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'Outnumbered' In The Press...BBC's Outnumbered lifts Hat Trick sales TV production company Hat Trick Productions has seen a sales boom following the success of the BBC's hit sitcom Outnumbered. Such Small Portions, 9th March 2010 One of the many great things about Outnumbered is that it's lovable without being nauseating; the humour is warm, but not cloying. Everything gels. There are great scripts from Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, and a super cast: Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as sweetly exasperated parents Pete and Sue, and a trio of astonishing child actors. Alison Graham, The Radio Times, 27th December 2009 Outnumbered: Christmas special It's good that Jake, Ben and Karen have become less winsome - but they're also genuinely a touch more annoying. Written by Vicky Frost. The Guardian, 27th December 2009 If only because it centres so much on the precocious (yet, for the most part, just the right side of annoying) younger members of the cast, there's an obviously limited shelf to this series, centred on the chaotic everyday life of a middle-class south London family. So, who knows, this may well be both the first and last Outnumbered Christmas special. Mike Ward, Daily Star, 27th December 2009 Hugh Dennis on working with the kids of Outnumbered Hugh Dennis talks about working with the young actors in Outnumbered. Written by Graham Keal. The Daily Record, 26th December 2009 Parents-under-siege sitcom Outnumbered is a slow-burning hit that's steadily accumulated both favourable ratings and gongs (it picked up three British Comedy Awards earlier this month). Rightly so, because it's a rare beast: a comedy that captures the chaos of family life without lapsing into sentimentality. This festive episode, then, is a welcome taster for the third series next spring. It's Boxing Day in the Brockman household and, along with Santa, some burglars have squeezed down the chimney. As usual, precocious, pet-obsessed seven-year-old Karen (the remarkable Ramona Marquez) steals the best scenes - she's not only lost the school hamster under the floorboards, but takes it upon herself to make everybody else's New Year's Resolutions, with typical tact. Meanwhile, brother Ben (mop-topped tyke Daniel Roche) wreaks gleeful havoc with a mechanical hand and eldest Jake (the preposterously named Tyger Drew-Honey) is trying to find Awol grandfather Frank (David Ryall). The increasingly senile old goat couldn't be hiding with the hamster, could he? Parents Pete and Sue (Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner) preside over this pandemonium with beleaguered bafflement. The young stars of Outnumbered We meet the brillant young stars of the award-winning comedy series. Written by James Rampton. The Times, 19th December 2009 Outnumbered captures real life perfectly 'Oh God,' I said to my wife as we lay in bed watching an episode of Outnumbered on BBC1 one Saturday night. 'This is... us!' Written by Simon Mills. The Daily Mail, 15th December 2009 In normal years, The Royle Family would be the sitcom special to be most keenly anticipated, but after last Christmas's aberration, "The New Sofa", judgement should be reserved on Caroline Aherne's latest reunion, "The Golden Egg Cup" (Christmas Day, 9pm BBC1). For unalloyed excitement, the 'Outnumbered Christmas Special' has me slathering at the chops. It's Boxing Day, and Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's recognisably modern metropolitan family, the Brockmans, has been burgled - and I don't mean harassed parents Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner getting every scene stolen from under their noses by the improvising child actors, Tyger-Drew Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez. Suburban sitcom Outnumbered could easily have flopped. Instead its child stars are up against Charlie Brooker for a comedy award. Written by Stuart Jeffries. The Guardian, 21st November 2009 Your next box set: Outnumbered Funny, painful and squirmworthy, Outnumbered is a useful guide for new parents. The Guardian, 2nd October 2009 Thank God for Outnumbered, sitting there like a shining beacon in a fog of tedium on a Saturday night. And the fact it's a repeat makes it all the more amazing. Tonight sees Pete and Sue heading out for dinner, leaving the kids to run rings round the babysitter. It's brilliant, well-observed stuff, and doesn't get tired on repeat viewing. Why Outnumbered's junior rebel is the ultimate kids' hero It's just possible that the best cult TV hero for under-10s is a curly-haired kid whose work has never been shown pre-watershed, unless you count an ad for Kingsmill bread. A hugely unscientific survey of children of my acquaintance reveals that those who have seen the BBC comedy series Outnumbered, about a flustered but happy middle-class family, all want to be Ben, the seven-year-old middle son, played by Daniel Roche. Written by Michael Hann. The Guardian, 18th June 2009 A complaint often levelled at television is that there are far too many repeats slotted into the schedules, which can be a highly valid gripe. But when the repeat in question is another go for Outnumbered series two (which gained decent ratings on its previous Saturday showing), we'll let it go. