Lee Evans: So What Now?

Lee Evans is a very talented man, and so are all the cast and crew, but Sitcom isn't the place for him. I love his one man act because he doesn't come across as annoying, here he does. Sorry Lee, the show wasn't as good as it could have been.

This short tv series by Lee Evans (great comedian), is a near copy of the 70's classic "Some mothers do 'ave 'em". Ask enyone who seen it, I seen one program and had to agree it was about a guy (daft voice etc) who is a walking disaster area, (de ja vu).

I disagree with the above I am a big fan of this series and though it Was excellent, some of the comedy is fantastic it can be watched over And over again. It is a shame there was only 8 episodes. One great Moment is when heathers father comes to visit lee gets all paranoid and Thinks he wants to kill him and Stuart. Just so much great comedy two Many funny bits to mention. But since I need to write at least ten lines I will say of some other great moments. The episode of fear of flying was also great. Lee and Stuart want to organise a party for heather so they go into heather room and look for her phone for heathers number. Anyway lee gets stuck in the cupboard he phones Stuart to create a diversion so he can get out. He says (Stuart help me I feel like a moth) you must watch this.

Lee Evans XL show (at SECC) in 2005 was great.

I do not know why i brought myself to watching as many episodes as i did because i found this series to be one of the worst i have ever seen. Lee Evans is awful! The way he tries to be a modern Frank Spencer is cringing to watch. The rest of the cast are equally awful especially the crazy woman, who is not funny. What really bugged me about this program was the way Lee Evans forced himself into "funny" shapes. I recall one episode when he is doing something like changing a light bulb and then after slipping he is somehow upside down after great effort by the actor to get into that position. You want silly humour that works watch Some Mothers do ave them, do not bother with this it really isn't worth the time.

When accident prone Lee is kicked out by his wife he goes to live with his slobbish mate Terry. They rent a place from failed society girl Heather. Together they get into weekly scraps of `hilarity and fun'.

…..right! Let me tell you the real plot – after an initial episode to set up how everyone got into their situations we have a weekly poor plot that usually involves something relatively simple such as changing a light bulb or moving a sofa etc. This then turns into a farce by the most contrived means possible. The basic idea was to put Lee Evans into the Frank Spencer character in an update of `Some Mothers do ave ‘em'. However it fails horribly.

It fails because no matter what the story is the writing requires the characters to get into trouble. This means it feels like the show tries very hard to be wacky and zany – hence reducing the comedic impact. For example, when climbing a ladder something will happen and the characters will twist and turn to make it as bad (or funny) as possible. What makes it worse is the constant canned laughter which makes it feel even less funny because it's like we're being told `oh, look, isn't that hilarious – you should laugh now'. It is also embarrassing to watch it and realise that the only laughter in your front room is coming from the TV itself!

I love Lee Evans – his standup shows are really funny and he is great a physical comedy WHEN HE HAS THE MATERIAL. I stress that because he doesn't have the material here to work with. That's why he constantly has to twist and turn himself to overdo everything in an attempt to be funny. Wright is a good sitcom face but again he is working with nothing here. Sophie Thompson has had some good minor film roles but here is just annoying and displays none of the decorum and subtly that her older sister has shown in her best roles.

The show has about 2 minor laughs per show – simply because Evans's talent still manages to shine through occasionally. However a lack of material means everything is forced and woefully unfunny. Lee – good in Funny Bones, good in Mouse Hunt, great in his stage shows, but sitcoms? Cancelled after one short series – this wasn't even good by the low standards of BBC sitcoms – not that's bad!