I gather that ratings for The Riff-Raff Element weren't great, back when it was first shown which is presumably why there are only 2 seasons.
Certainly no one I have ever mentioned it to remembers it & the only reason I do is because my OH loved it. I don't know why, but I didn't watch it with him then either, so came to it fresh in 2022 on DVD (currently still available as a box set on amazon uk for under £20) which I bought as a gift for him.
It's an excellently produced and beautifully acted show, as more or less to be expected from the BBC. But the writing and the characters are probably a bit of an acquired taste, especially some of the posh Tundish family who are given to speaking in incomplete sentences, reflecting their extremely repressed personalities.
Series one is certainly the most fun & the only one that really deserves the moniker of comedy-drama. By series two, there's a lot more drama and frankly hardly any laughs.
In series one, the Belcher family is struggling along in Manchester with occasional forays into petty crime to make ends meet. This despite dad Acky having £20,000 compensation for a work injury tucked away. Older daughter Petula however has qualified as a cook and signs up at the Job Centre.
Meanwhile the posh, landed Tundish family is living in decayed splendour on the moors near Clitheroe, is equally strapped for cash & also more or less incapable of looking after themselves. When their cook walks out, Joanna, wife of older son Mort & who is not enamoured of the family dynamic of never talking about anything to do with feelings, goes to the Job Centre & signs Petula up. She knows ex-diplomat Roger will hate the sight of Pet, but also that he's far too buttoned up to *say* anything.
Joanna also has the idea of renting out the old servants quarters to the rest of the Belcher family (again to wind Roger up, as well as inject some cash flow) & Acky is finally persuaded to part with enough to pay rent for 6 months.
Gradually the two families start to merge, including extra-marital hi-jinks & the beginnings of a relationship for Petula.
The series ends with a dark turn though & when we return for series 2, there's the fall out from that to deal with before what I think was the really big mistake - bumping off a major character, one of the most likeable ones. It's designed to force some of the others to actually FEEL but it leaves a hole in the ensemble that never really heals.
I don't think I laughed in series 2 until episodes 4 & 5 (of 6!) which hardly makes it comedy-drama any more. Though episode 4 in particular is highly entertaining *and* includes aliens!
The final episode is great right up until the last 5 or 10 minutes or so, which sees the two families forcibly separated.
I couldn't tell whether the producers *knew* there wouldn't be any more seasons or not. If they did, this was a mean way to end things and it could easily have been written slightly differently (let's say Acky went back and moved things round once he knew everyone thought they knew the secret; that would have spiked Maurice's evil plot) to give happy endings for most characters.
I think it's more likely that they hoped to come back & resolve things a bit more - not all the Belchers are equally culpable in what had happened & there's at least a chance of return for some of them.
Anyway, that was that. The end. Very unsatisfactory for the viewer & probably for the production team too. A good, clever, well-acted, well-produced story with quite a few laughs, some tears, some music & some very quirky moments but also (IMHO) a couple of poor writing decisions.
It's probably unfair that it's so forgotten and it's certainly worth a look but I don't know if I would watch it repeatedly.
As for OH, the only known (to me anyway) fan? He clearly hadn't remembered much about the plot & frankly by the end wasn't really watching anymore. Which is sad really.
Certainly no one I have ever mentioned it to remembers it & the only reason I do is because my OH loved it. I don't know why, but I didn't watch it with him then either, so came to it fresh in 2022 on DVD (currently still available as a box set on amazon uk for under £20) which I bought as a gift for him.
It's an excellently produced and beautifully acted show, as more or less to be expected from the BBC. But the writing and the characters are probably a bit of an acquired taste, especially some of the posh Tundish family who are given to speaking in incomplete sentences, reflecting their extremely repressed personalities.
Series one is certainly the most fun & the only one that really deserves the moniker of comedy-drama. By series two, there's a lot more drama and frankly hardly any laughs.
In series one, the Belcher family is struggling along in Manchester with occasional forays into petty crime to make ends meet. This despite dad Acky having £20,000 compensation for a work injury tucked away. Older daughter Petula however has qualified as a cook and signs up at the Job Centre.
Meanwhile the posh, landed Tundish family is living in decayed splendour on the moors near Clitheroe, is equally strapped for cash & also more or less incapable of looking after themselves. When their cook walks out, Joanna, wife of older son Mort & who is not enamoured of the family dynamic of never talking about anything to do with feelings, goes to the Job Centre & signs Petula up. She knows ex-diplomat Roger will hate the sight of Pet, but also that he's far too buttoned up to *say* anything.
Joanna also has the idea of renting out the old servants quarters to the rest of the Belcher family (again to wind Roger up, as well as inject some cash flow) & Acky is finally persuaded to part with enough to pay rent for 6 months.
Gradually the two families start to merge, including extra-marital hi-jinks & the beginnings of a relationship for Petula.
The series ends with a dark turn though & when we return for series 2, there's the fall out from that to deal with before what I think was the really big mistake - bumping off a major character, one of the most likeable ones. It's designed to force some of the others to actually FEEL but it leaves a hole in the ensemble that never really heals.
I don't think I laughed in series 2 until episodes 4 & 5 (of 6!) which hardly makes it comedy-drama any more. Though episode 4 in particular is highly entertaining *and* includes aliens!
The final episode is great right up until the last 5 or 10 minutes or so, which sees the two families forcibly separated.
I couldn't tell whether the producers *knew* there wouldn't be any more seasons or not. If they did, this was a mean way to end things and it could easily have been written slightly differently (let's say Acky went back and moved things round once he knew everyone thought they knew the secret; that would have spiked Maurice's evil plot) to give happy endings for most characters.
I think it's more likely that they hoped to come back & resolve things a bit more - not all the Belchers are equally culpable in what had happened & there's at least a chance of return for some of them.
Anyway, that was that. The end. Very unsatisfactory for the viewer & probably for the production team too. A good, clever, well-acted, well-produced story with quite a few laughs, some tears, some music & some very quirky moments but also (IMHO) a couple of poor writing decisions.
It's probably unfair that it's so forgotten and it's certainly worth a look but I don't know if I would watch it repeatedly.
As for OH, the only known (to me anyway) fan? He clearly hadn't remembered much about the plot & frankly by the end wasn't really watching anymore. Which is sad really.