Not Going Out - Series 14

Thought I'd create a proper thread to discuss the new series than continue to populate an old one.

I thought tonight's return was a reasonable effort. The signs of the show's tiring do remain evident, and I think this new 'as live' format worsens, rather than ameliorates, the obviousness of that (especially in some of the dialogue given to, and characterisation of, Lucy) - at least tonight. Nonetheless, it turned into a decent and entertaining episode after a plodding first few minutes also beset by dodgy camerawork. I was impressed at how the episode wasn't struggling to fill in before/get to - and how it segued onto - the twist that the promo image for the episode rather spoiled.

I've gotta say, the show surpassed my expectations after some rather coarse reviews over on Reddit earlier today. The new setup will take some getting used to, and hopefully it'll become second nature after a while. Who knows, it may even lead to greater appreciation of the format of theatrical plays on television - which Mack said in a short interview a couple weeks back was kinda the plan for the series, after his initial plans to do the episodes live was kiboshed by other, understandably nervous, cast members.

I hope the show maintains its decent quality across the run after an uneven last series - and it'll remain to be seen whether it does it because of or in spite of the new format.

Yep, agree with that. Whilst not one of the best episodes, it delivered the basics of what I want from NGO - a traditional farce done in a modern way with reasonably inventive twists. A couple of scenes dragged a bit (stairlift stuff) but generally it worked. Good to see Mike Wozniak, albeit in a very straight role.

I have to say - and I'll warn you now - it reminded me of when I was working in a Railway ticket office.

I had to check on the toilets and once one of the gent's was blocked with human excrement so much that it wouldn't flush away. It had to be more than one person and I had to scoop out bag fulls of the stuff and dump them in a bin. Oh the joys!

https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/time-say-goodbye-not-going-out-3738778

Not enough actors.
Too much Lee makes the show far more annoying.
It's a step down from the last season for me.

Quote: Billy Bunter @ 15th June 2025, 9:38 AM

https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/time-say-goodbye-not-going-out-3738778

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It's only a time leap if you're taking it as serious drama. It just gives it different dynamics.

A bag o shite sitcom with a bag o shite plot , it's well past its sell by and shelf life date. Series 1 to 5 with Tim Vine were the best and the episode with Andy Linden. Am I a naughty boy who needs a spanky bumbum? Classic.

I liked the first episode. I think the real time restriction will help Not Going Out. I didnt think ot worked in Mack's other sitcom Semi Detatched, but that was mainly because the characters were awful.

Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 16th June 2025, 12:21 PM

I liked the first episode. I think the real time restriction will help Not Going Out. I didnt think ot worked in Nack's other sitcom Semi Detatched, but that was mainly because the characters were awful.

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I'm the same, I didn't hate Semi Detached but it didn't captivate me in the end. I thought it was... Okay. And the characters didn't fully engage me. So I don't mind Not Going Out making the attempt as it's a show I like with characters I like. Hopefully it won't get old fast!

Finished all the episodes and it's definitely the weakest series yet. The fatal flaw in my view is that Lee and Lucy basically have no life. They have no friends, there's no Tim or Daisy to bounce off, it's just Lee being a stupid prick and Lucy shouting at him, rinse and repeat for six episodes. I also noticed that as a character Lee is far more unpleasant than he used to be. It obviously generates plot when he's an idiot, but a lot of his actions this series felt quite mean spirited.

Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 19th June 2025, 12:21 PM

Finished all the episodes and it's definitely the weakest series yet. The fatal flaw in my view is that Lee and Lucy basically have no life. They have no friends, there's no Tim or Daisy to bounce off, it's just Lee being a stupid prick and Lucy shouting at him, rinse and repeat for six episodes. I also noticed that as a character Lee is far more unpleasant than he used to be. It obviously generates plot when he's an idiot, but a lot of his actions this series felt quite mean spirited.

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So it's all available to view now? That's a surprise.

Easily the best episode in years tonight. I had reservations going into it, but it was hilarious throughout; the scattered deployment of the traditional tropes heightened the episode rather than sucked enjoyment out of it, so-to-speak, and the characterisation of both Lee and Lucy recovered solidly from last week. The technical capability to make the sex doll behave in the manner it did must be applauded too. Only gripes I have is that it seemed to lose steam in the last 5-10 mins, and there were some curious sound interruptions in the background of one scene at that time. The new 'as live' format will, also, definitely take some getting used to, as there were a couple of times while watching where I reflexively expected it to enter a scene intermission and then cut back to the action being later on.

Very apposite, as well, with how it tied into AI, a theme that developed over the course of the episode (and if this was deliberate, it wasn't hamfisted in at all). It was potentially more relevant than intended, given stories in the past week coming from US media around people getting into relationships with AI chat tools with calamitous consequences (e.g. that report around a *married* man proposing to ChatGPT!).

Even if the rest of the series doesn't keep this momentum up, tonight proves that NGO still does have life in it when it attempts to recapture what made the original seven series so great by upping the adult humour and adult themes; series 10's "Facts of Life" was a testament to that, in spite of it being firmly an episode based around the children.

Watched the first episode last night and thought it was great

Enjoyed every second of it

And actually laughed out loud on more than one occasion- something that I NEVER find myself doing whilst watching any of the crop of todays so called sitcoms

Looking forward to the rest now

Slight step down from the previous episode, but after a slow, patchy and plodding start turned into another thoroughly entertaining one. Different, to an extent, but NGO has tackled similar premises and handled episodes with more of a focus on drama before well. There were structural elements of the story's set-up that I felt were somewhat simple or underlayered, but the twists in the Yvonne character and the story arc triggered more than made up for it (to the point you were genuinely invested in how Lee and Lucy coped with her, moreso as the episode progressed).

Felicity Montagu also elevated everything another level, and was good casting, even if at times I felt either her performance wasn't as powerful as it could've been, or she didn't embrace the character as fully as she could've (though being disingenuous and the feeling something was being held back was part and parcel of the character, so maybe I'm being too nitpicky). Overall, the laughs were a bit more sparse compared to last week, but they were hearty when they came.

And given Lee's diatribe about mothers at the episode's end, it was certainly a choice for the continuity announcer to promote Mrs. Brown's Boys - by emphasising the titular character being a mother - over the credits!

FWIW, episode 5 ("Dragon Castle")'s BBC1 broadcast will be shifted from the usual Friday slot to Saturday 12th July at 9:40pm (after Casualty), due to Euros coverage on the Friday.

Sign of the times that they aren't doing the, arguably, more sensible thing and just keeping it back a week to air the last two episodes back-to-back on the 18th; they're only airing a WILTY repeat at 9:30pm that evening.