I don't think the swearing is written in to get cheap laughs, I think the swearing is written in because that is how those sort of people speak and it is an accurate portrayal of a chav family.

Are these really accurate portrayals or caricatures though?

Do middle aged holidaymakers really talk to strangers about sex change operations and how their wives have become more sexual as they've gotten older?

Quote: Baumski @ February 9, 2007, 10:27 AM

... we're aware that this programme actually reflects the kind of society we live in today. Don't know about anybody else but it scares the crap out of me.

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Ditto.

Well I would say yes, they are accurate. I've seen plenty of Garvery families in Lancashire and also Benidorm.

I think discussion about sex and alternative lifestyles has increased since the birth of the internet and there really are Donald & Jacqueline's about.

Indeed. If that is today's British society then I hate to think what the locals in those tourist resorts think of us.

The viewing figures for the 2nd ep. dropped from 5.3 million to 4.5 million which is still respectable. I guess that if they drop further a second series would be doubtful though.

How have you found the viewing figures, are they posted on a website?

The Guardian's website has pretty comprehensive details of viewing figures.

It indicates, on a different subject, that the viewing figures for Harry Hill (5.9m) are superb whereas the viewing figures for Al Murray (2.4m) are pitiful. Shame as I like that show.

One of the biggest problems with AMHH is that they move the time around each week. Bloody annoying. (Plus, you have to take into account that it's repeated another 2 or 3 times during the following week, so people aren't necessarily quite as definite in their choice to watch it on a Saturday night.)

I can't imagine that ITV will even contemplate giving it another series though. Especially as all of ITV's other saturday evening shows are pretty successful. I don't think that he is ever likely to become a primetime comedy character and, like Graham Norton, would be much more suited to C4.

Actually, I'd like to know if there really is any difference between the kind of stuff Graham Norton churned out on his shows and the content on Benidorm. To me both programmes were and are directed towards the same lowest common denominator audience and I reckon there’s not a cigarette papers difference between the two.

Top episode of Benidorm last night. How disgusting is this, I know a friend who went to Benidorm and Sticky Vicky exists and she does do what she did in that show last night with flags. Thankfully though, there are no minstrels in Benidorm

The difference between Graham Norton is in the context, the style of show and the channel I guess. If Norton had written a sitcom featuring some of the material that he covered then it probably wouldn't have been as well received. If he'd hosted that chat show on ITV then it wouldn't have worked either.

Just caught the unscheduled repeat of episode 2 on ITV1 tonight. It wasn't quite as poor as episode 1 but I think I've had my fill. As someone has already said, where are the plots? This ain't sitcom. If you tried to describe it to anyone who hadn't seen it, how could you say what each episode so far is about? Compare and contrast with classic sitcoms - e.g. Fawlty tries to get a better class of guest but gets stung; Albert teaches Harold how to dance; Fletch has to fix a boxing match. What has actually happened so far in Benidorm, apart from a few loosely connected observational scenes? Even in the Royle Family, where they hardly left the sofa, you can usually describe the plot to someone.

And I really don't see how they can make a second series. How plausible would it be to have all the same holidaymakers meeting up again same time next year?

The desperately unfunny Benidorm continues to lose viewers. It averaged 3.6 million viewers last night, down from 4.5 million last week and 5.3 million two weeks ago. To make matters worse for ITV, Bonkers is also leaking viewers and The Abbey (I couldn't even be bothered to watch this one) has underperformed.

Place your bets please - how long before ITV panics and ditches its much hyped return to comedy in favour of more reality shows, programmes featuring the latest person to leave Corrie in a bid to be taken seriously as an actor...and so on.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,,2014694,00.html

Didn't see last night's episode as two was enough for me.

Badge was spot on with his post. The sitcoms mentioned all had good plots going for them as well as being humourous. People will say 'Do you remember the one with the chandeliers?' What can you say about this? 'Do you remember the one with um.......' It was no different to the week before's.