Parents

Over the last twenty years it seems that sitcoms have dwindled away and comedy in general has been ushered to past the watershed. Gone are the days when you could watch a comedy program as a family, as a child I was lucky enough to have Only Fools and Horses, Butterflies, Dad's Army, Open All Hours.... the list goes on. Today's families have very few quality programs to watch together. With the possible exception of "Miranda" on the BBC.(Coincidentally this program features two of the stars of Miranda, the incredibly talented Sally Phillips and the excellent Tom Conti) Granted, it's not going to tear up the world of comedy, but this sitcom has a lot going for it. It's very gentle, silly, and sentimental Great characters, strong relationships, smart dialogue and a lot of heart.

I don't know why people don't like this show. I found it very good. Top notch acting with a very good story line. I think it's the British accent that throws it off for other countries, I don't know. I wish there were more seasons. I could not find in the credits the musical soundtrack which I found very good. If any one can find the titles and performers, please list them. Maybe you have to live in the UK to have access to the music. Especially songs from season one episode 6. I don't know. Could not find them on Utube usa. Anyway, don't listen to the negative reviews, give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Painful to watch. Did not laugh once. Characters are irritating. Tom Conti in junk like this. No wonder they only did one series. Series does not gei.

I chose to watch this show because it has two actors out of Miranda (Sally Phillips & Tom Conti) and I was curious to see them in new roles. The premise seems a good one and it tries, but somehow fails. Tom steals every scene he's in, but Sally's character is unsympathetic, as is her dumb husband. The children were underused, but easy to like. The humour was in the main forced or didn't quite work. They're aiming for heartwarming and quirky, but compared to "Miranda" or "Starlings", it falls far short. If the leads are repellent, the show is not going to live up to potential. (Nothing against Sally. She's a good actress in a poor role.) I will continue watching for sake of the supporting characters, but would not buy on DVD.

This show tries to kind of fit the mould of a family sitcom with a modern edge about it. In some ways it worked but in most it didn't. Sally Phillips is normally someone you can rely on to make a comedy part brilliantly funny, but I think she is let down in this by writing that makes her come across as completely self centred and unsympathetic. The best parts are probably the grandparents played by Tom Conti and Susie Blake. Although the kids are actually not too irritating for sitcom kids.

Parents was only on for one series. It didn't catch on with the viewers and I think it's because it thought of itself as a modern riff on the average British middle class family sitcom, but unfortunately just wasn't funny or edgy enough to carry it off fully.