Starring Caroline Quentin, new sitcom Life Of Riley starts on BBC One tonight at 8:00pm. I've been reasonably impressed with the trailers the BBC has been running, so hope it's good. I'm sure it'll be roundly hated here, mind.

The BCG's synopsis of the series:

Life Of Riley centres around second time newly-weds Maddy and Jim, and the joining of their two families into a new dysfunctional whole.

The ever-optimistic Maddy suddenly finds herself at the head of a modern-day extended family made up of a complication of children, stepchildren, step siblings and half siblings - with a few ex-partners and in-laws thrown in.

Maddy is like Roseanne but thinner, like Seinfeld but with dirtier trainers and like Victor Meldrew - but she does believe it. In Life Of Riley, Maddy discovers that parenting has never been so complicated and she is outwitted at every turn by people a quarter of her age.

https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/life_of_riley_2009/

"Maddy is like Roseanne but thinner, like Seinfeld but with dirtier trainers and like Victor Meldrew - but she does believe it."

Who is responsible for that line?!

The BBC Press Office, I assume.

Must admit, the trailers made Mad About Alice pop into my mind.

https://www.comedy.co.uk/mad_alice/

Ha, I'd forgotten Theakston was in a sitcom.

Weird day timeslot for a sitcom. Hopefully it means the BBC are trying to develop more mainstream slots. For that reason alone I hope it succeeds.

Caroline Quentin does my head in.

Quote: Nil Putters @ January 8 2009, 1:54 PM GMT

Caroline Quentin does my head in.

View original

Yes, she's definitely one for the 'c**t' thread.

Mind you, this show is comparing itself to Seinfeld and One Foot in the Grave, so it must be good. Or bathing in reflected glory of some bizarre kind. The tossers.

How can they compare it to those when it hasn't been on yet?

Like you said, "Tossers"

I'll give it a watch but the trailers didn't really get my hopes up. Especially as they are supposed to contain the funnier bits.

Already annoyed me with a shit cover of 'Life Of Riley' by the Lightning Seeds. A song which is about the singer's son Riley, rather than the concept of a life a riley.

'Orville on Speed'. #Lazy comedy slags, lazy comedy slags#

"Women's problems" Didn't see that coming. Take a Simpsons joke and sap out al the cleverness, well done.

Ahh, a comedy misunderstanding - excellent stuff so far.

The misunderstanding and a few other plot strands are predictable, but actually I'm quite enjoying it so far.

Better than I thought it would be.

Why is a woman of about 25 going to school?

The daughter?

Looks about 18 to me.

The Beeb cancelled After You've Gone and THIS gets made instead.