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steve-27412
Reviews
Outnumbered (2007)
Lame and predictable
I tend to review only those titles I like. No matter how bad something is, it is still somebody's baby. Nevertheless, the positive 10-star reviews here seem so obviously written by people involved in the programme's production (or friends) that I felt obliged to support the genuine reviewers who have given this the low rating it deserves.
Despite being made much later, Outnumbered could easily be one of those lame, predictable sitcoms that were so prevalent in the 70s. Several years ago, I was told by the head of comedy at the BBC that there are two kinds of sitcom, "BBC2 9pm" and "BBC1 8pm". All the good writers want to write the BBC2 sitcoms (intelligent, edgy), but some are cajoled into writing BBC1 sitcoms (anodyne, predictable) to fill gaps in the schedule. No points for guessing what kind this is.
That Outnumbered was produced at all is clearly down to it being written by and starring BBC comedy veterans (although the writers have produced much better than this). The star, Hugh Dennis, is responsible for the appalling BBC radio series The Now Show, which purports to present satire on the week's events, but never fails to miss the mark. If you're into comedy that makes you groan and roll your eyes rather than smile or laugh, Outnumbered may be for you.