Roger And Val: Good Sit, No Com

Roger and Val is a show which almost defies genre as it's not really a comedy, or if it is it's not a funny one.

I began by appreciating the lack of canned laughter. But maybe there isn't any because there wasn't anywhere for it to go. Perhaps it was filmed in front of a studio audience, and they sat there, in silence, baffled, or possibly asleep.

Roger and Val are a tiresome middle-aged couple. They've lost the guarantee for the vacuum cleaner that's broken down, they bicker a bit but not in a nasty way, and it all happens in real time. And that's it, really. Possibly we're meant to recognise it from our own lives, or our parents', or people we know. Maybe it is true to life, well observed even, but that doesn't make it any less uninteresting. Which it is, staggeringly so.

Ever thought those utterly mundane events that clutter up our day-to-day existence would make compelling subjects for a hilarious new sitcom? Do you find yourself bent double with laughter when you spend 10 minutes looking for your car keys only to discover they were in your pocket all along? Do you split your sides every time you forget to tell the milkman you're going on holiday for a fortnight? Clearly quite a few people at the BBC do.

As you may have gleaned from the title, the action in this new sitcom centres round the thrilling half-hour when Roger (Alfred Molina) and Val (Dawn French) return home from work. The central plot of last night's opener was a broken vacuum cleaner and a missing receipt, all of which led to a tiresome 10 minutes of the couple rifling through the contents of their "big drawer" and musing about all manner of subjects like death, door knockers and two-for-one Specsavers vouchers.

Roger and Val are the only cast members, giving the whole thing something of the feel of a night out at a provincial theatre. Worst of all was the self-consciously "real" script that practically tripped over itself in a bid to reel off the banalities of everyday life in a smug middle-class home. The overall effect came across like a Harold Pinter-scripted episode of Terry & June - although that's probably a little too flattering.

Roger & Val Have Just Got In doubtless thinks of itself as a "bittersweet comedy" by default, thanks to its lack of laughter track and the fact the action plays out in real time. They'd be onto something if either Roger or Val were in any way likeable or amusing. If you're looking to get your kicks by guffawing at banal bickering, it's probably best to stick to The Royle Family, which does this sort of thing so much better.

Roger & Val is all about the unspoken. Watch the first episode and you think it's straightforward observational comedy, but it takes you somewhere else entirely. The build is masterful, the emotional drive stealthy. And you'll find it's not so much a comedy but a story about a tragedy that has anchored these people. Molina's performance as Roger is extraordinary.

In a world of gags and instant gratification, Roger and Val is a bold comedy commission. Even more so when one considers the action (such as it is) is restricted to one set and a middle-aged couple: Alfred Molina (as botanist and class warrior Roger) and Dawn French (long-suffering teacher Val).

In tonight's opener, the hunt for the guarantee slip leads to the exhumation of the Big Drawer and with it, a trove of hazy memories and vague regrets.

The watchword is realism and the script is well up to the mark, subtly and sympathetically reflecting the minutiae of marriage. If anything, it's almost too acutely observed: conversations meander all too authentically and French occasionally hams to fill the dead air. But Molina is wonderful and there's real chemistry between the leads. The hand of exec producer Hugo Blick (Marion & Geoff) also looms large, and with it the hope that this series holds handsome rewards for the patient.

Beth Kilcoyne: Roger and Val Have Just Got In

Nearly three years ago a card dropped through my door and when I had read it I started running round my house, screaming. This is because the card was from Dawn French, who had seen a comedy written by me and my sister Emma and it invited us to go to a meeting with her.

Roger & Val Have Just Got In

Stick with it, though, get used to it, and it grows more and more into its own thing. It's not for everyone, but, if it is for you, you might find it rather special.

Dawn's new comedy partner: Roger and Val

If Dawn French's recent marriage breakdown is affecting her, she's hiding it well behind that famously wide smile and flirtatious giggle. The brave face is especially admirable given that she's promoting her new project, Roger And Val Have Just Got In, a two-person comedy which explores the intricacies of a marriage.

French and Molina on Roger and Val Have Just Got In

Dawn French and Alfred Molina star in a new BBC sitcom about 'the hardest thing in the world': being happily married. James Rampton reports.

Molina stars opposite Dawn French

Da Vinci Code actor Alfred Molina is to star opposite Dawn French in new BBC Two comedy series Roger and Val Have Just Got In, it has been announced.