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's heavily improvised comedy is a constant delight as Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner play the average couple with three kids - and it's the kids that steal the show every time. In this first episode, Pete and Sue shepherd their brood to a family wedding - with predictably chaotic results. Highly recommended. Don't get too excited about the reappearance of Outnumbered. This repeat of the first episode of series two is just plugging an awkward gap in the TV schedules and the rest of the series won't be following. The family are at the wedding of Sue's cousin Julie - and young Karen (Ramona Marquez), the undisputed star of the show, is chief bridesmaid, quizzing the bride relentlessly on her dubious taste in boyfriends. While we wait for a third series to materialise, there are plenty of other TV shows where Karen's unique world view and unwavering style of interrogation could - and should - be employed. Hosting Have I Got News For You, standing in for Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, interviewing suspects on The Bill... She's far too good to waste on just sitcoms. Outnumbered lost out to The IT Crowd at the Baftas this year, which wasn't just baffling it was also a real pity, because Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton's winning portrayal of the minor absurdities of family life, and its brilliant, scene-stealing child actors, deserve proper recognition. In a repeat of series two's first episode, the family, including hapless mum and dad Sue and Pete (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis), is off to a wedding. As always they hover perilously close to being late as violence-obsessed Ben (Daniel Roche) debates if hitting someone who is attacking you with a shovel would be OK, limpid-eyed Karen (Ramona Marquez) locks herself in the bathroom and Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) worries. It's achingly funny and packed with lovely moments, including Karen's remorseless quizzing of the increasingly unnerved bride, that always end with the grown-ups being outmanoeuvered. Alison Graham, The Radio Times, 12th June 2009 Ah, you lucky things. This is another chance to see the opening episode from the last series of Outnumbered, about the travails of a middle-class couple with three children struggling to do their best and failing miserably. Sharply observed and brilliantly cast, it is accurate, warm-hearted, understated and free of a horrible laughter track. But what makes it so special, above and beyond all those other estimable qualities, is the astonishing acting of the three children. They are the most natural comic performances from children that I have ever seen on television. Sitcoms are usually a form of hell on earth, in which the viewer feels as though he or she is being torn apart by a pack of brain-dead hyenas. This is a glorious, life-enhancing exception. Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin Interview The Independent meets Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin. If a show has ever made you laugh, these two probably wrote the script. They gave us a rare interview for Red Nose Day, which this year includes an episode of their hit comedy Outnumbered. Written by Cole Moreton. The Independent on Sunday, 8th March 2009 Fox to air US remake of Outnumbered US network Fox has given the go-ahead for an American version of critically lauded BBC1 comedy Outnumbered. The part-improvised show, about middle class parents trying to cope with three unruly children, pulled in about 5 million viewers when it aired on BBC1 in a late-night Saturday slot at the end of last year. Fox has been developing a US version since last year and has now ordered a pilot, which if successful could be commissioned for a full series. Written by Leigh Holmwood. The Guardian, 9th February 2009 U.K. 'Outnumbered' by new laughs Following The Office and Gavin and Stacey, the BBC may have another hit laffer on its hands with Outnumbered, a meticulously observed, downbeat comedy focusing on middle-class, cash-strapped, contemporary family life in suburban London. Written by Steve Clarke. Variety.com, 5th January 2009 The best sitcom currently on TV has to be Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's Outnumbered, which succeeds in being both charming and funny in equal measure. In Outnumbered, I get the strong sensation that Ben and Karen have been mixing with rough children behind the camera. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who write, direct, produce and generally lead astray, have been seen whispering to them between takes. Hence the angelic Karen's reproach to her father, 'You're spending all the money on salads and beer!' and her comment on her grandfather's smell, 'When you're old you have a special smell so you know when they're near.' In Outnumbered (BBC1, Saturday), I get the strong sensation that Ben and Karen have been mixing with rough children behind the camera. Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who write, direct, produce and generally lead astray, have been seen whispering to them between takes. Hence the angelic Karen's reproach to her father, "You're spending all the money on salads and beer!" and her comment on her grandfather's smell, "When you're old you have a special smell so you know when they're near." Grandfather, having incipient Alzheimer's, is also a child but going in the opposite direction. Well worth embroidering on a couple of cushions is his sound advice to his grandson, "Don't ever invade Russia!", and to his son-in-law, a history teacher, "There's no future in history." The series has been almost universally praised by the critics, and has even been compared in some quarters to The Simpsons in its portrayal of what Brian Appleyard describes as a 'dysfunctional family redeemed by love'. Written by Ben Dowell. The Guardian, 6th December 2008 You'll recognise that the children involved are startlingly natural and funny in their responses, of course, and that Ramona Marquez as five-year-old Karen effortlessly steals any scene in which she features. Written by Tom Sutcliffe. The Independent, 4th December 2008 Outnumbered: the British sitcom grows up Outnumbered, on BBC1, is an era-defining comedy — and its genius lies in letting its child stars speak for themselves. Written by Bryan Appleyard. The Sunday Times, 30th November 2008 Outnumbered: