcs and good dialogue, the (two dimensional) characters merely bounce less-than-witty one-liners at each other, showing scant regard for good timing and natural pace. Still, at least they are well en-un-ci-at-ed in order that the elderly weekday afternoon audience can hear the jokes.

So we just get subjected to poor-quality wit and embarrassing pauses in places where any decently funny sitcom would be riding the laugher.

With this in mind, one might think that we'd get a break with some visual gags, but even they are poorly executed and physically awkward. Even the audience sound bored. Normally I'd be optimistic and hope that it picks up towards the end of the series, but this time I'd advise you not to bother.