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'My Family' In The Press...The jokes are as corny as ever, although Ben gets one nifty Christmas gift in this special - a memory eraser that wipes out the previous 20 seconds. Fans of dark, edgy comedy may wish they had one too. Jane Rackham, The Radio Times, 24th December 2009 The good news is that there are laughs aplenty in this hour-long festive edition; the bad is that you'll have to wait at least 10 minutes before they start. That's due to the creaky device of pitching the Harper clan 30 years into the future in order to have flashbacks of their worst (ie most insanely destructive) Christmases past. But the wait is mostly worthwhile as the cast led by Robert Lindsay, Zoë Wanamaker and Nathaniel Parker throw themselves into the fun with abandon. This year's Christmas special is set in the year 2039. Ben has turned grey. His son Michael has lost his hair, daughter Janey has put on weight and the living head of Roger sits in a glass bowl on the sideboard. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with the family reminiscing about Christmases past and looking back on "injuries, law suits and mental scars that therapy has yet to heal". In an impressively honest interview to mark My Family's 100th episode Zoë Wanamaker talked about the unevenness of the scripts. "You sometimes have to use all of your talent to make something that sticks in your craw sound OK," she said. But despite all their talent, they can't even begin to make this one sound OK. Nathan Brine will join My Family for the show's tenth series. He plays Scott Marsh, a friend of Michael's. He will debut in the episode The Sun'll Come Out, filling the void left by Alfie Butt's departure. Nathan has made many appearances on stage over the last few years, having starred in The Tempest, Frankenstein, A Month In The Country, The Winter's Tale and Far From The Madding Crowd. Further information can be found at Casting Call Pro and Spotlight. Written by Daniel Lees. My Family Online Fanzine, 29th November 2009 Robert Lindsay confirms Series 11 to be the last! Lindsay revealed that the series of BBC sitcom My Family he is currently filming will be the last and that he is taking a break from television when he completes the show in February. He said: "My Family has given me a secure regular job for ten years now, it's meant that I can have time to spend with my family. But I've been on TV since I was 19 or 20 years old and I want to get some anonymity back, disappear into the background." Ilkeston Advertiser, 19th November 2009 Robert Lindsay seems to loathe playing Ben Harper Robert Lindsay muses: "It's strange how the things that I've enjoyed doing least in my career seem to have been the most successful, while the stuff I've really liked doing hasn't done so well." Written by Nicola Methven. The Mirror, 4th November 2009 BBC cuts My Family budget; orders two new series BBC1 has cut the budget for My Family by 15%, and commissioned a 10th and 11th series of the sitcom. Written by Katherine Rushton. Broadcast, 17th September 2009 BBC comedy: Nothing funny about playing safe With BBC comedies having been outstripped by C4 at the Baftas, are the corporation's commissioners stifling the laughter by being too risk-averse? Written by Katherine Rushton. Broadcast, 11th June 2009 BBC: My Family has a place in schedules for some time to come BBC controller of comedy commissioning Lucy Lumsden says My Family has a place on BBC schedules for some time to come, even if a suitable successor was found. Written by Katherine Rushton. Broadcast, 11th June 2009 To some, the Harpers should have become a broken family not long after this sitcom began nine years ago. But here we are with the 100th episode, and more than five million fans watching every week. Jon Worsnop, The Sun, 7th May 2009 Big Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker Interview As the BBC sitcom reaches its 100th episode, Robert Lindsay and Zoë Wanamaker explain why playing sweet can be hard work. After various run-ins the stars became concerned about the consistency of the writing. There were even times when they refused to perform because they were so unhappy. This was not just a one-off either, Lindsay adds. "There is some real dross in there and we are aware of it," he says. "We had many fights. Out of 100 episodes maybe we've done ten that you can say are really good shows." Written by Bruce Dessau. The Times, 5th May 2009 Zoe Wanamaker and Robert Lindsay star in this fun family sitcom, now in its ninth series. The most popular comedy of recent years, this series about the doings of a middle-class family in Chiswick has been trundling along for the best part of a decade. What's On TV, 30th April 2009 An interview with Keiron Self, the actor who plays Roger Bailey in My Family. Written by Rachel Mainwaring. Western Mail, 4th April 2009 One of Britain's longest-running sitcom - 92 episodes and counting, just 15,235 behind Last of the Summer Wine - returns for a ninth run. It's Ben and Susan's anniversary (again), so Ben takes himself off down the local for a pub quiz with the kids. Where, perhaps, one of the questions will be, 'Which BBC1 comedy should consider quitting while it's ahead?' What's On TV, 2nd April 2009 You know just where you are with this sitcom. The gags are set up and knocked down with metronomic precision; the characterisations are as subtle as a sledgehapper; the laughter comes right on cue; and there's nothing too risque - unless you find the odd sexual innuendo offensive. In fact, it's so middle-of-the-road that you can almost see the white line painted down it. Jane Rackham, The Radio Times, 2nd April 2009 BBC1's family orientated sitcom My Family is still a huge attraction for viewers even with the show now entering its ninth series. The long-running sitcom, starring Robert Lindsay and Zoë Wanamaker, which first aired in 2000 was the nation's most watched sitcom last year out of the 32 that ran. Written by Jon Rogers. Broadcast, 20th February 2009 I don't know anyone who watches this BBC show and yet it's been a ratings winner for years. Robert Lindsay is a put-upon dentist and Zoe Wannamaker is his wife who can't cook. So far, so Butterflies... except that Butterflies was original. My Family is generic in every way you can think of: generic middle class family, generic plots, generic storylines, generic laughter... Executive producer Don Taffner Jr explains how My Family reached its 100th episode milestone. Written by Don Taffner Jr. Broadcast, 16th July 2008 The soporific family sitcom lumbers away, garnering ratings, which can only be due to the talent and likeability of the two leads, Robert Lindsay and Zoë Wanamaker, as they face weak domestic dramas episode after episode. Cue the sound of canned laughter. The Telegraph, 25th April 2008 I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush anymore so here goes... I... I... quite enjoyed Friday's My Family. It was a depressing evening all round. The start of the eighth series of My Family, that's very depressing. There's another one coming, too, apparently. It's your fault, for watching it. If no one did, they wouldn't continue to make it. Stop it - it's lame, predictable, out-of-date, middle-of-the-road, middle-England, middle-piddle ... it's the central reservation of television. Watch Pulling instead. That's the fast lane, and the hard shoulder, all in one. Kids have a habit of growing up fast, but I'm sure it was only the other day that Michael Harper (Gabriel Thomson) was a little bespectacled geek with an unnerving interest in military matters and a tendency to stay in his room a lot. Suddenly he's studying at university, is sporting an eyebrow stud and has got his girlfriend pregnant. But then he's not the only one to have grown up. My Family has, too, going from relatively safe childish humour to... well something a bit saucier, with references to bondage and lines such as "Ha! Says my wonderful sister whose legs have two different postcodes!" Jane Rackham, Radio Times, 11th April 2008 While I love Peep Show and Garth Marenghi and all those cool shows, I'm quite happy to admit that I've always thought that the first few series of My Family were alright, and better than alright on occasion. |