the British sitcom grows up Outnumbered, on BBC1, is an era-defining comedy — and its genius lies in letting its child stars speak for themselves. Written by Bryan Appleyard. The Sunday Times, 30th November 2008 You could argue that Outnumbered ploughs a familiar comic furrow. It is, after all, about besieged middle-class parents dealing with three children, and it has antecedents that stretch all the way from Joyce Grenfell to My Family. But familiarity is irrelevant when the scripts - written by the Drop the Dead Donkey team, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - are as acutely observed and as funny as this. The absence of a laughter track frees it from the straitjacket of gags, allowing it to veer off into unexpected directions. And best of all, there are the performances by the young actors. If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing something remarkable. Perhaps the best show on the box at the moment, and if you're not watching, then shame on you! Outnumbered is sublime and familiar and laugh out loud funny as Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis attempt to keep their boisterous brood under control. Hugh Dennis is just brilliant, which is a surprise as he's probably best known to a wider audience (outside Radio 4) as a low rent secondary character in My Hero (shudder). Everything you need to know about Outnumbered The Independent provides a guide to the show. Written by Gerard Gilbert. The Independent, 28th November 2008 No room to properly do justice to the brilliance of Outnumbered, which has deservedly been promoted to a prime Saturday slot. But I would like to share the theological conundrums a hapless vicar found himself faced with after unwisely crouching down to talk to a group of children at a wedding: 'Why has God only given us 15 thousand billion years left to live before the sun dies?' and, trickier still perhaps, 'What would Jesus do if he was attacked by a polar bear?' Precocious children are generally funny for about five minutes or so and then you just want them to shut up and go away. So in that sense, child-centric sitcom Outnumbered was a fair reflection on its chosen subject. It was a perfect illustration of the nightmare caused by muddle-headed middle-class parents attempting rational debate with scheming brats. Keith Watson, Metro, 17th November 2008 This is some sort of a miracle. Sitcoms are usually a form of hell on earth, in which the viewer feels as though he or she is being torn apart by a pack of brain-dead hyenas. This delightfully frenetic family comedy returns as the Brockmans attend a wedding where all hell perpetually threatens to break loose. Parents Pete and Sue attempt to keep their offspring - surely the best child actors on TV - under control, but in this sitcom, as in life, they're always at least one step behind. The Telegraph, 15th November 2008 An odd piece of scheduling for a brilliant comedy. I hope this doesn't turn into another Trevor's World of Sport for co-writer Andy Hamilton, because the second series of this insidiously clever piece of work deserves an audience. Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner return as parents Pete and Sue, constantly trying (and generally failing) to corral their brood of three boisterous children. The beauty is in the fact the kids are rarely working from a script, with a lot of the comedy coming from just letting the child actors get on with it and see what happens. Cracking! Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin Interview A short Q&A interview with the writers of the show conducted during the build up to the second series. Written by Anna Lowman. TV Scoop, 14th November 2008 Hugh Dennis answered some Q&A questions in the build up to the second series. Written by Paul Hirons. TV Scoop, 12th November 2008 Once the middle classes were obsessed with cars, cats or gardens. These days, it's kids. Car seats? Baby on Board? Is this the nation that produced Stirling Moss? Stuart Maconie, The Radio Times, 1st November 2008 This deliriously enjoyable family sitcom had the funniest scenes ever between grown-ups and small children. Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner shone as the careworn parents but it was the child actors who were a revelation. David Butcher, The Radio Times, 23rd August 2008 There's good news for fans of Outnumbered. The unconventional family sitcom - which uses some improvisation - will be returning for a second series on BBC One at the end of September. Paul Strange, DigiGuide, 23rd August 2008 Outnumbered came to BBC One with very little fanfare. There were a few adverts, but it was stuck on at 10.35pm after the News, and shown on consecutive nights over two weeks. Which is unusual to say the least, and I've no doubt that some people missed some episodes if they thought it was a weekly programme. It's not the most earth-shatteringly original set-up, I'll grant you - mum, dad and three kids living the kind of comfortable middle-class London existence that comedy script-writers feel at home with. An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in north London - maybe Crouch End or Tufnell Park - and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen. So, maybe it's just me, but Outnumbered is very funny indeed. Rod Liddle, The Sunday Times A clever, funny, well-observed sitcom... Outnumbered gave the most truthful description on record of what it is actually like being a parent ... The show was entirely stolen by the three young children, whose acting was awesomely natural. The Daily Telegraph Outnumbered is very funny indeed... Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's script is beautifully observed and under-stated. There is a nicely cluttered, claustrophobic feel to the drama too, and the intimation of something dark and destructive lurking just around the corner. The Sunday Times |
