Hebburn

Only recently this reviewer was complaining that the BBC's new sitcom Cuckoo was merely a re-working of 1970′s sitcom Citizen Smith. Now, hot on the heels of Cuckoo, comes Hebburn, a not dissimilar series about another family being forced to cope with a new member, unexpectedly parachuted into their lives and armed with a set of very different attitudes and values.

This time it's gritty Geordie mum Gina McKee who has to deal with the flack, as her son Jack returns to the nest with his new Jewish partner Sarah, who he has married while drunk on a business trip to Las Vegas.

Sitcom is a craft unlike any other in the comedy industry. It has its own very specific and complex set of rules for creating character, setting and plot, and when it's not constructed properly it can be disastrous.

So I was more than a little worried when I discovered that Hebburn has its foundations set not in the solid bedrock of sitcom, but in the more transitory and short-form world of stand-up. The show is written by comedian Jason Cook, and Jack is played by another stand-up, Chris Ramsey. Even dad is played by comedian Vic Reeves.

My concerns, however, proved unfounded. Because Hebburn, although a little rough around the edges and basic at times, is quite funny. It's a kind of upbeat Royle Family meets Gavin and Stacey. Or maybe Phoenix Nights meets Bread on the set of Early Doors.

All the usual family archetypes are here, just as they were when Carla Lane was the undisputed queen of sitcom. The strong no-nonsense mother, the adorable old Grannie, the mouthy daughter in a short skirt and the lovable but slightly flawed father.

Jack describes the North East town of Hebburn as "Where dreams come to die." Mum makes bagels for her new Jewish daughter in law by punching a hole through a bread roll using an apple corer. In the final scene a neighbour drops dead in the pub while Sarah is sick into the dead woman's handbag. Meanwhile the pub singer belts out, "I Just Died in your Arms Tonight".

OK, I'll admit these are fairly broad comedic strokes, but even though Hebburn may be a stranger to subtlety, after the sheer Gothic horror of Citizen Khan it's a relief to know that the BBC can still occasionally deliver something resembling humour.

With all of the young writing talent out there that gets rejected by the BBC and thrown on to some slush pile, how in God's name did this piece of rubbish get commissioned and then screened on TV? There is nothing funny at all about Hebburn. The same old insulting stereotypical characters (be they Geordies or Jews)and nothing original or remotely creative in any of the story lines. Am amazed at the good reviews on here! I must be on a different planet.

Now, if you really want to see amazingly fresh and pushing-the-boundaries comedy, switch on to the third series of Him & Her (BBC3 ?) which I think is coming soon. This is astoundingly brilliant and what I believe is fantastic comedy sitcom where the characters and plot lines surprise you at every turn!

Well, not the actors, but the characters.

People in South Tyneside recognised themselves in 'Hebburn'. Some liked that. Some didn't.

I've actually seen a version of the bagel episode in my own family. My m am had a similar reaction to my vegetarian friend and went a bit overboard.

Iit's a shame that the series isn't still going. There's still plenty of material. For example,.when the council put hand sanitizer stations in at Hebburn Shopping Centre, local alcoholics siphoned off the alcohol-based liquid.

It may not be the most original of set-ups, but the dialog is laced with gags that genuinely did make us all laugh (which not all comedies do!) . The real treasure is the endearing secondary characters, most of which would be far too over-the-top to hang a series on, but they work really well as they are used here.

It is odd to read that it doesn't go down too well in Hebburn itself, as I think there is an obvious affection for the place and its characters lying underneath the comedy, which gives it it's heart.

I am really enjoying the second series too, here's hoping they get a third.